New Kettle Chips flavors a mixed bag

While most people I know have a sweet tooth, I truly have more of a salt tooth. This explains, in part, how I ended up coming home from Andronico’s grocery store last week with 3 new Kettle Chips snacks. Their New York Cheddar chips have long been one of my top salty treats

Apparently, they had some sort of new flavor survey (I think I actually got hit up by one of those Internet surveying firms to anonymously answer what type of snack food flavors sounded like a good idea and which should be canned) and are now releasing the flavors that had the most votes…Spicy Thai and Cheddar Beer. For good measure, I also brought home a flavor I’d never seen before — Red Pepper and Goat Cheese.

  • The Cheddar and Beer chips are on a par with my beloved New York Cheddar chips. The beer is noticeable as a malty taste more than reminiscent of any particular beer style, and the cheddar is outstanding.
  • The Spicy Thai chips, with their sweet and sour taste that lingers on your lips, is also a good snack, though it can be a little overpowering for eating with other foods.
  • Of the lot, only the Red Pepper and Goat Cheese was disappointing. The flavor was closer to a Terra veggie chip than a Kettle chip, with almost no goat cheese taste to speak of. I would definitely not purchase them again.

They must have been happy with the results — they’re at it again. This time, they’re asking for beverage inspired concoctions. Dr. Pepper or Margarita chips anyone?

Gourmet Beverages

Since I am no longer fond of our local beverage super store, after receiving bad service and worse attitude, I have been sad that it’s meant a lack of Boylans specialty sodas in my life (particularly the Sugar Kane Cola my SO loves). My other beverage woe is the scarcity of Santa Lucia water retailers. I can buy it when someone hasn’t gotten to it first during my rare trips to Whole Foods, or can buy tiny bottles of it at LuLu Petite at the Ferry Building, but I don’t have any way to maintain a regular supply.

But this morning, thanks to the joy of googling, I found a site that sells BOTH of these beverages — Soda King. This website has the Boylans Sugar Kane Cola AND Santa Lucia sparkling water!!! I am going to have to wait to place my case order, however, until I can talk to a human. The online form calculated $44 in UPS Ground shipping charges (estimating 2 44 lb boxes!) for my $36 order of a case of soda and a case of water.

http://www.sodaking.com/