After recent hits like their unbelievable blue cheese Irish potato chips and their sweet-and-savory Carolina Gold potato chips, Trader Joe’s has a legacy to uphold when it comes to seasonal chips. Their latest release—Trader Joe’s Deli Sandwich Style Potato Chips—might just be their answer to Aldi’s reuben sandwich chip, which we loved so much, we couldn’t shut up about it for weeks.
I love Trader Joe’s seasonal snacks. Is that a brave and groundbreaking opinion to have? No. Plenty of loyal TJ’s shoppers know they have a good thing going in the snack aisle. But I’m just now realizing, quite literally at this moment, that I might prefer Trader Joe’s quirky, risky, farmers market-style snacks to almost anything the big snack brands put out. (Except Dot’s Pretzels. Nothing will ever come close to the perfection that is Dot’s Pretzels.) So when I saw these on the shelf, I had to try them immediately. I was hoping they would measure up to the reuben chips at Aldi… but obviously, that’s a big ask to begin with. Let’s talk about it.
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Pros: Pickle, mustard, and relish. These were the ingredients chosen to make the perfect little Powerpuff Girls sandwich chips. These crunchy kettle sandwich chips mainly taste like mustard seed and pickle brine, but don’t be put off by that description. They’re delicious. As advertised, they definitely taste like a Cuban sandwich (and would be delicious smushed inside a Cuban sandwich, too). The light-bodied kettle chip has a neat crunch that doesn’t break your teeth. Also, the chips themselves aren’t huge. As a person with a small mouth, I have to say, I appreciate the size I’m working with here. And you can quote me on that, in or out of context.
Cons: There’s a lot going on in the world right now. I think I would lose major aura points if I sat here and tried to be hypercritical of a $2.99 bag of chips. I’m already losing aura points for using the words aura points as an adult woman. These aren’t mindblowing, but they sure are tasty, and that’s where I’ll leave them.
Verdict: They aren’t as incredible as Clancy’s Rueben Kettle Chips from Aldi, but they’re definitely another hit from the TJ’s snack aisle. Keep ‘em coming.
Howdy! I’m a Sporked writer based in L.A., and you can find me overstaying my welcome at just about any coffee shop with free wifi, no matter the speed. Sadly, I can never move back to my home state, Florida, because even if the seafood is totally unmatched, there aren’t enough Mediterranean or Korean restaurants to keep me sane.
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Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!