Poppy's Front Porch - in the Missouri Ozarks

Poppy's Front Porch - in the Missouri Ozarks
This photo was taken in 1949. My cousins and I remember the porch after our grandfather walled it in, added a door and big screen windows.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Now, about chips...



I’ve read a few lists on Facebook today, one was a list of ten best books, voted on by some famous authors.  Another was a list of best movies, according to some experts.  There’s no shortage of this kind of article.

When I play around with making such lists, I don’t claim to know what’s best, I just know what I like.  So in that spirit, here my list of chips I like, top down, starting with my favorite.

#1.  Sun Chips.  I’d buy these more often, but anymore they cost a king’s ransom for just a little bag.  Aldi’s has a store version they call Multigrain Chips.  Yes, I can tell a bit of a difference, but they’re still really good, at a more reasonable price.

#2.  Nacho Cheese Doritos.  I had a few of those today, and that’s what got me started on this.  I have to use strict self control with these…I could easily eat half a bag at a sitting.  Not a good idea.

#3.  Fritos, the original.  Yes, I mean those good ol’ greasy corn chips, unchanged from the 1960s.  The kind of snack food that gives nutritionists conniption fits, and makes me feel a bit guilty if I have them too often.
As an aside, I remember when I was a child, there were only six kinds of salty snacks you could buy in bags at the store.  Plain potato chips, barbecue chips, Fritos, cheese curls, pretzels, and already popped popcorn.  There were also peanuts or mixed nuts or cashews, but they were usually in cans.  It wasn’t until the late 60s, early 70s that we got sour cream and onion chips, Ruffles (have ridges), cheese balls, Bugles, and a lot of other fancy-pants snacks.

Back to my list, which so far has been all multigrain or corn chips.

#4.  Sour cream and onion chips, followed closely by…

#5.  Sour cream and cheddar chips.  Almost a tie, that.

#6.  Cheese curls…if they’re the crunchy kind.  Cheese puffs…eh, not so much.

#7.  Cool Ranch Doritos.

#8.  Barbecue chips.  This varies a lot, some brands are just too salty.  And sometimes I’m in the mood for them, but other times, not really.

#9.  Plain Potato chips.  I do still like these, and they used to rank much higher on the list.  These days though, I like some added flavor.

Just so you know, I avoid anything with “HOT” or “Flaming” or “Jalapino” in the title.  Tell me again, exactly why would I want chemical burns on my taste buds?

I could also mention already prepared Chex Mix, but I won’t.  It’s just that I so much prefer buying the ingredients and baking the mix up fresh.  Makes a world of difference.

One more personal note…for me, peanuts trump all of these.  But since this is a list of chips, I’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

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