Finally, something we can argue about! I mentioned potato chips in yesterday’s post. Actually, I think I just said “bag of chips,” and “Matt” posted, asking, What kind of chips? I said they were Cape Cod classic potato chips, because that’s the go-to salty snack around my house and studio. It is here I must admit, there was no actual bag of chips. Hours later, lying in bed, I thought to myself, “I should have said ‘Zapps’!” (OK, what do you think about lying in bed?) Zapps, a venerable old New Orleans brand, are the best chips out there. At Christmas, I used to send my editors in New York cartons of Zapps potato chips, which come in amazing varieties. Then, this morning, reading through all the posts from yesterday, I see that “Mark in TTown” asks me, Have you ever tried “Zapps?” Here’s your answer, Mark.
Lines of Miscommunication
By Jimmy Johnson
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48 responses to “Lines of Miscommunication”
Thanks Jimmy. I prefer the Zapp’s myself. Like you said, lots of flavors and good crunch. Thanks for what you do, and I can understand you needing to step back and take a few deep breaths before jumping back into the deep end. Take care.
Hi; never heard of Zapps here in New England. But of course Cape Cod Chips. JJ – you are able to see reader’s comments on this blog. I’ve often wondered what you think of our comments? Please stay safe and keep up the good work which helps us get thru these times.
I first became aware of Zapps potato chips when I lived near New Orleans, longer ago than I care to calculate. They were pretty regional then, but now I know they’re sold in grocery stores in several southern states. They were “kettle chips” before kettle chips were cool. They are good and taste a lot like the excellent Cape Cod chips, with a NOLA twist, their “Voodoo” recipe for example. (It’s barbecue!)
It wasn’t a trap, honest! I just wanted to throw a curve ball into the conversation. I actually don’t eat potato chips very often, but I do like Cape Cod, and they’re readily available here in coastal Maine. I’ll have to track down some Zapp’s now…
https://www.utzsnacks.com/collections/zapps
ps: I’m with Arlo on this one… skinny is over-rated!
Yes!
As I keep saying, if only Janis would ditch that heavy towel… 😉
Today I get to meet and begin to break-in my new hair stylist. I can only imagine what haircuts are like in the the Age of the Coronavirus.
Jimmy
Still wondering if you’d be willing to sell me the original artwork of May 5, 2020. If you are please get in touch with me at terrencefeenstra@gmail.com. Thanks very much.
Gotta try Zapps now. I’ll have to ask my Lafayette buddies about them and how I might be able to score some. Love Arlo and Janis!
Strange. As I was search for something on Google or maybe it was my Calorie Counting App, the name Zapps came up. I have never heard of them.
Somehow I think the old line about “more of you to love” would get Arlo into real trouble.
I just ordered a variety pack of Zapp’s from Amazon. Not the best thing when working from home, but I have to try them.
My favorite were the Cajun Dill, with the Craw-tators a close second. I didn’t know they had been bought out by Utz, though. When I had them they were a private company out of Louisiana, like Jimmy said. I never had any till Publix started opening stores in Alabama. That’s two things I miss about Alabama. And Buffalo Rock ginger ale makes three.
I didn’t know they’d been bought out. I used to eat Zapps with Abita beer, which few outside NOLA had heard of then, either.
I’m not into beer, but Abita made a good root beer. I say made, because I haven’t seen any since I moved to Oklahoma. And I didn’t know Utz had bought Zapp’s either, until I looked them up today. I hope they didn’t change the taste!
My brother-in-law used grow the potatoes for Seyfert’s Potato Chips in Fort Wayne. They were very very good. Eventually Seyfert’s got bought out and the corporate ownership went another direction with potato suppliers and the chips these days are ho-hum. A while back part of my lunch got spoiled so I decided to grab some Lay’s out of the vending machine, with the promise to walk 3 miles after work. Unfortunately the chips were stale. I just hate eating something with high expectations and then almost spitting the food out after tasting it.
Personally, I’m more of a corn chip guy than a potato chip guy. Although I will admit there seems to be much less diversity in the style and favoring of corn chips.
Back from my haircut. I’ll let you know in a week what I think of it. (That’s how a I judge a haircut.)
One thing I noticed was that she used mostly scissors, reserving the electric clippers for cleaning up my sideburns and the back of my neck. This is just as my old-time barber did it when I was a young boy. In recent years, my haircuts seem to have been done almost entirely with clippers.
That also reminded me of various fads that have come and gone in the hair-cutting biz. Anyone remember when vacuum hoses were attached to the clippers, apparently to suck up the hair cuttings before they could go down the back of your collar? Or a “razor cut”, of which I had a few? Or (and I swear I am not making this up,) a “flame cut”, of which I had none? Yes, they literally set your hair on fire to shorten it. (If they revive that one, they will probably call it the “Twitter cut”.) For some reason, I assume both of the latter probably originated in California. 🙂
A&J’s relationship is so much like my own marriage- she’s always complaining about aging, some minuscule added weight, imperceptible sagging, etc., while I find her more attractive than ever. We find them attractive far more than they realize, yet women constantly compare themselves to others, to unachievable advertising, to some standard that only they see. I’ve gained more confidence as I’ve aged, yet I think they lose more.
