Your Favorite Tailgate Snacks Are Potato Chips Now

As a California girl, first of all, I am undeniable (according to renowned American astronaut Katy Perry). Second of all, I have equal love for the Cals of both the Nor and So variety. That said, whenever I am in NorCal, there is something missing. That something in question? Ralphs. Oh, sweet, sweet Ralphs. It’s the only non-discount, non-pharmacy-only Kroger chain that can be found in California (except for one random “Kroger” in Sylmar…I want to know her story, but for now, we ignore her). The point is, I miss Ralphs, and that is not being helped at all by the fact that they just came out with three new tailgate-themed flavors of Kroger brand chips, and they are calling the line…wait for it…CHAMPION CHIP COLLECTION. Did Sporked host a ChampionCHIP bracket challenge mere months ago? Yes, but we we’re willing to give Kroger the benefit of the doubt on this one. It’s a good pun!

What “tailgate” chip flavors are we talking about here? When are they coming to stores near me? How long will these bad boys be in my life/Kroger?

The new Kroger tailgate chips come in three flavors: Pigs in a Blanket, Mozzarella Sticks, and Buffalo Wing. The Pigs in a Blanket chips are classic style, while the Mozz Stick and Buffalo varieties will come in a “ripples” format. What are “ripples”? Well, it appears to be Kroger’s creative way of avoiding calling them “Ruffles” or “Wavy,” which I totally get. If I were Kroger (and even if I weren’t), I wouldn’t want to be sued by Frito-Lay either.

Now that we have all the info, let’s back up for a second and think about what these could possibly taste like. I don’t think I have ever had either a hot dog or bread-flavored chip before, so the concept of both of those in one with the Pigs in a Blanket flavor is intriguing to me. My best guess is that it tastes like the spices in hot dogs, umami-ness, and butter, but we shall have to see. As for the Mozzarella Stick flavor, we know what cheesy chips taste like—the question is whether they spruce up the cheese with a bit of fried breading flavor, and gosh-golly-gee if they do that and it is good, I may just have to buy a bunch and distribute them to my friends as holiday gifts. Lastly, Buffalo Wing flavored chips seem the most predictable somehow (we’ve all had spicy, tangy chips), but they did show a serving suggestion of pairing these with a Kroger ranch dip. To be honest, they had me at “ranch,” and then continued to have me, maybe for the rest of my life.

Now, where and when can you get these? Turns out all the Kroger stores already have them, so you can venture on out there and snag some now just in time for college football season, hockey season, the transition from the basketball season back to men’s basketball season (MNBA), etc. We don’t know how long they will be available, so if you are interested, head to any Kroger (lookin’ at you, Sylmar), and scoop them up while you can.