# Dip: Hero, or sidekick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472 "2018-01-12T17:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/1 "2018-01-12T17:58:48Z")
When you have chips and dip (or crackers and dip, or whatever), is the dip the lead actor, with the chips serving as mere conveyances from the bowl to your mouth? Or do you see it as a collaborative effort with the perfect ratio of dip to chip making the ideal flavour sensation? Please state what kind of dip(s) and what kind of supporting unit you are talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/2 "2018-01-12T18:08:32Z")
Dip is the sidekick. I can eat plain chips. I can’t eat plain dip. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/3 "2018-01-12T18:10:30Z")
Depends on the chips and dip. Sour cream and onion dip and chips: both Salsa and chips: Pace salsa it’s both (IMO), good salsa and homemade chips is both, home made salsa and store bought chips, then it’s the salsa Shrimp dip and dips: shrimp dip (I should go make some now for later) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/4 "2018-01-12T18:31:17Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Dip is the sidekick. I can eat plain chips. I can’t eat plain dip. +1 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/5 "2018-01-12T18:38:03Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Dip is the sidekick. I can eat plain chips. I can’t eat plain dip. Dip is the lead. The sidekick can be replaced by another type of chip, veggies, etc. Batman is the dip. The various Robins are the chips. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/6 "2018-01-12T18:46:01Z")
Dip is a loose cannon. Dip will handcuff himself to a suicidal jumper or take down a gang of thieves single handed. Dip has the skills to outfight a ring of ex special forces smuggling heroin into Los Angeles. But, dip is unstable. He needs someone to reel him in. Deep down, he knows this. Chip is stable. He may be too old for this shit, but he’ll see the job through. On his own he does good work, but he needs dip to do the big job, the job that’s beyond anything his routine experience has trained him for. Together, they’re a great team. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/7 "2018-01-12T19:15:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Dip is the lead. The sidekick can be replaced by another type of chip, veggies, etc. Batman is the dip. The various Robins are the chips. Disagree. Dip is Jack Burton - thinks it’s the lead, but is really the sidekick. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/8 "2018-01-12T22:14:38Z")
I agree with manson; chips is the protagonist. Dip, while it’s a flashy character who the audience loves, is still a sidekick. Dip makes chips better. But chips can act alone if it has to. But dip needs chips. Without chips, dip is nothing. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/9 "2018-01-12T22:26:34Z")
I invoke the “mac and cheese analogy.” The pasta (whatever is used) is in mac and cheese simply to hold up the good stuff, but nobody (or very few people) wants just a bowl of the good stuff. Same with chips and dip. You might not want just the dip, but it’s the chips that are the sidekick. And what’s the Lone Ranger without Tonto? A good sidekick provides support for whatever the hero is up to. And I also don’t think it’s fair to judge this on whether you can or can’t eat dip by itself. I eat cheeses on breads and crackers and I also eat cheese separately. What about caviar, preserves, peanut butter? Chips are Kato, Gabby Hayes, or Andy Devine, whether you like it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/10 "2018-01-12T23:39:06Z")
NM ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/11 "2018-01-13T00:27:25Z")
With ordinary chips and dip, such as you might buy in a bag and a jar (respectively) at the grocery store, it’s a buddy movie: Each complements the other, but neither is really the star. However, there’s a limit to just how good a chip can be, but dip can go all the way up to amazing and beyond. So for the best chips paired with the best dips, the dip is absolutely the hero. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/12 "2018-01-13T00:49:11Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > I eat cheeses on breads and crackers and I also eat cheese separately. What about caviar, preserves, peanut butter? Chips are Kato, Gabby Hayes, or Andy Devine, whether you like it or not. So what? We aren’t talking about cheese, caviar, preserves, or peanut butter. We are talking about dip. The sidekick of chips. There are several movies where chips are just kicking ass in, uhhh, Gothchip, or Chipam, without a sidekick. Dip assists the chip in elevating both to greatness. The chip doesn’t assist the dip. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/13 "2018-01-13T02:04:40Z")
Collaboration. In the right balance the chip and dip is greater than the sum of it’s parts. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/14 "2018-01-13T03:17:46Z")
Chips, the Hero, can stay out on the counter for days. Dip is the sidekick who must retreat to the fridge or go bad. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/15 "2018-01-13T14:57:01Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Or do you see it as a collaborative effort with the perfect ratio of dip to chip making the ideal flavour sensation? This. Regular chips without dip are too salty for me. I can/have eaten them solo (e.g., the little bags from vending machines), but I hardly ever crave chips alone. If I’m buying a snack for home, it’s almost always a bag of [Utz Ripples](https://www.getutz.com/get-snacks/potato-chips/regular-chips.html) and a can of [Utz Creamy Onion](https://www.getutz.com/get-snacks/other-snacks/dips.html) dip. I also love me some [Lipton’s dip](http://www.liptonkitchens.com/recipes/detail/28542/1/classic-onion-dip), but for whatever reason I never make it. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/16 "2018-01-13T15:35:59Z")
Another vote for “depends on the dip”. If I would eat the dip with a spoon in the absence of chips (e.g. 7 layer dip), then it’s clearly the hero. But there are some dips I would never eat by themselves (e.g. ranch dressing). ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/17 "2018-01-13T18:01:52Z")
Chips are a lovely woman, wonderful by themselves and the heart of the ensemble. The dip is a great gown, it grabs your attention and draws you in, revealing just enough of the goodies underneath that you want to just lick… sorry, got carried away. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/18 "2018-01-14T23:05:33Z")
Collaborative. As much as I love guacamole I can’t bring myself to eat it with a spoon. Give me a few chips and I can eat a pound. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dip-hero-or-sidekick/806472/19 "2018-01-14T23:48:05Z")
It all depends upon the dip, and the “chip,” but generally speaking, Dip FTW. Your basic salsa and corn chip? Salsa is the lead. Even Lay’s Ridged with your garden variety Sour Cream and Onion? Still goes to the dip. But I had some kind of artisanal bread/cracker, toasted with butter/olive oil, and with a dusting of rosemary, and quite frankly, the spinach/artichoke dip it was served with, while quite good in and of itself, still didn’t compare to the “chip.”