Coming in late to the potato chip discussion. We did a cross-country roadtrip in 2015, which included parts of Canada. We were amazed at some of the odd potato chip flavors that were available there. Which then made us realize that different regions of the US also have different flavor preferences. I can only imagine what kind of potato chips are offered in places like China or India. Incidentally, we were planning another cross-country road trip in September of this year but in the age of COVID, we think we’ll take a pass. Hopefully next year.
Indian Curry Chips?
Chinese General Tso’s Chicken Chips?
Utz makes some unusual flavors, like the tomato soup and grilled cheese flavored cheese puffs I saw in the local Cracker Barrel.
Oops, I misspoke. The tomato soup/grilled cheese puffs were Herrs brand, not Utz.
I feel quite edified about potato chips now! Honestly, I had never heard of most of the brands mentioned. I have met the brand UTZ, though, as makers of great thin pretzels. I don’t care for thick hard pretzels, but thin hard ones are fine if they have enough NaCl. Those pretzels go well with, say, french onion dip.
.
PS: Thick soft pretzels are one of my great weaknesses….
In panel 2, is Janis bemoaning her perception of being too angular (at present) or is she wishing she were (again?) as angular as she once was?
Two Lay’s-China potato chip flavors I ran across that are reportedly in the Top 10 favorites there… Hot and Sour Fish Soup Chips, and Blueberry Chips. Really.
The #1 favorite, however, is…American Classic. ‘Merica!
Utz Quality Foods® may wonder about a sudden spike in on-line orders among a certain demographic. 🙂
I’m tempted to try some of the Mesquite BBQ ones myself.
c x-p. I wondered, but then decided not to analyze, just appreciate.
Matt: “… skinny is over-rated!” Perhaps, but “varied” is not, nor is “varying.”
Those of you who don’t care for 9CL probably don’t follow Pibgorn, which is web-only, full-page, or divided oddly. Brooke has no schedule, & never portrays “naughty bits,” in either 9CL or Pib.
In Pib, Luda, fully clothed, ecstatically surrounded by color representing her music, was there for over a week, then a face-on, fully nude female, seen through a heavy mist. And, here & there, just enough ink to suggest n*pples, &, in outline only, a “mound of Venus.” That was a one-day only treat. Next day, same chaste outfit, lute in hand, off to one side.
Supper-time, a meal to reheat from my precious cleaning lady, whom I inherited from Elaine almost 10 yr ago.
Peace,
Having lived an important 1/3 of my life in Louisiana and much in New Orleans and Lafayette, Louisiana I was certainly familiar with Zapp’s chips. When I first began eating them they seemed unavailable outside New Orleans. You could smell the chips frying as you drove by.
Gator Tators rings a bell.
I am one of those fortunate few who have grabbed a handful of freshly cooked hot Lays’ chips right off the
Production line. At night, my horticulture club and me and one Lays guide, nine of us on a tasting fest and private tour for almost two hours.
They wanted those taters well grown.
No chips will EVER be better than the original kettle fried Maui Potato Chips bought at the Hasagohwi General Store outside Hana, Maui, ripped open hot and eaten in the parking lot circa 1968. Barefoot in a string bikini too small to use as a COVID-19 mask.
Hasegawa General Store, Hana, Maui still there. Still selling chips only on Maui.
The factory limits sales to a few Maui locations and factory in Kahaluu.
The ones on Amazon, Target, Walmart and yes, Utz and Zapps are all knockoffs.
Sorry, I came back to support Jimmy whom I love, but I am crying as I type. I loved Nawlins as you correctly pronounce it, loved Hawaii and Hana, even Lafayette. Some of biggest mistakes I ever made, leaving home, over and over. You can’t go home again is true.
Mikesells!!!!!!
Arlo, be careful when you hire that painter for the garage windows. Case in point…
A suburbanite is working in his front lawn on a Saturday morning when a slightly sketchy guy wanders up and asks him, “Have you got any work for me?”
The homeowner thinks for a moment and says, “As a matter of fact, yes. If you go around back, you’ll find a paint brush and several gallon cans of white paint. Use it to paint the porch, and I’ll give you $100. Mind you, do a good job; use two coats; and don’t skip any spots.”
Sketchy Guy happily agrees, walks around back, and an hour later comes back and says, “I’m finished, chief.”
“Already?” the homeowner asks. “Did you put a good, heavy coat on it, like I said?”
“Sure did, chief. But by the way, that’s not a Porsche, it’s a BMW.”
Groan… LOL!
I have succumbed to a Quarantine garden or Pandemic patch to fight depression and get a few breaths of fresh air. I may never grow a single vegetable but I have been planting starter seeds, then transplanting to larger pots.
Plan is to spray down beds with Roundup, remove weeds, replace with some new soil and then pour on Preen to prevent more grass and weeds sprouting.
Plants will then be planted. It is ambitious since I seem limited to about an hour at daylight before heat gets me.
Anyone else contributing to the seed and gardening boom?
My wife certainly has been doing that since mid-April. My contribution has been taking her to Lowes, paying for her supplies, and running the rototiller.
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