I have to tell you, when writing this article I considered just writing “CHOCOLATE COVERED POTATO CHIPS” in all caps, over and over, for the whole article, just to express my excitement about these little...snacks? Candies? Desserts? What is a chocolate covered potato chip, really? They're gobsmackingly gorgeous, that's what they are—delicious little crunchy salty chocolatey slices of paradise.
I wandered into Nuts N Stuff, at 1000 Barrett Avenue near Lynn's Paradise Cafe, looking for a local place to buy Christmas candy and other delicious things. Nuts N Stuff is a local shop that sells bulk foods and spices that are hard to find elsewhere, and darn near impossible to find elsewhere for cheaper. They have rows and rows of coffee beans, spices, candies, and even a shelf of pretzel bread!Nuts N Stuff provides for lots of restaurants (including Rivue!) and adventurous home cooks, or just anyone who wants some awesome coffee beans or rare spices or salted caramel chocolates.
A very nice lady at the shop said that of all the candy, she thought I should try a chocolate covered potato chip. I was skeptical, as perhaps you are now, but I am game to try anything (I even ate fake meat once, true story!) so I took her kindly offered sample. If you could have drawn the taste going through my mouth right then it would have been giant, cartoon letters screaming “BANG! ZIP! POP! POW!”. The swath of sweet milk chocolate gave way to the salt of the potato chip in crispy combination. Somehow the chip had not grown soggy beneath the coating, so the texture was very pleasant, very different than your average candy.
Now $10.75 a pound might seem like a good chunk of change for some candy, but keep in mind these are potato chips with a light coating of chocolate—a pound would get you a LOT. But you will definitely need a lot if you plan on sharing your chocolate covered potato chips. Who am I kidding, you're going to need a whole pound of them even if you don't plan on sharing!
photos: Elizabeth Orrick
