Snack Review: Baji’s Papadums

Papadams (or papadum or pappadom – given that there are hundreds of languages in India there are probably at least a dozen ways to pronounce it that are correct somewhere) are those spicy cracker-like things that they often bring before your meal at an Indian restaurant. I was attracted to these chips first of all because I like papadams, but also because my latest favorite chip reminded me of papadams, as I will explain, in utterly fascinating detail, with illustrations, below.

If you’ve only had them in a restaurant, you don’t know the really cool thing about papadums. If you live near an Indian grocery, you can buy a package to cook at home. In their raw state, they are very odd, almost like semi-transparent plastic – you can see my fingers through the one in the picture:

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Top 10 Gas Station Snacks

Gas. Oil. Water.

Forty years ago, gas stations were called service stations, and that’s what you got. You’d sit in your car and the attendant would fill ‘er up with gas, check the oil and water, chat about the weather, you’d fork over a few bucks and then ease on down the road.

Today you can still get gas, oil and water for your car, but so much more for yourself! The possibilities are endless! Space and time are limited here, so enjoy the TOP TEN SNACKS you can find in a gas station. This list is certainly not definitive, but it’s based on my years of careful observation as a trained, professional snack critic.

In college I worked behind the counter at a gas station for half a summer, and the only person I ever saw eat pickled eggs was a homeless guy named Wig who washed them down with 40 oz. bottles of malt liquor. Maybe there’s a “Wig” in every neighborhood, ’cause someone’s eating these things. I’ve heard they’re popular in midwestern taverns, so maybe you have to be pickled yourself to properly enjoy them.

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Snack Review: Trader Joe’s Sea Salt and Pepper Crisps Made With Rice

Trader Joes, sometimes you break my heart. If you’re going to make a snack that I can’t live without (Popped Potato Chips, I’m looking at you), you have to have them in stock every time I shop! Otherwise, I end up with something weird like these.

Here at Snackerrific, one of the four senses tends to be neglected. We write a lot about how things taste, of course, and there’s plenty of talk about how they smell, look, and feel in the mouth. But I am pretty sure this is the first snack I bought because of how it sounds.

Really. When I picked up the bag, it jangled in the oddest way. So I shook it, just to check. Yes, it made a sound like a sack full of light pieces of hardware, or maybe even decorative jingle bells. I’d never heard a food sound like that.

It was good that I was thinking about how they sounded instead of how they compared to my beloved Popped Potato Chips, or they would have been even more of a disappointment.

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Snack Review: Richin Prawn Crackers

As Americans, there are flavors we’ve always avoided in our snacks. Green vegetables and meat essences, for instance. Although the variety of flavors seen in our chips, crackers and the like is slowly expanding thanks to products like Snapea Crisps, there remain certain varieties of crisps and cookies not likely to pop up on the Safeway shelves anytime soon.

Seafood is one of those things most Americans aren’t keen on seeing in any form but in a sandwich or grilled or fried on a dinner plate. I mean, when was the last time you saw Perch Pretzels or Tuna Twists at the local gas-station convenience store? Never, right?

Asians have no such qualms with snacks featuring the bounty of the sea. In most East Asian supermarkets, not only is there a well-stocked seafood counter with all manner of fish, amphibians and reptiles; but there are whole other sections dedicated to sea creatures of the dried and salted variety, and still others devoted to sea-lightful crispy treats. For this reason, on my last excursion to Saigon Market, I made a point of bringing home at least one ocean-worthy treat.

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Snack Review: Pringles Spicy Guacamole

First of all, I just want to make it known that I really really don’t like guacamole. Every time I’m in a restaurant and an entrée comes with guacamole, I immediately ask for it to be made without this green goop while I am placing my order.

I don’t know what it is about guacamole that I don’t like, because really, I’m not sure that I’ve ever tried it. If I had to guess, it would be the appearance of it that turns me off. Even thinking about guacamole makes me shiver.

Which is why I decided to review Pringles Spicy Guacamole. I needed to get over my fear of this food and figured that eating it mixed in with a chip was a good way to start.

Upon lifting the inner seal, I was struck with something that smelled like sour cream and onion, but grosser. I can’t really describe the smell because I was heaving on the inside just thinking about eating one of these.

The color of the Pringles chip was the exact same color as guacamole; I guess they needed it to be realistic. Finally, I decided to put one of these in my mouth after much consideration. I popped it in, closed my eyes and chewed quickly.

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