Wednesday, June 2, 2010

One Hot Potato Chip

Ron Zappe, founder of the "Little Chippery in Gramercy," died Tuesday while undergoing treatment for throat cancer. He was 67. In my opinion, his company belongs up there with Tabasco and Hubig's Pies as a food immediately recognizable with Southeast Louisiana.

They cut the potatos thicker... they don't wash the chips after cutting... it's the peanut oil they use... the kettle fryer retains more heat which makes for a crunchier chip.... For nearly a quarter century, scholars have debated the reasons why Zapp's are so damn good - usually while eating roast beef po-boys and drinking Barq's out of the bottle. Perhaps, the answer was laid right before them all along, as nothing pairs better with a po-boy than a bag of Cajun Crawtators.

Long before Bud Light started selling black and gold beer cans, Zapp's "Who Dat?" chips were the ultimate sign of fandamonium at a Saints party. I remember a near riot outside the Dome over a Zapp's post-game giveaway during the Ironhead Craig Hayward era. Over a decade before Maker's Mark used commemorative purple and gold wax, you weren't a true LSU fan unless you served Tiger Tators at your tailgate. No other company embraced Louisiana football more than Zapp's, and the fans thanked them for it tenfold.

On July 1st, Zapp's will celebrate it's silver anniversary, albeit without its founding father. We should all remember to rip open a bag of Zapp's in his honor and be thankful for an oil man gone bust who took a chance and created one hell of a potato chip.

Now, if I could only find a big bag of Caribbean Crunch...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cajun Dill......hands down

Becky said...

I think it was Caribbean Key Lime? I only ever had that flavor one time, and I believe I got it at Zimmer's along with a shrimp poboy. This was right after Zimmer's reopened post-K, but I don't remember exactly when that was.

Anyway, my favorite is Hotter 'N Hot JalapeƱo.

Rene said...

About the second fattest kid moment I ever had was stuffing a roast beef po boy with Zapp's Cajun Crawtators. Boy, was that a happy day.

Peter said...

Becky,

I could not remember if it was Caribbean Key Lime or Caribbean Crunch. Either way, Zapp's needs to bring that flavor back.

jeffrey said...

1) Creole Tomto
2) Honey Mustatd
3) Sweet Potato

The Crawtators are good but, because they end up as the default flavor for every commemorative "limited edition" bag and for the "Tiger Taters" and such, they're a bit overexposed.

Shelly said...

My favorite flavor is the tobasco tomato flavor. I can eat an entire bag of those in one sitting!

I'maNolaGirl said...

I might be the only one, but my favorite Zapps are the "steak" flavored variety. Who needs to spend $50 on a filet when you can spend $.99 on the best thing around. If only they came with a side of bernaise...

IJ Reilly said...

Po-boys, root beer and Zapps. I don't know why I love stuffing Zapps chips into sammiches but I do.

RIP, Ron Zappe