heybody protein snacks

Avid snacker Julie here.  I love to snack, I love to munch on things, and even moreso, I love to try products from other countries with flavors and ingredients that are a bit more novel to me.  Which led me to discover protein snacks from heybody, a Korean brand.

"Unleash Your Healthy Snacking"

These are high protein snacks, and healthy ones at that (baked not fried, etc).  The brand also makes protein balls that look like candy and high protein chocolate chip cookies ... and knee and wrists braces, and ankle and elbow support bands.  Um, yes.  The non-edible products are part of their "Hey balance!" line.  I stuck with the consumables.

Protein Chips

I honed right in on the chips.

"heybody Protein Chips are a nutritious snack option that allows you to indulge your cravings for savory and salty flavors without compromising on health. Craving a protein boost? Each serving of heybody Protein Chips delivers a whopping 12g of protein. Fuel your body with the essential building blocks it needs to support muscle growth and repair."

The protein comes from the soy protein isolate, and, to a lesser extent, rice and whole wheat flours and corn grits.  You'd think this would make the chips taste like these things, but, they don't at all.  They just taste like nice puffy rice crackers.  I was amazed I didn't taste anything healthy or protein isolate-like.

They come in 4 flavors: Onion & Sour Cream, Red Pepper & Sweet Chili, Sweet Corn & Cheddar, and Tomato & Pizza. I tried all of them.  All were remarkably flavorful.

"Baked Goodness, Crunchy Bliss: Why settle for greasy, unhealthy snacks? heybody Protein Chips are baked rather than fried, making them a healthier choice compared to traditional fried snacks. Baking helps reduce overall fat content while still providing a satisfying crunch."

Many snacks claim to be crunchy, but, wow, these really delivered.  I was blown away by just how crunchy they were.  Incredible crispiness, shocking in a baked product.  All had the same form factor of sorta puffy crackers.  They call them chips, but they are certainly more cracker like to me.

Red Pepper & Sweet Chili.

Wow!

One bite of these and I was pretty hooked.  First, the aforementioned insanely crispy texture, that just made for a very satisfying eating experience.  But then, the flavor.  So intense.  They did not shy away from the heat on these.  I was pleased that they had legit spice to them (with a bit of sweetness on the finish).

I was really surprised that they didn't taste like a high protein product.  No strange texture nor flavor, and yet ... 12 grams of protein in this snack bag?  The mix of rice and wheat flours and corn grits worked very successfully as a flavorful, hearty base that didn't taste too overly healthy either.

So, great form factor, satisfying snack, AND high protein?  Really a shockingly good product.  4/5.

Note to vegetarians, these actually contain chicken bouillon in the seasoning.

Onion & Sour Cream.

Next up, I went for the Onion & Sour Cream.  These had, um, "onion taste seasoning" and "sour cream taste seasoning" listed as the ingredients, so I can't really tell you what was in them to make them onion & sour cream adjacent (and yes, it drove me crazy that they put onion first - my brain just immediately puts them in the other order!).

Anyway, the flavor was good.  It definitely had dairy-ish taste.  And some savoriness.  Not as awesome as the previous flavor, but, still, good.  3.5/5, maybe even 4/5 as I just love the crispy form factor so much.

Corn.

Now it was time for "corn", perhaps a flavor not expected by most Americans, but one I'm pretty familiar with from Japanese snacks in particular, where corn potage is a fairly common snack flavor (e.g. these Aerial corn potage snacks I reviewed).

The chip/cracker format was pretty much exactly what I came to expect from Heybody now - super crispy, slightly hearty/healthy base. 

The ingredient list for these was just as funny as previous ones, with "buttery cheddar seasoning", "butter mixed powder", "cheddar cheese seasoning", "super sweet corn mix" as ingredients (along with cheese powder, bread crumbs, sugar, salt, and "salty enhancer".  I didn't taste any of the cheddar though, as the flavor was very distinctly corn.  Sweet corn.  Buttery sweet corn.  One you need to be in the mood for, as it was quite intense.

