Tales of the Salty Bag

A month or two ago I was on the Wasted Wax Records store/distro picking up some LP's cause I've dug everything that they've put out as a label, had a few holes to fill in my collection and figured that anything they put out as distro would be up to the same sonic standard as their own releases. One of the LP's that I picked up was Mandible Klaw's S/T from 2016 (YYC band, Handsome Dan Records). By the looks of it I had assumed that it'd be somewhere in the hardcore/metal spectrum..Deranged Records..ish. Was I right? Yep, MK play 80's style hardcore punk in the vein of whatever you think is good with a hint of thrash thrown in (there's the slightest hint of rock in there too). They rarely take their foot of the gas, the guitar's are intricate without being wankey (some solos, there's leads, there's fantastic music) and the odd breakdown(ish) part I'm willing to bet won't initiate a spin kicking, arm flailing douchepit. The vocals are ...

What do Sprouts Potato Co Kettle Style Chips..Truffle Flavor Number 10, "Sweet Tangy" "Crispy Crunch" chips taste like you ask? Well, I'd say that one of their parents was in the sour cream and onion family while their other parent was in the (mesquite) barbecue family. When you take a whiff of the freshly cracked bag there's no real seasoning fragrance, just chips and oil. How crunchy are they? Well, previous bags of Sprouts that I've had came off as a more airy kettle cooked chip..for some reason this bag comes off as your standard mid weight kettle cooked (I find this odd, maybe my previous tastings of other flavours tainted me and gave me unachievable expectations with regards to actual chip [either way the chips are still good, not too greasy with some crunch]). The seasoning for the most part is on the light side..which is when I taste more of a SC&O than mesquite..but the odd chip is fairly well seasoned and the mesquite barbeque is more at th...

M'lady gave me a bag of Great Lakes (Potato Chip Co.) Kettle Cooked Buffalo Wing Potato Chips "Skin On" "Made in Traverse City Michigan" a couple months ago. I just cracked the bag and took a whiff..vinegar? Visually the flavour doesn't look very well distributed. I picked a semi seasoned looking chip out of the bag and yeah, not much flavour with a bit of a heat stiner. I then picked out a chip that looked well coloured (and assumed seasoned) and it was. The flavour is very much like any mass produced medium to hot mass produced buffalo hot sauce (my reference point is the three pepper President's Choice buffalo hot sauce [hot vinegar based sauce with a hint of {I think} ranch]). When you get a well seasoned chip they're quite enjoyable, nice crunch without being overly greasy for kettle cooked..but the well seasoned chips are somewhere between 5 and 10% of the bag so..take from this what you want. The seasoning distribution is similar to Uncle Ray...

What do Old Dutch Salt 'n Vinegar taste like you ask? Well, they're a standard (non-kettle cooked) potato chip that are on the lightweight side of crunch. At times the seasoning seems almost powdery to the taste. The vinegar flavour is quite tart. For the most part the seasoning is well distributed throughout the bag (the odd chips is more towards the light side). They're not the most rigid chip but if you have a soft dip they'll work (S&V is a great dipping seasoned chip in general [I guess almost all staple flavours are good for dipping]). Old Dutch doesn't break any barriers with their standard line of chips but they're passable in most circumstances. The first tape that I recall owning was Jock Rock, Volume 2. The first cd that I ever bought was Weird Al's Bad Hair Day. The first record that I purchased was (I believe) The Cure's Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. I haven't listened the Jock Rock or Bad Hair Day in a while, but I'd like to thin...

Sometimes co-op (sorry if you don't live in western Canada) releases chips flavours that are straight up bangers. This past Tuesday I cracked out a bag of co-op Gold, Kettle Cooked Black Pepper & Balsamic Vinegar chips. Do they have a distinct scent..not really. The chips are mid to light weight on the kettle cooked spectrum. Even though they're not the heaviest chips they still deliver a good crunch. The flavour is fairly evenly distributed throughout the bag with both balsamic vinegar and black pepper being present (go figure, right?) without being overly aggressive. When consuming, the vinegar flavour hits slightly earlier than the pepper. The tartness followed up with a black pepper minor heat is quite enjoyable. Damn fine chips (hey co-op, don't let these go the way of jalapeno dill [while you're at it, please bring back jalapeno dill]).  About a year ago I went to an all ages show at the East End CC. I went there for the Uglies but I was pleasantly surprised...

A couple months ago my buddies mom went out to Toronto and when she came back she gifted me with a bag of Irresistible's "old-fashioned potato chips" Olive and Feta Flavour (thanks Nancy). It took me a minute to get around to the bag, finally this past week I cracked them open. They smelled like chips (suprise nah?) with a hint of rosemary(? [I'm not great with picking out herbs, but I'm pretty sure it's rosemary]). My initial thoughts were that they'd fall in the sour cream & onion flavour family. There's a hint of rosemary(? [which was in line with the chip's scent]) followed by a faint liguria olive flavour. There's also a very faint tart almost balsamic vinegar flavour hanging out in the background trying to sneak into the party. The chips are quite salty, which makes sense due to the feta namesake. There is a nice range of flavour that is non-aggressive but present throughout consumption. The chips are lightly kettle cooked. Quite good...

Sometimes chips that I'm not all that excited about get pushed to the back of the cellar and sort of forgotten about. Well, today I'm going to talk about Hardbite 18 Carrot Gold 'Lightly Salted Carrot Chips". I believe that when consumed before or close to their best before date they would have a good crunch to them...I'm consuming about 19 months after their BB date so I'm getting a nice crunch on the outside with a bit of softness on the inside. The cut the carrots lengthwise to make the chips so they're a nice long thin chip..well, a lot of them are curled up into themselves but it's still intriguing. Their flavour reminds me a lot of sweet potato chips (and oddly there's very little stale taste to them..just the odd chip). They're fairly well cooked (pretty brown) and the cooking brings out a nice sweetness. I'd agree with the lightly salted portion of their name, it's present but not overpowering. After a handful of the chips by the...