Welcome to the third part of Potato Chip World Tour 2015 - England and France. Check out part 1 and part 2 here.
Part 3 starts with a trip to TESCO, one of England's largest grocery chains. The one I visited in Suburban London had many of the same chip varieties as the gas station, however Tyrrell's and Kettle UK had a large presence. Also, as with many US chains, TESCO sold their own line of crisps.
My purchase was a packaging innovation I've never seen on shelves in the states: Chips 5, 6, 7 - McCoy's Mighty Meaty (Chargrilled Chicken, Flame Grilled Steak, Bacon Sizzler) Behold! The bag of bags! Many of us are accustomed to the super-sized variety packs of 24 mini-chip bags. The alternative packaging method is often 8 bags, packed in a box, two by four.
But a regulation-size chip bag with six small bags of chips inside? Genius!
The icing on the cake was just buying something called "mighty meaty." The bag is neither mighty nor replete of real meat, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
My colleagues and I shared the varieties over a pint at the hotel. Informally, we thought chicken tasted the best, trailed by steak and bacon. The six smaller bags made it much more sanitary to share.
McCoy's does offer other bag of bags, but to reiterate: a meat variety pack of potato chips. Chip 8 - McCoy's Thai Sweet Chicken
The Thai Chicken was a leftover from my gas station haul. These tasted better than any of the mighty meaty flavors, but I get the rationale on why it wouldn't be included. Thai flavors may be too exotic for someone seeking grilled steak and grilled chicken.
This was the last bag I ate in England. Now, on to the nation-less confines of an international airport. Chip 9 - Pret-a-Manger Original
The Pret-a-Manger original chips were delicious, yet slightly oilier than many of the chips I had in England. I couldn't confirm if these were the same chips served in their US restaurants, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were. They had a more American taste.
Unpaid endorsement: I can't recommend Pret-a-Manger enough. Having worked in downtown Chicago, they were a reliable source of fresh, hot, affordable delicious lunch food.
One last bag before wheels down in Paris: Chip 10 - Kent Crisps Ashmore Cheese & Onion
These chips were served on a British Airways flight from London to Paris. Now, here is a great example of a posh crisp: hand cooked, attractive packaging, and slightly verbose flavor description. The crisps came in an airline-size bag (think 40 percent of what you'd get from a vending machine), however there were enough to satisfy. I enjoyed them. Conclusion All told, I had 10 bags of English crisps in the UK all of them above average.
Britons: you should be proud of your potato chip game. This Yankee came with high expectations and left very impressed.