Southern Review – Zapp’s Potato Chips

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All good Southerner’s have a particular food that, in an instance, will take them back to a special place.  It’s the one Southern food, that when discovered,  makes you feel you’ve found a lost treasure.  Without a doubt  Zapp’s Potato Chips are my favorite southern comfort food.  Argue all you want, there are no better chips made in the world,  end of story.  These chips are so amazing, and valuable to me, that we served them at our wedding.  What other chip brands can claim  Hotter ‘n Hot Jalapeno, Cajun Dill, Sour Cream & Creole Onion, Mesquite BBQ, Spicy Creole Tomato,Voodoo or (my personal favorite) Spicy Cajun Crawtator and really recreate those familiar southern flavors?

These are not your average potato chips.  With their extra thick, extremely crunchy texture, and strong cajun seasonings,  Zapp’s feel like a meal unto themselves.  They come in a very distinct metallic bag, with each flavor having its own dedicated logo and stripe color, making it stand out amongst other brands.  Without a doubt Spicy Cajun Crawtator is a flavor from home.  Each bite tastes like a fresh crawfish that has just been boiled in a pot of Louisana cajun seasoning.  You almost believe that these chips came from someone’s previous crawfish boil and somehow made their way into Zapp’s kettle to be fried and shared.   My other favorite is the Cajun Dill, which tastes amazingly like an old southern recipe for fried dill pickles.  Each bite has the same Zapp’s crunch, but just the right amount of dill, spice and salt to really make your taste buds believe its a batter fried pickle.  Try a bag of Zapp’s with some fried catfish fillets, or a shrimp Po-B0y, maybe a sweet tea , and you’ll have a comfort meal from my youth.  These dishes bring back memories of salty air, and watching the shrimp boats come into the South Mississippi harbors at sunset.

Zapp’s can usually be found throughout the South, and I always stock up, out of habit, when I find ’em.  There is nothing greater than that moment when I spot those silver and red stripes, which I immediately recognize as Crawtator’s, and end up buying 2 or 3 bags.   I haven’t brought myself to order Zapp’s over the internet; not knowing when I’ll find them, adds to the  feeling of discovery and delight when I least expect it.  It’s funny how a simple thing like a potato chip, can remind you of your childhood, in the south, or how a flavor brings back a certain memory.  Zapp’s are an amazing example of how a simple southern food, and its distinct cajun flavors,  has become a unique part of my own culture.  In the South, food is culture, and culture is life.  We give it a 4.5 out 5 Strips of Bacon, best chips in town, but only if you can find ’em.

Tell us about your favorite southern comfort food.  What  story does it remind you of?  Where can we find it, or what is the recipe?  We’d love to hear about it. Stay Hungry Y’all!

-The Hungry Southerner

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