Overall, a nice snack when I was craving crunching on super crunchy corn chips, which isn't all that common of a craving, but, good when I wanted them, a bit overwhelming otherwise.  High 3/5, just because they aren't really an everyday flavor for me.

Tomato & Pizza.

I saved the strangest flavor for last, Tomato & Pizza.  These had tomato powder, cheddar cheese (not what I think of as pizza cheese ...), and beef seasoning.  Calling these pizza inspired seemed like a stretch given the ingredient list, but, actually, the flavor was sorta there. 

Like the other varieties, they were super flavorful, super crispy, and just an addicting joy to eat.  They were savory in a complex way that was maybe pizza if you really tried to envision it, but I mostly just got the tomato and herbs, not pizza exactly.  They were quite enjoyable, another bag gone in mere moments.  3.5/5, nearing 4/5 because I really did love eating them.

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Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP

Update Review 2024/2025

I still like the kettle and drizzlecorns better, but I recently tried the basics again.

Sea Salt.

"Long ingredient list? Not here. Our Sea Salt Popcorn contains just popcorn, sea salt, and a little bit of sunflower and/or canola oil. And at 40 calories a cup, it also contains a lot of guilt-free goodness. So go ahead, seas the day!"

After several years, I encountered the plain salted popcorn again.  While it is still very plain, just basic salted popcorn, the kernels are a good size, it is fluffy, and tastes fresh enough.  Salt level is nice.  Somewhat buttery flavor as well.  

Good for what it is, but I always sprinkle on additional seasoning or mix with a too-decadent other flavor.  3.5/5, possibly 4/5.

Real Butter.

"Attention, butter lovers...this one’s going to blow your butter-loving minds! Our Butter Popcorn is made with real butter, which makes an oh-so-delicious difference. And we know what you’re thinking, but it’s 45 calories a cup. Really."

Butter popcorn is never the flavor I go for (for savory, I want cheesy or spicy!), but I was given a big bag of the butter popcorn, and I obviously wasn't going to let it go to waste.  

The popcorn was again nicely popped, big kernels, fresh tasting.  Easy to munch on.  No qualms with the base form factor.  But how about the butter?  Well, I didn't really taste it.  Which was fine, as again, I'm not really excited about butter popcorn in general (particularly if it isn't hot fresh butter), but if you want to really taste butter, you'll be let down.  The salt level was good, the texture was good, it was perfectly fine fairly plain popcorn, so not particularly interesting, but not bad.  Again, 3.5/5.

Original Review 2021

Oh, man.

I eat a lot of snacks.  I adore popcorn.  I *really* adore sweet, dessert-like, decadent popcorn.  Particularly when it is frozen.  Yeah, I'm strange, but I really love my popcorn.  Frozen.

I've seen BOOMCHICKAPOP at stores all over the country, for years, and rather assumed it was just another run-of-the-mill packaged popcorn.  Yeah, it is non-GMO and gluten-free, but, um, isn't all popcorn?  It does have a cute story, started by a husband and wife (yup, Angie), with a quick rise from local fame to specialty stores to nationwide mass retail.  You can buy it at Target or the corner Walgreens. Boomchickapop is certainly a success story.

BOOMCHICKAPOP Packaging.

BOOMCHICKAPOP comes in far more varieties than most brands starting with the basics (butter, sea salt, light sweet, sweet & salty, white cheddar, cheddar cheese), plus some slightly interesting (caramel, salted caramel, caramel & cheddar, sweet & spicy, and sweet barbecue), and then the ones that called out to me, decadent milk chocolate peanut butter and dark chocolaty drizzled sea salt.

They also often have seasonal specials, dubbed "holidrizzle", which are "drizzlecorn" varieties even more decadent than the standard lineup.  These sounded irresistible, and thus, into my shopping cart a bag of holidrizzle went (they also had a frosted sugar cookie version that sounded nearly as interesting!)

