Welcome to Drunk on Chips. I'm a potato lover whose potato-loving father always kept our snack cabinet stocked with a carefully curated collection of chips. Here, I give you an honest review of a specific bag.
The Setup
I'm a huge fan of Salt and Vinegar chips. Herr's Salt and Vinegar are my favorite variety of all time. So when I found myself in a gas station in the middle of Georgia this week, and Tom's, a brand I'd never heard of, caught my eye, I figured why not introduce myself to something new by way of a flavor I already love.
My dad and I were driving back to Atlanta from Augusta, Georgia, where we'd just spent the past three days at the 2018 Masters Tournament. I'd already had my fair share of potato chips. See, every food item at Augusta National Golf Club, where The Masters is played, is sold unbranded. Concessions workers will let you know the domestic craft is Blue Moon and the import is Stella Artois, but you won't see their labels anywhere.
Same goes for the chips; they're sold in Masters branded bags that are so damn cool looking. The minimal bag design of their two flavors—original and barbecue—only contains the Masters logo and the words "Premium Kettle Cooked Potato Chips." I saved an empty bag of each, because I am who I am.
Ben BoskovichA potato chip bag unlike any other.
I figured I'd devote this week's column to those chips. The only problem is, when I flipped the bag over, I noticed the tiny Cape Cod logo in the bottom right corner of the bag—a popular brand I reviewed a couple weeks ago—so I tabled the chip hunt for the drive back.
Inside the BP on Georgia's Highway 20, a wide variety of Tom's Snacks caught my eye. It wasn't just chips either—these guys have nacho rings, pork skins, hot fries, even Bugles. After much consideration, too much for my dad, I asked him for some cash to buy the bag of Vinegar and Salt, which, by the way, is unusual. On every other brand's bag the salt comes first, followed by the vinegar (Salt and Vinegar).
The chips traveled all the way back to New York City with me.
The Assessment
Like most salt and vinegar varieties, these bad boys let out quite the scent when you open the bag. At first glance inside the bag, I was impressed with the size of the lot—there were a ton of two-bite chips in there, which is always better than the alternative. I'd liken Tom's texture to Lay's, only a little sturdier.
Their crunch reflect that sturdiness, too. Flavor wise, they are noticeably more sour tasting than any other salt and vinegar chip I've had. They're not overly salted, and not overly vinegar'd either, but one of the two flavors is definitely more prominent, hence the vinegar-first ordering on the label.
Tom's Snacks
Most of the time with this variety, you'll find the flavoring almost caked onto the chips, and, eventually, onto your fingers. That's not really the case with Tom's. You can't use your phone or type or touch anything while eating these, but a quick rinse of the hands afterward will get everything cleaned up adequately.
The aftertaste wasn't as intense as I'd expected. I ate only 2.5 oz worth of chips here, but the inside of my mouth didn't completely disintegrate. Sure, it weathered the roof of my mouth and the back of my tongue a little, but that's all part of the fun.
Some Tasting Notes
Getty ImagesLegend has it my grandfather ate a spoonful of vinegar every day. He lived to be 91!
Size: Above average. I wasn't needing to play the gather and pinch game until the end of the bag.
Crunch: Also above average. Like a Lay's potato chip, only a little stronger. They don't break easily, but it's a nice vacation from the crunch of Kettle.
Seasoning: Perfectly applied, but a little heavy on the vinegar. That's okay. I enjoyed the sour, tangy, vinegar flavor. My grandfather used vinegar as a cure-all, so it's nice to know there's a version tailored to my love of potato chips.
Aftertaste: I imagine anything more than 2.5 oz of these things will tear you apart, but in this small dose, I wasn't dropping breath bombs everywhere.
Some Pairings
Getty Images
Pairing One: An Italian sub. It's something you may add both salt and vinegar to already, so skip the condiments and add some right onto your sandwich. I've endorsed this practice before, and I'll do it over and over again.
Pairing Two: A seltzer water. Hell, practice the art of high/low and make it a Pellegrino. You'll need a beverage with these to prevent any sort of deterioration, so why not add some carbonation.
Pairing Three: A well-ventilated room. Like I said, these give off an odor that doesn't subside til you've eaten them all and thrown out the bag. Don't get me wrong, it's not a stink bomb, it's very manageable. But I didn't open them on the airplane for a reason.
More Chips
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