Have you seen these chips in stores?
Frito-Lay, the snack division of PepsiCo Inc., thinks we’re ready for more inspired chip flavors. The four finalists in the Lay’s “Do Us a Flavor” contest started hitting supermarket shelves recently. The contest, in its third year, invites participants to submit flavor creations that run the gamut from wasabi ginger and cheddar bacon mac & cheese to mango salsa and cappuccino. (Yes, you read that correctly. Cappuccino.) People can then vote online for their favorite through Oct. 18.
But are metro Atlantans ready to embrace the new flavors headed our way?
Atlanta chefs have been adding flavors to chips for awhile. Take the Buckhead Diner, which immediately became known for its iconic Maytag blue cheese potato chips upon opening in 1987. "They were the talk of the town," according to chef Pano Karatassos of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group.
Today we see other chefs playing with chips. Jason Hill, owner of Inman Park's Wisteria, makes sweet potato chips to pair with black-eyed pea hummus. Chris Hall and Ben Barth of Atlanta's Local Three Kitchen & Bar created the "redneck refry," chips topped with bacon-black-eyed pea refried beans and jack cheese.
Hall and Barth also tinker with other “gas station foods,” as they call them. On the Local Three menu, you’ll find popcorn in funky flavors, much like the Lay’s chips. Think ham and cheese with dehydrated country ham and cheese powder. The buffalo blue cheese also sounded intriguing.
Read more about Atlanta chefs kicking up the flavors of our chips here.
--by Jenny Turknett, Atlanta Restaurant Scene blog
About the Author