The bags come as full size multi portion bags, which of course is danger for me, given my ability to eat an entirely unreasonable amount of popcorn in a single sitting.  Yes, I can literally take down a full bag, in one sitting, no problem.  And then I'll move on to another flavor ... yes, I have a propcorn problem!

Savory

Savory popcorn is not my usual goto, although I've had some really interesting spicy varieties over the years that I have quite liked, or sometimes something like salt & pepper or sour cream & onion can be fun, but the regular savories of butter or cheese ... eh.  Still, sometimes even I don't want sweet, so I've tried a few.

Sea Salt.

"Snacking should make you feel good. I mean, am I right? That's why we set out to make a light, tasty treat that satisfies without triggering post-snack guilt. Always real, free of gluten, trans fats and preservatives. And because it's by Angie's, it's got all the delish that comes from being made with simple ingredients you'll love. Really, at 35 calories per cup, you're about to get snack-cessful up in here."

I started with the simple sea salt flavor. 

It was ... popcorn.  Just light salted popcorn.  Well popped, large kernels, but, bo-ring. 3/5.

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Real Butter.

"What goes better with popcorn than real butter? Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® Real Butter Popcorn is a timeless classic that will be sure to knock your socks off! Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® Real Butter Popcorn makes movie nights a whole lot better!"

I moved on to the equally simple "Real Butter" variety.  It too was ... very plain.  Not particularly buttery nor interesting.  Butter popcorn is best hot, freshly popped, and smothered in real butter (or, the movie theater liquid gold they call butter ...).  3/5.

White Cheddar.

"For when you feel the need. The need for real cheese."

The White Cheddar variety was also pretty lackluster.

Well popped fresh kernels, but, the white cheddar flavor just wasn't strong enough for me, although it was made with real cheddar cheese, not strange fake powder. 3/5.

White Cheddar.

I had it again, when in a particularly savory mood.  And ... yeah, it still just doesn't deliver.  Just far too mild.  Not cheesy at all.  And certainly no satisfying cheesy coated fingers!

Double Update Review: I've had it several times, and always found it really quite boring.  3/5.

Dill Pickle.

"Perfectly pickled popcorn. Say that 10 times fast. After you chew and swallow that handful, of course. This flavor clocks in at 50 calories a cup, so yeah, it’s a pretty big dill (sorry, couldn’t resist)."

Ok.  This sounded awesome, as I do love dill pickles.  It wasn't bad, but, the dill flavor just wasn't very strong.  Mild dill.  I wanted more from it, but for a very non-indulgent option, it was fine.  3/5.

Sweet

The sweet flavors are my everyday pick, bonus points for having a salty and sweet combo.

Sweet & Spicy.

"This delicious flavor combines garlic, cayenne, cumin and paprika for a zippy, yet slightly sweet, fiesta kind of snack. At 70 calories per cup, it's sure to be a favorite for bold-flavor lovers. Party on snacker!"

I was not really unimpressed with the "Sweet & Spicy".  It was neither sweet, nor spicy.  It did appear to have a little seasoning on it, but it certainly was not "bold".  Sadness.  (If you want a sweet and spicy one though, I highly recommend the Synergistically Seasoned popcorn from Trader Joes!).

I moved on. 3/5.

Light Kettle Corn.

"Snacking is the best part about life. It should be both DELICIOUS and carefree. Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP Lightly Sweet has all the delish that comes from being made with simple ingredients you'll love. Just a hint of sweet is added to this popcorn, clocking in at 37 calories per cup. Munch up, savvy shopper."

The light kettle corn was good.  Slightly sweet, slightly salty, well coated kernels.  Certainly a lighter variety than I often tend towards, but good.  A nice thing for me to have on hand, so I don't *always* go for the crazy decadent ones! 4/5.

Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn.

"Opposites don’t just attract they make us fall in love, too. You and your friends will want to crush the whole bag."

Not surprisingly though, I preferred the Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn, double the calories (70 calories per cup instead of 37) of the Light version.

