Trader Joe's Somewhat Spicy Dill Flavored Kettle Cooked Potato Chips

This product name though, what a mouthful. It's pickle chips y'all. Except pickle chips would probably turn away anyone who dislikes pickles. Smart move, TJ's. 

I'd like to take this time to acknowledge my one-year anniversary with the other delicious pickle-flavored snack. Unlike this dude in the orange and green plaid (what is up with that color combination?), for me everything changed the day I discovered pickle popcorn. True story. I'm not sure which packaging is creepier - the metallic orange-haired man dressed for golfing on St. Patrick's Day or a headless dancing pickle. Stuff of nightmares.

I got a kick out of the potato pickle interaction. That pickle is playing hard to get. Sounds like me in the early stages of dating my now-husband A, LOL. 

From the ingredients list, I guessed that these chips would be saltier and have a stronger, vinegary taste a la salt and vinegar chips compared to the pickle popcorn. 

Oh man, these babies grew on me. I blame it all on the pickle popcorn and my love for the epitome of salty crunchy - kettle cooked chips. If you hated the pickle smell from the pickle popcorn, you will be put off by the pickle brine smell here, which is actually stronger. They taste saltier than the pickle popcorn even though nutritionally, the pickle popcorn has more sodium per serving (170mg here vs 290mg). A said the dill overwhelmed him. I on the other hand barely noticed the dill on first try - I've built up a tolerance for pickles. The vinegar taste forms a stronger base here compared to the popcorn, but it's not as acidic/pungent as a salt and vinegar chip. I have no idea what the spice is. Nothing too spicy but it does bathe the tongue with a nice layer of warmth. And the kettle cooked crunch! Good chip style choice. I'm not if I could handle a lattice-cut pickle chip. 

I tried another brand of pickle chips at a deli before. These are much better and truer to the dill pickle taste. If you are a pickle lover but hated the pickle popcorn, you might find these more palatable. Be warned, these chips are salty and brine-y - even the packaging says you'll want to have this with something to drink. $1.99 per 5 oz bag. Not too bad and worth a try, especially for the pickle-inclined. 

I still draw the line at eating straight out of a pickle jar. That's a little much for me. But at the rate I'm going, one day I might very well wake up from a trance with my hand a pickle jar. Oh my, I don't want to think about that. And yet,  I cannot downplay my growing admiration for this product. Kind of like how I downplay how much I got into Pokemon Go. "Pokemon Go? Why would I want to catch Pokemon in my living room???" And the next day I caved in, downloaded the app, and the rest is history. -_-

Of course, this product begs the question - which is better? The popcorn? Or the chips? I can't decide. What's your favorite? 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Somewhat Spicy Dill Flavored Kettle Cooked Potato Chips. Crunchy pickle chips. Brine-y. Super dill-pickly. 8 out of 10.