Quest to Find Tabasco Chips

In Mexico I was introduced to all that is wonderful about the Zapps current limited edition chip: Spicy Creole Tomato, or, as I refer to them, Tabasco Chips. Never would I have thought that a chip whose main sell is the red and green diamond design and a cartoon bottle of hot sauce would have become a favorite, but it has, and I miss it.

I've heard rumor that Dean and Delucca sells Zapps chips for a whopping three bucks a bag. I'd be willing to pay three dollars for a quick fix of creole tomato before this limited edition goes back into the archives. I've also done some research online to find a few other places in the city that sell the Gramercy brand, and so far, I've come up with three spots to check out, one of which offers the chips for $1.25.

The kosher version of the Zapp, known as "Dirty Chips," I have begun to see more and more frequently, but I haven't yet found their long lost brother. I am determined, and I must do this soon, the Tabasco chips have been around for several months now and are bound to change at any moment. OH THE HORROR!!!

To make up for the lack of Louisiana food specialties, I have become pretty much addicted to something that is all but common back home: Dunkin Donuts. I can think of two locations in New Orleans, and none in Baton Rouge. Why is this? First of all, Baton Rouge does not have Tastee Donuts (or any of its renamed counterparts), where I can get a good old souther fried donut with the hint of a nasty smoke taste that somehow makes it what it is. I've never been a fan of Krispy Kreme (why someone thought that ALL donuts were meant to be glazed is beyond me), but as for variety, it's the closest thing we have to a DD, and the only one is, well, on Plank Rd. The thrill in going to Krispy Kreme is not the overly sweet donut with sprinkles, rather it is the trip out there and the adventure that comes with being scared for one's life with all of one's closest friends in tow.

There is something about a donut with vanilla frosting that makes me smile on the inside. I am a pretty big fan of the basic vanilla with sprinkles, or the marble (vanilla and chocolate frosting....), so I get at least one of those on each trip, along with a flavor I haven't yet tried, to keep a hint of unpredictability in my donut experience. I wouldn't call it the healthiest habit, but I am in New York, and with all of the walking and stair-climbing I do, I don't feel too bad about it.

Dunkin Donuts is to New York what CCs coffee is to Baton Rouge, minus that whole local flare thing. There is one on every corner. I'm thinking we need to pick up on this.