Prompted by a thread on “kettle-chips” in GQ. What is your favorite? Brand, style, flavor? For me, it’s Tim’s Cascade Brand, and the Habanero or Alder Smoke BBQ for flavor.
How about you?
Target has an in house brand “Archer Farms,” and they make fry these big thick chips in the deli. Little brown packages, only found in their deli department, and boy, do I get a jonesin’ for them.
Zapp’s Cajun Crawtator
And, when they are available (very rarely), Zapp’s Steak Limited Edition.
Yum.
Utz.
Good name, huh? They’re out of Hanover, Pennsylvania. Everything they bake, fry or spit on is done just perfectly.
Gotta go. There’s a snack in the kitchen with my name on it.
It’s hard to decide. I love the Utz Homemade Style or whatever they’re called, in the brown bags. They’d probably be my favorite plain eating chip. But I like Wavy Lay’s best for dip.
I’ll have to second the Tim’s Cascade. Those things are good. IIRC, there was a time when they didn’t use anything but pure peanut oil to fry them, but I think they’ve started adding other oils now. Damn shame, but they’re still the best potato chips I’ve ever tasted.
We have a brand around here called Better Maid potato chips. Plain Better Maids are the best chip in the world, IMHO.
I can’t stop buying Walkers Roast Chicken. They taste JUST LIKE roast chicken. I don’t know why this particular flavour fascinates me so much, but I open them in the supermarket and make other people try them just so’s they’ll agree. They taste just like roast chicken!
Yeah, those are great. The first time I had some I remarked that they tasted more like fried chicken than potato chips – mmm, mmm, grease!
Most everything Utz does is great, but my favorite chip of all is Lay’s Salt & Vinegar in the snack-size bags. It’s more concentrated and ergo better than both the Utz brand salt and vinegar and the Lay’s in the big bag.
–Cliffy
Archer Farms chips are great, although I’ve never seen them in the Super Target deli, only prepackaged bags with the rest of the chips. But they come in better flavors than your typical Frito-Lay offerings, are usually cheaper, and better overall quality – nice crunchy kettle-type chips rather than brittle Lays and greasy Ruffles.
I also love Zapp’s various chips and used to bring home several bags whenever I went to New Orleans (along with 2-liter bottles of Big Shot root beer, the best I’ve ever had), but you can’t find them around here except one remote N’awlins-style restaurant I don’t make it to nearly often enough.
Gotta be Baked Lays!
I also favor Cape Cod Sea Salt and Vinegar but they’re so strong I try not to eat them that often.
Miss Vickie’s plain chips, or for a change the sea salt and malt vinegar.
Mmmm.
Otherwise, I got for the new Lay’s Dill Pickle or Creamy Dill from Old Dutch which has a more subtle taste to it.
I don’t think they’ve made it yet.
I like the kind with bubbles which have oil in them. The closest to that I’ve found is Grandma Shearers Select.
But I prefer the taste of the salt and pepper.
If they could make a reallly good chip, it wouldn’t HAVE to be flavored.
Any of the “kettle-cooked”/old fashioned kind, anything cooked in lard. 
There’s a brand around here, Gibble’s. When I finally move to California I’m going to have them shipped.
Utz crab flavored chips. But I’m on the wrong coast for that.
Terra chips, especially the taro ones.
Utz, hands down. It’s only on the east coast, though. Man, do I miss that stuff. (I wonder if I can buy some online?)
Yup. Right here. They seem to be very popular - I think I’ll order some too, to see what all the fuss is about.
These are the best chips on the planet.
The things I miss most since moving from Baltimore to Ohio six years ago: steamed crabs and Utz potato chips. I prefer the straight-forwardly named Regular Potato Chips, in the red and white bag. A couple of years ago, I bought one of the 3 gallon tins at Cross Street Market. I get it refilled whenever I visit Baltimore.