Aldi is a wonderful place to shop without an agenda. You never know what you’ll find on the shelves. On the Sporked team’s most recent excursion into the wilds of our closest Aldi, we found two enticingly named chips: Clancy’s Fried Pickle Ranch Wavy Potato Chips and Clancy’s Loaded Bacon and Cheddar Wavy Potato Chips. So, we chucked a bag of the fried pickle and ranch chips and another of the bacon and cheddar chips into our cart, which was already full to the top with ice cream and cereal (get ready for those unhinged rankings), and took them back to the office for tasting. These chips came out a couple of years ago, but they were new to us and interesting enough that we thought they deserved a review. Just consider this an entry in the Sporked guidebook to Aldi’s. Are they worthy of your next Aldi’s haul? Let’s talk chips.
Wavy chips are some of the best potato chips. They’re hearty, they’re extra crunchy, and they’re always down for a good dipping. And Clancy’s Fried Pickle Ranch chips are no exception. But the problem is they promise a very specific flavor. My colleague, Jordan Myrick, dove deep into the difference between pickle flavor and fried pickle flavor and found out that there definitely is a difference: ranch. Fried pickle flavored things have a more mild pickled flavor and they taste like they’ve been dipped in ranch. These chips taste like dill. They even taste a bit like batter. But there’s absolutely no ranch. And they call out ranch on the bag! It’s a good dill chip, nice and crunchy, but it just doesn’t fulfill the promise of its name. Still, I’d have no problem eating a full bag if you gave me a good dip.
Credit: Liv Averett / Aldi
Rating:
7/10
Sporks
Baked Potato Chips!
Clancy’s Loaded Bacon and Cheddar Wavy Potato Chips
Now this chip knows how to commit to a premise. It’s straight up a chip Willy Wonka would have created. You really taste the full baked potato experience. There’s definite bacon flavor, sharp cheddar cheese, and even a little tang of sour cream and bite of green onion! And, of course, all of that flavor is packed into a crunchy, wavy chip. Run out and get these chips, ASAP. Eat them alone. Eat them with French onion dip. Crumble them onto a baked potato and blow your own dang mind.
Hi! I’m the editor-in-chief of Sporked. I will never turn down a fresh-shucked oyster but I’ll also leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and I love a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients.
Why you should trust me: I have been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and am an avid at-home cook and snacker. I began my career writing about fine dining and recipes, moved into cocktails and spirits, and now I talk about groceries. If you can eat it or drink it, I’ve probably written about it.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s dried okra. Appleton Farms prosciutto from Aldi. Some sort of Trader Joe’s cheese (I’m into the aged gouda at the moment). Frozen waffles (usually the Eggo Cinnamon Toast Minis). Spindrift water (loving the Cosmopolitan right now).
Favorite ranking: Smoked salmon. Imagine me as Scrooge McDuck but instead of coins I’m diving into a vault of slippery smoked salmon slices. Pure joy. I also found some real steals in that taste test!
Least favorite ranking: Canned oysters. I had such high hopes for this but it quickly became a chore. The kitchen smelled like an uncleaned aquarium.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
Justine Sterling
Griffin Parker
Danny Palumbo
Joe Rumrill
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!