Gibbles Potato Chips
There are so many things I've eaten or read about that I didn't get around to blabbing about on Serious Eats this year. Hey—I only have four eyes and two hands! So forthwith, posthaste, and ex post facto, here's a tasty tidbit that has been languishing in draft for much of 2008.
The scene: Late 1970s, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. My family's Buick Riviera sits in my aunt's driveway, engine ticking as it cools from a 20-hour drive from Kansas City. My cousin Dan whips down the driveway on his Green Machine to greet us. We grab the last of the Pepsis from the travel cooler, dump the water and what's left of the ice from it, and head inside.
The Kuban family has barely said its hellos and how do you dos before my dad asks my aunt, "Did you get me my Gibbles?"
These chips have long been his post-travel treat when he gets to Pennsylvania, and I never really understood it until a mini family reunion this summer.
What makes them so good? Read the bag back (after the jump) and weep (tears of joy).
Porky tears of joy, that is.
After trying Gibbles as an adult, I understood yet another thing that made the old man tick. And Gibbles are now some of my favorite potato chips, too. Though I'm still partial to Tim's Cascade, which I can't get where I live, and Dirty chips, which I can.
How 'bout you: What are your favorite potato chips?
Related
Chipping Away: The Serious Eats Potato Chip Taste Test
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44 Comments:
Grippos BBQ chips. Can't get them where I live. They are CAKED with BBQ seasoning. To die for.
apgood at 8:52PM on 12/29/08
I still remember how good these potato chips were.
....Yes. The power of lard is amazing.
roboppy at 8:55PM on 12/29/08
I travel across the border into Canada to get any brand of Ketchup or Dill Pickle Chips.
joanpieroni2 at 9:38PM on 12/29/08
Utz. Sadly, you can not buy them in NorCal.
jdmcdonald at 10:00PM on 12/29/08
Wise potato chips
and dirty, mmmmm
machellebelle at 10:04PM on 12/29/08
I love Wise potato chips, too and Humpty Dumpty Dill Pickle chips. Neither of which is available in Arizona. :(
Panda18 at 10:14PM on 12/29/08
As a resident of Lancaster PA in my calorie counting free days of youth I can say that Gibbles are good, but the real medal goes to Dieffenbach's Potato chips. They are lard fried but a thicker cut, crisper chip with a much more distinct potato flavor and a less greasy texture than Gibbles in my opinion.
You can also buy them still warm in the bulk container of your choice direct from the factory. No golden ticket required.
Danny115 at 11:26PM on 12/29/08
As a kid I remember getting Charles Chips delivered to the house in a reusable metal can, and just like the milkman you would set out the empty tin and get a new one stocked full of potato goodness.
stewmeat at 12:17AM on 12/30/08
Gibbles! One of my favorite things about Pittsburgh since I was a little girl. My grandmother still mails a bag to me for every holiday and my birthday.
Always good to see more people embrace the awesomeness of lard-fried chips.
Tootsie at 12:35AM on 12/30/08
I second the Grippos comment, everyone should try them, and the grippos web site does offer online ordering...I feel lucky.. Grippos,Utz,and Wise are all available here in KY
steve1892 at 3:43AM on 12/30/08
Nibbits. Those are the only chips I would go through the entire bag and still pine for more.
Cassaendra at 7:19AM on 12/30/08
I loved Gibbles when I was a kid, but I never knew the porky reason why! Too busy munching to notice what the bag said. Next trip through PA I'll have to stop and look for some.
ride&cook at 7:51AM on 12/30/08
Pork fat really does rule...
SSG Snuffy at 8:28AM on 12/30/08
I really like Gibbles Curly Kettle chips and their Kay & Ray's Dark chips. But the best chip ever is Martin's Kettle Cook'd. Best. Ever.
1stmakearoux at 8:34AM on 12/30/08
Herr's kettle chips... I think Herr's is a PA local brand too.
annabanannas at 8:39AM on 12/30/08
Herr's all the way for me. Kettle or otherwise. Just NO bbq.
izatryt at 9:06AM on 12/30/08
Golden Flake rule down here in Bama, but I still miss the "State Line" chips of my youth Growing up in New England. The company is gone now, but the memory of the chips remain......
