A Taste of Chipcago — Tales From the Chippy City in Three Parts. (from tevin)
Ahoy Chippers,
It’s been a while, but I haven’t forgotten about you. I have just been so busy eating chips. I recently took a venture to the marvelous city of Chicago, where the blues were abound and the chips flowed like tears. Here are some wonderful things I discovered:
Part One - Jays Ridges: Open Pit BBQ:
Chicago’s grandfather chip. These puppies have history. Legend has it that on one of Al Capone’s getaways to Saratoga, NY (where the almighty chip was created) he discovered the power and delight behind our crispy round little friends. When he got back to Chicago he missed his newfound buddy so much that he “suggested” to his local speakeasy owner that, instead of pretzels, they begin serving chips. I imagine the scene to play out like this:
Al: Yo Tommy, I was just in Saratoga bettin’ on the ponies. You’ll never believe what I had to eat out there.
Speakeasy Tommy: What’s that, Al ol’ buddy?
Al: Fuckin’ chips made outta potatoes!
Speakeasy Tommy: That’s crazy, Al!
Al pulls out his gun and aims it square at Tommy’s crotch.
Al: Don’t eva call me crazy, Tommy.
Tommy cowers in fear.
Al: And Tommy, if you don’t make me some fuckin’ chips, I’m gonna shoot yer cock off.
As you can tell, Mr. Capone didn’t fuck around. Now Tommy didn’t have the means or the know-how to make said chips. So, he turned to his pretzel maker, Leonard Japp, Sr…
Speakeasy Tommy: Yo Lenny, you gotta make these things called potato chips or Al Capone’s gonna shoot off my fuckin’ dick n’ nuts.
Lenny: I don’t know shit about chips, but maybe my wife can pull some ol’ magic outta her hole.
And she did…
Lenny: Hey Eugenia, you gotta make some fuckin’ chips or Al Capone’s gonna shoot off Tommy’s prick and we won’t have no one to sell pretzels to no more.
Eugenia came up with a recipe so good that Al didn’t shoot off the privates of his speakeasy owner and, in fact, made the Japp family very wealthy.
It was only after Pearl Harbor when the Japp brand chip changed it’s name to Jays to avoid confusion with the other “Japs” that blew up that big fuckin’ boat.
As far as the chip goes, it’s a classic. Classic taste… classic crunch… classic aroma… boom. I was instantly in love with their Open Pit BBQ flavor. It was sweet and tangy with a bit of a kick to the tongue in the aftertaste. The narrow ridges made it perfect for dipping in a local brand ranch dip and was a kind accompaniment to the spicy Italian sausage with onions and peppers sandwiches provided by my brother.
Stay tuned for Part Two of my Chipcago Tale; Old Town Social’s Goose Fat Potato Chip.
To be chiptinued…
