Junk Food Nation, it may be only one win, but for now, the Washington Wizards are up on the Pacers.  I was GEEKING OUT on Twitter last night.  Sorry, everyone on Twitter who doesn’t watch basketball.  But WHATEVER. #WizardsFever #TrevorA3333za #ImAChild

Despite me screaming at any player wearing yellow last night, I was, once upon a time, actually an Indiana Pacers fan. Growing up in Upstate New York in the (gulp) 90’s, there were only like 11 channels. There were no games on ESPN, ABC, TNT, or TBS. So I’d only get broadcasts on NBC complete with this song:

Oh yeah, John Tesh! This is my and my friend Mike’s theme song. Anyways, despite it being only one channel, it was still localized coverage. I never saw Laker games – it was always the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, and New York Knicks.

EVERYONE I knew was a Jordan fan. Honestly, back then, how could you not be? He defined the league (and basketball). I liked him fine, but I didn’t live in Chicago, so I wasn’t gonna wear Bulls gear everywhere.  Some of my other friends were Knicks fans. But it wasn’t as automatic as you’d think – I mean, New York City was 5.5 hours away!  I was closer to Toronto than New York City.

So that left the Pacers. They played the Bulls a lot, so they were always on TV, being a Divisional opponent. Plus, NO ONE I knew was a fan of theirs. So, I ended up adopting them, I guess to be contrarian (just as annoying then, as it is now).  Through the 90’s I rooted for Rik Smits, for Dale Ellis, for Byron Scott, Mark Jackson, and of course Reggie Miller.  I remember exactly where I was when this happened:

OH YEAH. Shut it, Knicks. NBA fans, do you remember where you were when you saw this? Tell me in the comments.

When I got to college, my friend Darren also turned out to be a Pacers’ fan, so my fandom continued a little bit, but once I was away from home my thoughts turned away from assists and rebounds and turned more towards …well, college was fun.  That’s all. And here I am…over a decade later, and the Pacers are my mortal enemy. Go figure.

Today’s junk food: Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips!

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips: The Money Shot

We discussed these new Lay’s Lattice Cut Kettle Chips on Episode 26 of the Nosh Show.  There were two flavors: this one, Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips, and a Roasted Garlic flavor.  I spotted both at my local grocery, and opted for this flavor.

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips: Waffle cut?

I guess the idea behind these Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips is that people enjoy waffle cut chips, but want them to be not-so-shatter-prone, so they hyper-kettle-cooked them for extra crunch.

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips: Description?

Sliced twice?  So you slice them one want to get one row of cuts, and then slice again at 90 degrees to get the waffle cut? Is that how it works? I have no clue – clearly I’m a little dense this morning.

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips: 150 cal per serving

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips: CHEDDA

I’m liking the ingredients in these Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips.  Especially the milk protein. Hey, I get protein now when I eat chips! Cool.

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips: WAFFLE CUT!

I sniffed the open bag of Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips, and at first they just smelled like plain ol potato chips.  As I breathed deeper, I did pick up the familiar smell of cheese and that black pepper aroma that you get with black pepper chips.  Munch time!

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips: Flecked with pepper

I crunched on these Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips and…hmmm. Not bad. REALLY not bad.

Let’s start with the flavor. Pretty straightforward – it has the typically black pepper potato chip flavor that was layered with cheddar cheese.  Very accessible to the tastebuds, and nothing unexpected.  I’ve never seen cheddar and black pepper mixed before on a chip, and I must say – the combo tasted good.  Savory, cheesy, with a finish of black pepper.  Of course, I happen to enjoy salt and pepper chips, so these were not a stretch for me.

But how was the texture, the lattice cut kettle cook?  Well, I have to say, it was odd.  These were VERY crunchy.  SUPER crunchy. But they didn’t really remind me of a kettle chip, which typically has a more-oily crunch, an almost crude-cut glassine crunch.  I just used the word “glassine.” Yeah that’s right.

Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips: was the crunch off-putting? Nah…

But these Lay’s Kettle Cooked Aged Cheddar & Black Pepper Lattice Cut Potato Chips? These reminded me of a SUPER crunchy Pringle – the chip itself sort of felt like pressed potato starch (even though I realized it wasn’t). There was an almost airy quality to them, a lack of denseness.  But then the lightness was paired with super crunchiness.  Defintiely not like any other chip I’d eaten before.

Verdict? While I’m describing the texture to be really weird, it wasn’t THAT weird – I’ m overhyping / being nitpicky.  In the end, I still REALLY enjoyed these chips, and would recommend them.

PURCHASED AT: Giant Food

COST: $3.29

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy