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What's Myage Again

Is the concept of 'hot wing' chips a new idea? No. Is that a bad thing? Shit no. Almost every major, and not so major, chip company has at least one hot wing chip flavour (some companies produce more than one option). I, for one, love this. Every company puts their own spin on it, some work out, some are duds. At the end of the day, variety IS the spice of life; whether it's on a micro or macro.

A couple weeks ago I cracked a bag of President's Choice Kettle Cooked Spicy Wing chips. Original flavour, na, but I didn't buy them expecting that. I peered into the bag upon opening to view a medium thick ridged chip with visible seasoning. This wasn't my first time trying these chips, it was however my first time critically eating them, hah. I picked up a chip and to my surprise, for a kettle cooked chip, it wasn't overly greasy. With my mind sending a stat order to my hand I shoved the chip into my mouth, *crunch crunch* not bad *crunch* the seasoning is on the lighter side but it gets the point across *crunch crunch crunch* noms. I would place the heat at medium on the 'bbq to burn your nuts off' scale. To me it tasted to be vinegar based with distinct chili pepper..jalapeno..kick, there is a slight background flavour of chicken broth which is to be expected and also welcomed. A lot of wing flavour chips focus on the hot sauce and leave the chicken out of it. You can faintly taste the potato of the chip to remind you that you are in fact eating a potato chip. Being a ridge kettle cooked chip these would lend themselves to dipping very well. President's Choice once again brings the proverbial goods.

(fast forward 1 week)

I picked up some HeluvaGood Buffalo Wing sour cream dip with no particular chip in mind to consume with it. When I got home I opened up the chip cupboard and surveyed what half finished bags I should polish off. Up front and center, the PC Kettle Cooked Spicy Wing chips. Some might think that doubling up spicy wing with buffalo wing would be a bad idea, those people are chowder heads. The Buffalo Wing dip has a mild jalapeno/chili pepper kick accompanied by the tang of sour cream. This bit of creamy zing accompanied the Spicy Wing chips perfectly. Kick here, zing there, fun times had by all.

I was thumbing through my record collection today trying to figure out which record should accompany this pairing, then it hit me. The Manix - Neighborhood Wildlife. This was one of my favourite records of 2012 (it was released Nov 11, 2011 but I didn't get it until 2012). The Manix isn't breaking any new ground on this album, it's mid-tempo (sometimes a bit quicker) pop punk (the gruff beer swilling type) out of Minneapolis (released on It's Alive Records), but damn is it enjoyable. The lyrics are a little dark and could be seen as depressing if there wasn't so many nuggets of optimism that seem to perpetually shine through. The music, well the music is as bright as a sunny day. There's choruses for days that make you want to sing right along. This album's catchy as hell. Neighbourhood Wildlife  might not be a life changer but it is a solid entry into the rock and roll library.

Stay hydrated,
Marc

ps. one of the dudes from The Manix used to be in Banner Pilot, another great band (of the same ilk) that you should check out if you aren't already familiar.

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