I was born in Pennsylvania, a place where potato chips are a food group of their own. We could count on just about any store worth its salt carrying chips; some where thick-cut, some were darkly fried, some were fried in pork fat, others in cottonseed oil. I had my favorites, but I ate them all.
During a visit to Pennsylvania recently, though, I noticed that some bags had disappeared. I asked around and learned that the expensive product placement charges in supermarkets had made it easy for national brands to push out the locals. But it was on the same trip that I discovered that small-match, insanely delicious, high-quality chips have a better place than ever in the market. Sound like the business strategy of any escort you know?
The key, the basic secret, to the best chips is the differentiation. Unceremonious obsession with excellence, and unwillingness to benchmark the mediocrity of what everyone else is already doing (not too well, usually). Patience and attention, just like in any other business, are the other two secrets to these being an experience like no other chip. Warm, crispy, oily, yet very light…perfect. I tried to be polite, but I ended up devouring the lot of these gourmet morsels in a couple of seconds. I reminded myself of my loyal regulars, in a way. But that’s a whole other story.