Father's Day Chip Tasting

Happy Father's Day! 

The men in my life happen to love chips and salsa with a passion.  A few weeks back, I was generously given a bunch of samples of Food Should Taste Good chips to review on SMJ. I figured the husband and my dad would be my perfect guinea pigs for this one given their love of the chip, but then they were both on the road for awhile and time passed by.  Finally this weekend we were all in the same place again, and it being Father's Day, I thought it was the perfect time for a chip tasting.  So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you our official tasters:

My tasters were to try four varieties of chips:

The Works: A chip version of an everything bagel with onion, garlic, poppy and caraway seeds.

Multigrain:  Made with flax, sunflower and sesame seeds, as well as oat fiber, brown rice, quinoa and soy.

Olive: A combination of real black, kalamata and green olives with garlic and sea salt.

Sweet Potato:  A classic chip, just made with sweet potato and a hint of cane sugar.

Food Should Taste Good also makes yellow and blue corn, jalapeno, lime, cheddar and chocolate varieties, but the above were the ones that were most universally appealing and readily available at our grocery store.

Clockwise from top left: Multigrain, Olive, Sweet Potato, and Works.

For dipping, we had three salsas: black bean and corn, peach and pineapple, as well as some marinated goat cheese from my favorite local Italian specialty shop.  My tasters were ably assisted by their third in command:

Their impressions?  In general, all of these chips were a huge hit.  They are all baked, not fried, making them a healthy alternative to your average Tostito, which all of my menfolks appreciated.  They commented that these chips are "distinctly different" than normal tortilla chips, with "prominent flavors".  Also, they are "not wimpy".

The Olive were my dad's favorite.  They have a distinct olive flavor that particularly hits you in the aftertaste, and they were divine with the goat cheese, but not as great with any of the tomato salsas.  They would also be fantastic with hummus, and more olives on the side.   The Olive chips are so unusual, and would make a special addition to a fancy app spread.

The Multigrain were the husband's favorite.  He recommends them for the "regular chip eater", since they are "less exotic".  He calls them a "beginner's fancy chip".  They're high in fiber and have a delicious nutty flavor which complimented all of the salsas.  I'd continue to buy these regularly for sure.

The Sweet Potato were Baby J's favorite (and although we were not on the official Manly Chip Committee, they were also my mom's and my favorite as well).  They're a little sweet, a little salty, and truly taste like pure sweet potato, which is one of all of our favorite veggies, so it is no surprise that we loved it.  Like the Multigrain, the Sweet Potato tasted great with all the salsas, the cheese, and on its own as well... an all around winner.

Finally, the Works.  My dad loves rye bread, so I thought that the caraway seeds in this chip would win him over, but it was not his favorite.  Everyone liked the Works, but we felt they maybe weren't meant to go with salsas, as they seemed to overpower all of the ones we had on hand.  The caraway flavor is very prominent, but my dad noted they had a "balanced, bold flavor".  With the right accompaniment and on their own, I think these chips would be great... the website recommends a Vidalia onion dip, which would have been dreamy.

The Committee, hard at work.

All in all, the chip tasters and SMJ highly recommend these chips.  They are unique, healthy and delicious, and the wide variety of flavor profiles allow you to mix and match them with different dips for a truly special appetizer experience.  They are a little more expensive than your average chip, but if you were having friends over and wanted to do an out-of-the-ordinary app spread, these would be perfect, and still more affordable than, say, a whole bunch of cheeses.  Food Should Taste Good also has a coupon on their website for $1 off, so print it and go check them out yourself!

 Thanks to Food Should Taste Good for the opportunity to try their products and thanks to my chip tasters for being game for the challenge, and being incredible fathers today and every day!