It was actually really good kettle corn.  And I'm particular about my kettle corn.  It reminded me of my favorite kettle corn that comes only from a small vendor at the farmer's market in my hometown.  The kernels were really well coated, crispy, and it was loaded with both sugar and salt.

Totally addicting, and a favorite, no question. 4/5.

Salted Caramel.

"We think salted anything is pretty dang amazing. But salted caramel? Well, that’s a whole new level. Vegans, rejoice—you can be a part of this popcorn party."

And then ... caramel corn.  Salted caramel corn.

Crunchy, deep buttery popcorn.  I actually think our catering team just incorrectly labelled this and it was the Buttery Caramel (170 calories per cup), considered an "Everyday Indulgent" selection by the manufacturer, because it was far too decadent and coated in real caramel to be the lower cal Salted Caramel (80 calories per cup) it was labelled as.

I do adore this popcorn though.  The caramel was intense, truly fabulous caramel.  The pieces are well coated.  It is addicting.  Even moreso if you freeze hit to make it extra crispy (and keep for longer!). 4/5.

Everyday Indulgent

The sweet lineup will satisfy more people, and me most of the time, but if you want to go all out, Angie's has another product line, dubbed, "Everyday Indulgent".  For, uh, everyday.

Buttery Caramel.

"What’s not to love? It’s caramel. And popcorn. And it’s made with real ingredients. So go on. Crush your craving. And if someone wants you to share, that’s your call."

Another caramel corn?  Near identical in looks and taste (again, I suspect the previous one was mislabelled when I had it ...).

This was buttery caramel corn, just as promised.  I liked how crispy it was, and how well coated.  Very deep rich caramel flavor.

Very sweet, very buttery, just as I wanted.  I still think the earlier one was also this one ... 4/5.

Dark Chocolate Drizzled Sea Salt Kettle Corn.

"We asked people what they thought of our kettle corn popcorn with a dark chocolate drizzle, but all we got was “nomnomnow…”"

I agree with the description on this one.

Classic good kettle corn.  Nice salt level.  And then plenty of chocolate drizzle.

At times, I wished the chocolate drizzle was more generous.  I wanted just the best coated pieces!  But at the same time ... that is what made it fun to eat, searching for the best ones.  So maybe they nailed this, getting me fairly addicting, waiting for just "one more" perfect piece ... 4.5/5.

Cinnamon Roll Drizzled.

"Your nose will think it’s breakfast and your taste buds will love the surprise. Hold the bag tight because once it’s open people will suddenly appear."

I was skeptical of this one, just because it sounded potentially awesome and I worried it would let me down, but, it was actually fantastic.  I adored it the first time I had it, and literally scarfed down a whole bag ... which, by the way, I do not recommend.  I had quite the stomachache later!

The base is cinnamon popcorn, well spiced, dominant, but not too aggressive.  The best part is the drizzle, a sweet cinnamon icing.  It added a creaminess, crispness, and an addictive quality since not all kernels were equally drizzled, and I found myself seeking out the "best" pieces, while plowing through way too big of a portion.  Sometimes though, I found it too sweet, particularly if I got too many well coated pieces in a row.  But most days?  I love it.

I tend to prefer my popcorn frozen (crunchier!), and this one in particular is great frozen, the cinnamon roll icing gets super crispy. 4.5/5.

Holiday Flavors

Around the holidays, bonus, limited time, flavors come out, such as Sugar Cookie, or of course, Pumpkin Spice.  These tend to all sound kinda awesome, and are even more indulgent.

Holidrizzle: White Chocolate Peppermint Kettle Corn.

"Feel all the nostalgic feelings with Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP® White Chocolate & Peppermint Flavored Kettle Corn. Drizzled with the finest white chocolate and mixed with delicious flecks of peppermint, this Holidrizzle flavor tastes just like the peppermint bark your grandma used to make. And let’s be real, your grandma was a pretty cool lady."

Around Christmas, I snagged a bag of the white chocolate peppermint Holidrizzle.

