Trader Joe's Chips in a Pickle Dill Pickle Flavored Potato Chips

Remakes are never as good as the original. It's a sweeping statement, but I challenge you to name a remake that was better than the original. I'm all ears. 

When I watch a movie or show with an unfamiliar actor, I like to go down the rabbit hole and nerd out over their acting portfolio and find out that actually he wasn't that new but was in a scene in another movie I saw before for like 30 seconds. It's just nice to know one's history. So you can bet- if it's a pickle flavored Trader Joe's snack, I have definitely tried it. This packaging is a throwback to the seasonal pickle popcorn, a contentious product that the pickle people LOVED or hated. And it's definitely a reprise of the somewhat spicy version and the spinoff sequel of the patio chips. 

The ingredient list is a little different from the somewhat spicy version - here they've specified the type of potato. There's the addition of vinegar powder, whey powder, and cane sugar. They used canola oil for the kettle cooking instead of sunflower oil. Oh and it comes from Canada. Thanks Canada for giving us nice pleasantries and delicious chips. 

1) It's been a while since I've had the TJ's last version of pickle chips, but this version definitely reeks pickle. You have to really like pickles and that brine-y taste. I can't say this upgrade is better than the somewhat spicy version. The pickle flavor is like that of a fast food pickle - a sweet dill pickle that you can get from any McDonald's or Burger King. Except here it's dusted all over the kettle cooked chips.

2) The chips themselves are quite nice - I wish they would use this kettle cooked variety as the base for all their other kettle cooked flavors. It's crunchy but not going to take out any of your teeth, and the russet potato slices are the perfect shapes for crunching, snacking, and dipping. 

3) The seasoning distribution was not perfect. The first few chips at the top of the bag were not as seasoned as the ones at the bottom of the bag. By the time you get to the bottom, you are definitely more than knee deep into pickle flavor. 

4) I'm just not a huge fan of sweet pickles. I prefer the somewhat spicy ones because of the flavor complexity. I also just don't like notes of sweetness in my potato chips generally speaking- barbecue flavor is one of my least favorite potato chip flavors for that reason.

5) Also - what was so wrong with the somewhat spicy pickle chips? Why did they have to go and discontinue them? Ain't nothing wrong with them! Also - why can't these two versions coexist? Can't there be room on the TJ's shelf for TWO kinds of pickle chips?? 

5b) This review takes on a negative tone only because I've had the somewhat spicy version from years past. Had I not had them before, I would have thought, "oh this is pretty good." But if you've had and loved the original, it's hard not to draw the comparison and think that the OG is better. 

6) Chips in a pickle is a dumb name because the pickle isn't really IN the chip; it's dusted ON the chip.  But I understand why they couldn't call it pickle chips. Also, they were trying to do the quirky packaging thing, which is an upgrade from the borderline creepy packaging of the previous version. 

7) $1.99 for a 6 oz bag. Which I will concede is 1oz more than the previous version. Okay fine. 

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Chips in a Pickle Dill. Fast food pickles in a chip. In better packaging. 6 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Still mad the better version was discontinued. Hmph.