When I saw that Target’s store brand, Archer Farms, was producing some potato chips with some serious flavors, I was excited. Being a fan of Chinese food, I leaped at the chance to try the General Tso flavored chips, as that just happens to be my favorite dish to order.
Wow, was I ever disappointed.
There are two things I enjoyed about these chips:
1 – the concept of taking the General Tso’s flavor and turn it into a chip
2 – the resealable, zip-lock style top of the bag
It’s not that I didn’t like the flavor that Archer Farms came up with in these chips…
…it’s that there WAS no flavor!
I pride myself on having a decent taste palate and a decent nose to smell different aromas, so there’s no need to assume that the chips had some flavor and I just missed something. I had three other people try the chips, and each of them confirmed that there was no flavor in the chips.
Also, you shouldn’t assume that I just tried a couple chips, missing out on the ones which had the flavoring on them. I’ll maintain that even if that were the case (which it’s not), Archer Farms should’ve ensured that the flavoring hit a larger percentage of the chips. Regardless, how do I know that I didn’t just hit a flavorless part of the bag? I searched all throughout the bag to try to find a chip that had flavoring on it… and I found NONE!
On these chips is the ever so faintest hint that somewhere during the process of making these chips, there was some ginger spice in the air, and possibly some barbeque, but neither found there way into these chips. I’ve had chips with subtle flavor before, and these don’t qualify into that category.
If the people of Archer Farms want to send me a few free bags of the General Tso “flavored” chips, they can reach me by responding to this article and I’ll give them my address. If and when I receive the bags of chips to try again, I’ll update this review – but ONLY if they send a minimum of three General Tso flavored bags, or a gift card to Target which I will spend on those chips. Anything less than a three-bag trial is unacceptable, because I’m not convinced that their General Tso chips have significant flavor, and I don’t want them to just give me a single bag which they’ve ensured has the intended taste.
Until then, I’m not going to waste my money on the General Tso chips from Archer Farms, and I’ll be very wary of buying other Archer Farms flavor offerings, despite the fact that I enjoyed one of their other flavors, which I’ll talk about in a different review.
I haven’t tried this flavor of chips, but I do enjoy some of the archer farms products. they make dill flavored peanuts that are really good. They also have some interesting dip flavors. After reading this review I would stay away from their flavored chips and buy a regular cheap bag of chips, but pick up a couple jars of their dip. I especially like cheddar and bacon which can also double as a baked potato topping.
I had no idea that their dips were good, but I’ll check the cheddar bacon one now!
The kettle cooked and “rippled” Archer Farms potato chips were on sale at Target last week: Buy One, Get One Free. Their baked chips are possibly my favorite chips ever…Rosemary & Garlic, Black Pepper & Sea Salt, and Bacon Cheddar are just a few of the ridiculously awesome flavors (way better options than the Baked Lays brand). I’d never tried their regular non-baked chips, so I decided to grab a couple of bags. I went with the Maui Onion and the General Tso. I remembered reading this review last year, but I couldn’t remember whether is was positive or negative.
After getting the chips home and opening them, I have to respectfully disagree with last year’s review. You absolutely must’ve had a “bad bag” because these things were bursting with flavor. It was actually like they were prepared in the same sauce used on the popular Chinese dish. They were definitely very “gingery”, and they had a garlic flavor as well. I liked them and would consider buying another bag at some point. They weren’t the best chips I’ve ever had, but far better than some Lays creations.
Thanks for the comments, I’ll definitely give them a second try!