This was absolutely insanely good.  The base is kettle corn, buttery, sweet, and salty.  Very good kettle corn.  And then, as advertised, drizzled with white chocolate and crushed peppermint candies.  The drizzle allowed clumps to form, like granola.  It was applied very generously, but not evenly, which meant that it tapped into my addition in a horrible way.  "Just one more piece, I'll just have one more really well coated chunk", I'd tell myself.  And then, next thing I knew, I had eaten several more cups full, but, well, those pieces weren't the perfect piece I was looking for.  Ooph.

So here you had a wonderful mix of buttery, salty, sweet, and minty, in a fun to eat form factor that kept you seeking "just one more"?  Yeah, horrible.  And awesome.  I didn't even need to freeze this one to enjoy it.

I'd gladly eat another bag, right now.  I guess I'll have to wait for next holiday season.  Protip for next year: stock up!  4.5/5.

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United Polaris Lounge, EWR

The week before I took a flight from Newark to San Francisco, United changed the branding of the flight to ... Polaris.  No longer just considered a "premium transcon", this was full fledged Polaris now.  Which yes, meant Polaris lounge access.  I was of course thrilled by the opportunity to check out the Newark Polaris lounge for the first time.

My visit was from about 11am until 12:30pm on a Saturday.  It was not busy at all.  

The space was tranquil, and seemed nice enough, however I found myself actually liking the food, and the natural light, more in the much smaller UA Club near Gate C74.

Setting

The lounge is large, and was not crowded at all when I visited.  It had shower suites that I didn't check out, and large, nice individual bathrooms.

So Empty.

There were many styles of seating, and sooo much of it was vacant.

So much space!

The lounge really was expansive, with many different sections.  It felt very open, but had considerably less natural light than the smaller UA Club at C74.

Dining Area.

There was a large dining area for those who choose to eat from the buffet.

Soft Seating.

And soft seating large individual armchairs.  Most seats had power outlets including USB.

Dining Room.

A signature feature of Polaris lounges, the main dining room.  It was also not busy at all.

Dining Room Menu.

The dining room menu sounded great, for both breakfast and lunch. I wished I was hungry for a real meal, as there were not one, but two dishes featuring asparagus, which I was really craving at the time, and all three desserts sounded great to me.  But alas, it wasn't a meal time for me, so I didn't partake in any of it.

Breakfast

I caught the tail end of breakfast when I arrived.  I saw basic breakfast scrambled eggs and sausage, but narrowed in fast on the sweet carb offering, gleeful to have the chance to try it before the lunch swapover.

Maple Baked French Toast Casserole.

I was excited to snag the maple baked french toast casserole, but it wasn't actually very good.  Extremely aggressively spiced, and very dry.  Fruit was mediocre, syrup was unlikely to be real maple syrup.  2/5.

Lunch

The lunch swapover took a while, with different elements brought out in strange order (e.g. the toppings for the crostini bar were there for a really long time before the actual bread to use as a base).  The lineup seemed decent enough, but I didn't actually really like anything I tried.

Salad Bar.

The salad bar had mixed greens or arugula for a base.  The mixed greens were brown at all the stems and didn't seem very fresh.  There were two pre-made, pre-dressed, additional salads.  I plucked some toppings out of them as the rest of the salad bar was so meager. 

Salad Toppings.

The salad toppings were a bit of an odd assortment.  Other than raw red onion, no fresh veggies.  Instead, there was marinated beets, roasted tomatoes, roasted edamame, and mushy mushy mushy asparagus (I had hope! I was craving asparagus! But wow, so mushy).  The pickled radishes were fine.  

Salad Toppings: seeds/cheese/dressing.

The remaining salad toppings were pretty uninspiring to me: some seeds, cheese, and dressing.

Shrimp Cocktail / Gazpacho.

Poached shrimp with cocktail sauce (and random marinated artichokes?), and shots of gazpacho came next.  If I was hungry, I would have tried the shrimp, but, I wasn't, and had been nibbling on other things, so random shrimp at questionable temperature didn't really seem worth trying.

