we will not speak of the ketchup chip
I meant to post this important news earlier, but forgot. Now, shocked back into attention by an outpouring of public interest on Flickr (a comment was left), let me try to make up for lost time.
It has, according to Wikipedia, taken us almost a century to get here. But we have arrived at a solution: Carolina-style Utz chips. These are the chips, people.
I realize that regional pride might propel some of you toward Crab Chips. But you're better than that. Crab Chips are a mirthless joke, an exaggerated accent, a story they tell to tourists.
The Carolina-style chip is a precise equation, a tensegrity tower constructed from flavored powder: half barbecue, half salt & vinegar. Its elegance cannot be overstated, although that elegance may not be completely apparent if you cram them into your mouth with the same enthusiasm I do.
Comments
these are, indeed, the best chips in existence. I unfortunately OD'd on them 6 or 7 summers ago when working at a place that had them in the vending machine! every day refilled! and no one else in the building ate them!
i may be ready to start on them again, though.
Ok, do you mean to demean Utz's Crab Chip in particular, or 'Old Bay' style crab seasoning as such? Either way you are mistaken. It sounds condescending, but it in fact took me years to realize that Old Bay is no joke, no put-on, in no way kitsch. The ingredient list on the side of the box is illuminating (cardamom ?!). The Crab Chip is a well-executed vehicle for the laudable achievement that is Maryland crab seasoning. Sometimes, when one isn't in the mood for dessert, the Carolina-style just won't do.
Oh, what the hells. Utz should know better than to flaunt its ignorance like this.
The only logical response to the idea of "Carolina Style Bar-B-Q" chips is to ask "what kind," since that phrase could be used to refer to at least three distinct varieties. While the repulsive blue packaging implies that this product is not meant to invoke a South Carolina-style barbeque with a mustard-based sauce, there is no indication here whether these chips have the taste western North Carolina barbeque with a tomato-based sauce or eastern North Carolina barbeque with a vinegar-based sauce.
Shame on you, Utz. Shame.
I appreciate (and sympathize with) your strong feelings on the matter, Gabriel. But let's be honest: you're fooling yourself if you think the rest of the world is confused about what Utz means. Outside of the Carolinas, Carolina-style means vinegar. Memphis means tangy, Kansas means smoky, and Texas means something thin, red and maybe hot.