We Tried Walking Tapas (And It’s A Mess)

At this point, it does genuinely feel like every time you turn on your phone there’s another thing going viral in the food space. And, that didn’t stop today either. This time, the summer trend infiltrating my algorithm is the viral “walking tapas”. The idea is pretty sound in theory. I mean, all you do is open a bag of single serve potato chips and dress it to the nines. Serving a crowd, then everyone gets their own little slice of paradise… in theory.

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And, the portability seems like a great trick for summertime hosting where venues might be a little bit unconventional and activities more spirited. But, it really is a bag of potato chips with a bunch of toppings in it. So, how good can it really be? Well, we here at Sporked are here to tell you.

Here’s What We Think

I’ll say this, one of the best things about this hack is that it is very much a choose your own adventure-style experience. Especially in the event that you’re using this as a hosting tactic, it can be very diverse and customizable to each person enjoying the snack. So, you have a topping bar set up for everyone, and everyone should have the perfect treat to satisfy their taste.

Unfortunately, though, what this trend lacks is it’s manageability. What the charcuterie nacho that we saw become viral about a year ago had in ease of access, this lacks. If you have a bag of potato chips that you then pile high with toppings, it’s gonna be a lot more problematic to eat. Even if you shake up the bag so that the toppings get more distributed, you still face the issue of an outright mess that you’ve made yourself.

I do really enjoy the flavors this trend is trying to play with, even if they’re all pretty wet and make the experience a bit icky. A crunchy chip hit with sweet and spicy hot honey, and paired with acidic cornichons and some kind of prosciutto or jámon is gonna be pretty delicious. But not so delicious that it’s worth the hassle of what this trend requires. To me, this is better as an idea than it is in practicality. And at no point in eating a chip out of a flimsy bag do I think it’s reasonable for it to be something better eaten with a fork. If you’re effectively going to be eating a salad with chips instead of lettuce, don’t cheapen and worsen the experience by having people it out of the bag itself. We’re not at summer camp, and if we were, I don’t think this lineup of toppings would go down a hit.