Cheese / Charcuterie.

Interestingly there were only two types of cheese offered (compared to more extensive lineup in the UA Club), and no grapes, in the cheese & charcuterie section.  And no crackers?

Crostini Toppings.

An interesting offering is a build-your-own crostini bar, with several different kinds of spreads.  I didn't try the fig jam nor green olive tapenade, but I wanted to try the brie + chive spread ... and couldn't tell which that was, and which was lemon herb goat cheese spread as items are not individually labelled.  So I took a tiny bit of both, and sadly picked wrong to start, blegh, goat cheese!  The brie spread was fine though, not memorable.

Shrimp & Chicken.

The two main dishes were chicken or shrimp, neither of which I tried.

Carrots & Green Beans.

For a hot veggie, they had a dish that was mostly carrots, with a few token green beans.

Couscous & Rigatoni.

There was a base cous ous for a grain, and pasta dish of rigatoni with mushrooms, peas, and a creamy tomato sauce that I tried, but truly did not like (mushy, not very complex flavor).

Chocolate Chip Cookies.

The "famous" chocolate chip cookies made an appearance in the buffet, presented in a bit more of a classy style than the UA Clubs where they are just laid out on a platter.  They were the thin crispy style everyone raves about.

I see why people like these cookies. They aren't really my style (I'm not a big cookie person anyway), but they were pleasantly crispy, had a nice buttery richness, and did seem a bit unique. The chocolate chips were regular size, and it wasn't loaded with them, but they were fine. I'm glad I tried this, and if I really wanted a sweet treat, I could imagine getting another.  3/5.

UA Club Cookie (Top) / Polaris Lounge Cookie (Bottom).

Interestingly, the ones here in the Polaris lounge were nearly twice the size (diameter) than the ones from the UA Club down the hall.   I didn't notice any real difference in taste despite the very different look.

Lemon Vanilla Budino.

I love all puddings (enough that my blog has a label for them on it after all!), so even though I'm not into lemon desserts, I still tried this.

It was way too lemon curd for me. Tangy in not a way I enjoy. Thick and gloopy. Just, not for me. And far too little whipped cream on top! No textural element like crumble or nuts. 1/5.

Berry Crumble Bar / Seasonal Berries / Golden Oat Streusel.

The dessert bar was slightly more inviting, but was also not enjoyable. It was extraordinarily dry. So dry. The base, the topping, all of it. Dry, dry, dry. 1/5.

Snacks

I'm a sucker for all snack mixes and candies, so I was happy to see the lounge did feature a few.

Snacks!

The Polaris lounge had far more snacks than the UA Clubs, with 5 offerings: yogurt covered cranberries, trail mix, wasabi peas, pineapple, and gummy bears.  I tried the yogurt cranberries, but wasn't really into them.  The rest were standard.

Below these were self serve soft drinks, basic Coke/Sprite/Ginger Ale.  No sparkling water.

Godiva Chocolates.

"GODIVA continues to reimagine chocolate with our NEW Gold Collection: the beating heart of our praline savoir-faire. Each piece in this iconic collection embodies Belgian craftsmanship. Enjoy delicate ganache, nutty pralines and smooth caramels.."

A relatively new (I think?) collaboration between Godiva and United meant there were self serve fancy chocolates, from the new Gold Collection, with little tongs to serve them that made it nearly impossible to pick them up without dropping.  I of course tried both and appreciated the relatively premium offering.

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Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn

Update Review, May 2026

It had been a few years since I encountered Thatcher's, a local fancy-ish popcorn maker in San Francisco.  My review remains much the same: I want to like this brand more than I do, it just isn't that good.

Cookies & Cream.

"Indulge in the delightful taste of Thatcher's Cookies 'N' Cream Popcorn, a gourmet treat that combines the beloved flavors of an all-American classic. This 8 oz deluxe bag features air-popped popcorn mixed with crushed Oreo cookies, creating a crunchy and satisfying snack. Coated in rich, smooth white frosting and drizzled with cream of tartar, each bite delivers a perfect balance of sweetness and nostalgia."