Pavlov at 9:18AM on 12/30/08
Tim's Cascade are the best! Second best are Zapp's because they switched from all peanut oil to a blend. Third, Utz Kettle Chips.
EazyB at 9:58AM on 12/30/08
cape cod...no contest, no lard!
Kerry Saretsky at 9:59AM on 12/30/08
Living in PA i love Gibbles but what ever happened to Thunder Crunch potatoe chips? They were unreal!
ryan86 at 10:01AM on 12/30/08
ACTUALLY Middlesworth's BBQ WEEKENDER doesnt last! You cant stop eating them!
ryan86 at 10:02AM on 12/30/08
Tim's Cascade all the way -- jalepeno, or if I'm in the mood, their Coney Island flavor. I ate so many of those one time, I got sick. Not my finest hour, but those chips inspire some serious gluttony. I think they put something in the chips that turns off the "stop eating" signal in your brain.
adowney23 at 10:11AM on 12/30/08
Definitely Tim's, lightly salted or sea salt and vinegar. I tried Zapps several times and found them somewhat greasy.
HMS at 10:20AM on 12/30/08
@ryan86: thunder crunch! whoa-you just brought me back! :) haven't seen those in YEARS...
i grew up in pittsburgh, so i've been spoiled by wise & gibbles forever.
praise the lard
gastronomeg at 10:38AM on 12/30/08
Hate to be dumb but what is a dirty chip? i know some dirty chaps but this is, i assume, different!
kettle chips rock but i am curious to try lard ones.
love2cook at 11:07AM on 12/30/08
Old Dutch Dill Pickle - YUM
blogkitten at 11:20AM on 12/30/08
Vitners -- only available near chicago. They are great!!
lakeloverhh at 11:21AM on 12/30/08
i guess i never bothered to read the back of the bag when i ate these growing up (as a vegetarian). oh well, i'll stick to utz and herr's.
sloppy at 11:23AM on 12/30/08
Oh Gibbles. My grandmother always had a bag of these in the house (or Wise, also good) when I would visit her in eastern PA. They are one of the foods that remind me of her.
basmatiheather at 11:38AM on 12/30/08
Better Made potato chips in detroit are unreal!
epidemickittykat at 11:49AM on 12/30/08
@love2cook: Dirty is a brand of chips. I linked to it in the post above.
Adam Kuban at 11:57AM on 12/30/08
I love Zapps. Need to try Tim's.
FoodBoy at 12:22PM on 12/30/08
Is this the same brand that used to come in a giant cardboard bucket?
jpmcd at 12:27PM on 12/30/08
I loved Gibbles growing up in NYS, but alas, the repressive regime here in the burbs of DC prevents my enjoyment of the Lard-soaked treat.
chanterelle at 1:19PM on 12/30/08
oh my lord these chips make me salivate just looking at the bag... they seriously melt in your mouth and i feel extremely guily/euphoric after eating them...
hungrygrl7 at 2:04PM on 12/30/08
Gotta represent the in-law's: Good's BBQ. Adamstown, PA. Every town seems to have its own Potato Chip and/or Pretzel Factory. Awesome!
MrProven3 at 3:58PM on 12/30/08
I have never wanted to live in Pennsylvania until this very moment.
suthungirl at 4:22PM on 12/30/08
How about Bickel's, another classic Pennsylvania chip?
VLSmith at 4:42PM on 12/30/08
Cape Cod, S&P flavor. http://www.capecodchips.com/products/chips.aspx
Josh Baugher at 6:03PM on 12/30/08
Zapp's are the best if you're ever in New Olreans- they have the most awesome flavors
aimingforzero at 10:26PM on 01/01/09
South Central PA is potato chip heaven.
Gibbles are good. There are many other chip makers in the area. Many cook them in lard.
I always gain weight when I'm out there on business.
rockhopper at 1:00PM on 01/08/09
Big fan of Utz chips but these Gibble's I just picked up in the Red Hot flavor are amazing. They are almost too hot but at the same time kick ass compaired to the other wannabe brands out there that claim there product is hot.
southjersey636 at 7:31PM on 01/20/09
Gibbles chips are made the way chips should be made...lard. natural. the taste is amazing. try them.
cheesy at 7:23PM on 02/27/09
If you like a big crunch try Krunchers chips especially the hot buffalo wing flavor.
PAsnacklover at 8:33AM on 08/21/09