Miss Vickie's Chips

Another day, another review of chips, this time kettle style chips, from Miss Vickie's.  Miss Vickie's is a Canadian company, but owned by Frito-Lay, whose chips I've reviewed before.  

They actually have a cute story.  Vickie (and her husband) started making chips in Quebec at a potato festival in the late 1980s, and they became a hit.  They developed popularity, commercialized, and expanded throughout Canada.  A few years later, they were purchased by Frito-Lay, and are now distributed in the US.  Fairly humble beginnings and a nice little success story.

Anyway, the chips.  I've never found them to be awesome, just basic kettle style chips, not much different from Kettle Brand or Dirty Chips, and not available in ridiculous unique flavors like Zapp's.

Update Review, 2020, Canada Version

If you purchase the chips in Canada, they actually carry entirely different flavors (er, flavours), and bags are packaged in both English and French, which, in my world, just makes them look so much fancier.  But really, the flavors *are* more unique: Balsamic Vinegar & Sweet Onion, Lime & Black Pepper, etc and even the basics like Sour Cream & Onion are amped up into Sour Cream & *Caramelized* Onion.

I was never impressed with Miss Vickie's in the US (see original review below), but, I wanted to try some more unique flavors.

Sweet Chili & Sour Cream.

"Miss Vickie's Sweet Chili & Sour Cream flavour kettle cooked potato chips offer a rich taste experience beginning with the mild spice of chili peppers combined with the richness of sour cream for a sweet, creamy & tangy gourmet snack!"

I went straight for the Sweet Chili & Sour Cream.  This is a combo I discovered in Sydney years ago, and I adore it (properly served as sweet chili sauce and sour cream, separate, alongside potato wedges, that you dunk into both), but often translated into chips there as well (like the iconic Red Rock chips version I reviewed before) and in other countries (like the Kettle Chips found only in Europe, which I've also reviewed).

I was eager to see how Miss Vickie's delivered.

The chip form factor was no different from the US ones, very fried, really standard, kettle chips.  And much like the Kettle Chips version, these reminded me of bbq chips.  The sweeter style of bbq, not a smoky mesquite style.  I didn't taste sweet chili.  I didn't taste sour cream.  Just, well, bbq.  Most certainly not what I wanted.

My companion thought they'd be better dunked in sour cream or yogurt perhaps.

Original Review, February 2015

These reviews are all for US distributed products, by Frito-Lay.  I wasn't ever impressed.

Sea Salt & Vinegar.

"Tangy vinegar seasoning with sea salt—this is a farm-inspired take on a classic."

Basic kettle style chip. Very crispy, fairly oily.

The salt and vinegar flavors weren't nearly strong enough.  Meh.  **.

Sea Salt & Vinegar (2021).

I've had these a few more times, when included in a meal somewhere, not because I sought them out.

They are nicely crispy chips, good tang, but just not my style.

Update: Yes very crispy, but in a kinda oily way. Some vinegar tang, not much salt.  Meh. **.

Jalapeño.

"Made with jalapeños for enough flavorful heat to make things deliciously interesting."

Again, basic kettle chips.  These seemed a bit burnt though, much darker in color and with some brown edges.

While the salt & vinegar lacked in flavor, these made up for it.  Each chip was generously coated in seasoning, and they had some kick.  I didn't particularly like the flavor, but you can't fault them for not being flavorful.  **.

Update: Just basic kettle style chips, very little jalapeño flavor, needed more zing.  **.

Smokehouse BBQ.

"The smoky aroma and taste of a mid-summer barbecue, with a heck of a crunch."

BBQ chips were my favorite flavor, regardless of brand, when I was younger, although I always liked "mesquite" BBQ, not "smokehouse" BBQ.

These did have a smoky, fairly classic BBQ flavor.  Standard oily kettle chip, crispy.

No surprises here, but nothing special either.  Low ***.

Smokehouse BBQ (2021).

It had been a while since I had Miss Vickie's, as, well, I don't go for kettle chips often, but I did recall liking these more than most.

And indeed they were super crisp, classic kettle chips, very unhealthy, yadda yadda.  But what sets Miss Vickie's apart, and makes me appreciate them, is the deep smoky bbq flavor.  The flavor really is fairly complex.  ***.