So, I don't actually really like Oreos.  This fact is considered blasphemy in my family, as my father *loves* Oreos, and there is no understanding that someone could in fact not only not love them, but actually, just not even like them.   So I rarely go for cookies & cream inspired items.  But when someone else got this and had extra to share, of course I still tried it!  

It was ... ok.  The base popcorn fairly average, smaller standard size kernels, not the larger ones many gourmet brands use.  It was a caramel corn base it seemed, although not fully coated in caramel.  I didn't really notice the white frosting (or cream of tartar?!) precisely, but it did have quite a bit of Oreo dust in it, and a vague sweet Stuf (the filling in Oreos) flavor.  It tasted like Oreos, no question.  

If you like Oreos, then likely a good pick.  For me it was just average popcorn, in a flavor I wasn't particularly into.  Low 3/5.

Sriracha.

This was … not very good.  The popcorn itself didn’t taste very fresh, was a bit soft.  It was full of hulls.  Just, not high quality popcorn to start.

The flavor was also very muddled, as they use cheese powder on it (why?), and it was strangely sweet.  In fact, the second ingredient, after popcorn, was sugar.  Then cheese powder.  The sriracha powder came near the end of the ingredient list.  It was mostly a sorta savory yet sweet lightly zesty flavor, not spicy at all.  I kept trying to like it, but didn’t really.  2/5.

Update Review, March 2023

It had been many years since I last had Thatcher's popcorn, a SF brand (although now only virtual, they closed their stores during Covid).  When I last had it, I appreciated the quality of the popcorn, large, fluffy, well popped kernels, but didn't find the flavors all that compelling.  However, when someone brought some giant party bags into my office ... of course I couldn't resist a re-visit!

I tried both flavors available, both savory ones, and my overall review is the same: great quality popcorn, flavors aren't amazing though.

Parmesan & Herbs.

"Take this combination: air popped popcorn, parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian herbs and corn oil. A la italiano upscale flavor!!!"

The parmesan & herb I had tried before, and found fairly subtle and boring then.

My impression this time was more favorable - I did detect the cheese and herbs reasonably well.  The pieces were well coated, and I again really loved the large size kernels.  A nice savory popcorn that didn't feel too decadent, didn't leave you with cheese laden fingers, and had a nice herb mix.  Still a touch boring, but well made, and nice for something light.  3.5/5.

White Cheddar Cheese.

"This is so Cheddary and flavorful it's hard to believe it's healthy! Try eating only one of these! "

Next I moved on to another cheesy option, classic white cheddar.  These pieces had a stronger cheese element, stronger flavor overall.  Fairly one note, just, cheddar, but if you are in the mood for cheesy, but not overly heavy, popcorn, this was another well made flavor.  I liked it less than the more interesting parmesan & herbs though.  3/5.

They also make a white cheddar with truffle that could be more interesting, and a bright orange cheddar version as well.

Original Review, September 2019

Another day, another snack food manufacturer to try, featuring one of my favorites: popcorn.

Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn is actually local to me, based in San Francisco.  It is a cute success story, a local business that started in 1983, did well, and fairly quickly expanded into having multiple shops and a warehouse.  Now, they are an international distributor of popcorn.

"Thatcher's Gourmet Popcorn is made the old-fashioned way, using small batches to ensure optimum coating for each and every kernel."

I was drawn in by the flavor ranges, like many companies in this space, they feature both sweet and savory.  I won't enumerate them all, but in addition to the classics, there are interesting savory flavors like Sriracha, Jalapeno, and White Cheddar Flavor, and fun sweet creations like Birthday Cake, Cinnamon Toast, and Tiramisu.

I was able to try one sweet and one savory.  Neither flavor actually was all that successful, but, I think the popcorn itself was really well made.

Uni-Korn.

"This new and spectacular flavor blends blueberry, vanilla, blackberry and strawberry to create a fruity flavor that's out of this world."

I went for the flashiest, most decadent, most Insta-worthy flavor of all: Uni-Korn.

It promised 4 fruity flavors (ok, 3 fruity flavors plus vanilla), but, um ... what it was was just extreme sweet.  I know I picked a sweet one but this was ... something else.

To give the positive points though, the kernels were large, fresh, well popped, and extremely well coated.  The popcorn element was good.

Uni-Korn: Close Up.

At first glance, it looked like only a trio of colors (pink, white, blue), but it turned out to be all 4 as described, with two shades of pink.

If I had to guess to match colors, the white was vanilla, the blue was blueberry, the darker pink blackberry, and the lighter pink strawberry?  But honestly, it doesn't matter, as the flavors were not distinct.

It just tasted like sugar.  Too much sugar.  I love sweet but this was ... just not interesting, and honestly, I didn't taste any distinct flavors, no matter how many pieces I had (and yes, I kept trying to like it, on multiple days, but ... it just really wasn't distinct, and was so very cloyingly sweet!). 1/5.

Parmesan & Herbs.

"Excellent Parmesan cheese taste mixed with herbs will deliver the best savory taste!"

Next I went savory.  A cheesy version, but rather than the more common cheddar, this was parmesan.  With herbs.

The popcorn kernels again had a great pedigree.  Large, well popped, uh, fluffy, if that is a thing.  They were reasonably well coated with the powdered parmesan and some visible flecks of herbs.

The flavor was not very intense though - not particularly cheesy, not particularly herby.  Subtle.  A lighter styles popcorn, fine, but not particularly compelling.  But again, well made popcorn itself. Very low 3/5.

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Ruffles Chips

Update Review, 2026

As I discovered back in my original review in 2012, it turns out, the chips I grew up eating, Ruffles, just really truly aren't for me anymore.  But after another nearly 15 years, I decided to give them one more shot ... and, yeah, nope.  Not the chips for me, nostalgia and all.

Cheddar & Sour Cream.

"A blend of rich, velvety cheddar with smooth, creamy sour cream flavor."

I was so excited when I saw these at my office one day.  Sure, I remembered that I've really not enjoyed any Ruffles in recent years (my parents still exclusively eat them, and, meh), but I had such fond memories of this flavor.

The flavor still was nostalgic for me: creamy, cheesy, unique.  But underlying all that was the base Ruffles chip, which I just don't care for.  The taste is really greasy, they don't really taste like potatoes, I just don't care for them.  Maybe 3/5 nostalgic flavor, but still just a 1/5 for me because, Ruffles.

Baked Cheddar & Sour Cream.

Next up, baked. These tasted way too healthy.  Like compressed potato flakes.  I didn't care for the form factor, and even the "ridges" weren't as dominant as in real Ruffles with ridges.  Cheddar & sour cream flavor was ok.

1.5/5.

Original Review, 2012

My favorite chips back when I was a kid were Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream (or perhaps Cape Cod chips, those still hold a special place in my heart!).  I loved the addicting tang from the sour cream, and the cheesy goodness.

It was time to try them out again, along with their baked counterparts.  I appreciated them for the nostalgia, but, turns out, my tastes have changed.   I guess Frito-Lay brand chips in general just ... don't quite do it for me, as you've read about in all my other reviews too.

Baked! Cheddar and Sour Cream.

These were unlike any other baked chips that I've had in that they were still ruffles, so they had ridges.  Most baked chips don't have that going for them.

They were basically a healthier, more potato-y tasting Ruffle.  The sour cream flavor was very strong, the cheddar flavor was ok.  Not bad for a healthier chip, but not really something I want more of.

Cheddar & Sour Cream.

Now these, these are just like I remember. 

Strong flavor that I guess is cheddar and sour cream.  Orange coating.  Yup.

Update Review: Yup, exactly what I remember, except that I don’t really like them now :(

Update Review #2: Ok, they have their place.  I think it is alongside a burger or hotdog, at a cookout.  In any other setting I seem to dislike them, but there, they aren't bad.

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