America’s Next Top Snack Chip

Published on Wednesday, April 21, 2010, by James Norton / Edit Post

Risotto Chips

Risotto Chips

I Paid: $2.99 for a 5-ounce bag (prices may vary by region)

Taste: 5 stars

Marketing: 3 stars

Risotto Chips are like a new branch in the taxonomy of snack chips, which includes separate branches for corn chips, potato chips, and so on. In terms of texture and usability, they’re probably closest to white tortilla chips but are made with brown and Arborio rice flour, are gluten-free, and offer a good deal of whole grains (11 grams per serving of nine chips) in the bargain.

Now, the presence of more desirable nutritional characteristics is almost always the indication of a devil’s bargain when it comes to taste: Sure, you can have your whole grain, but only at the cost of your afternoon snack tasting like a loofah. Not so with New York Style’s Risotto Chips. They’re straight-up delicious—nothing ambiguous about it.

The Sea Salt variety (which contains only nine ingredients, all of which are easily comprehensible) is a delicate, lightly salted, almost smoky-tasting chip—like Wheat Thins and Ritz, it’s a great snack by virtue of its modesty and balance. Regardless of the various health claims attached to the chip, these will be my new go-to for dipping and snacking; like Doritos or Pringles, they trigger that addictive chain-eating thing, but unlike either of those chips, there’s relatively little guilt involved.

The Parmesan and Roasted Garlic flavor starts with a pronounced and sincere Parmesan umami at the front of each bite, which then levels off and mellows into a gentler garlic flavor. And while a chip named after a pasta sauce doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence, the Spicy Marinara flavor works—there’s a salty, spicy seasoned taste that comes on strong and finishes with gentle but palpable heat.

If there’s any justice in the world—and I think we all know the score on that front—these things will blow up and become huge. The beauty of properly seasoned rice-based chips is something that deserves a big audience.

James Norton edits the Upper Midwestern food journal Heavy Table. He's also the coauthor of a book on Wisconsin's master cheesemakers. For his Supertaster Daily videos, he samples offerings from supermarket aisles and fast-food menus. (Click here to see all of James's previous Supertaster work.) You can follow him on Twitter and fan him on Facebook.

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POST A COMMENT |5 Comments

COMMENT

  • What do they look like? Any details on the production process? Are these America's belated version of the South Indian vadaams (rice flour papads)?

  • Ha! "got a bag of these....a couple weeks ago" and "haven't tried them yet" does not register to my obsessive snack mind.

    If they taste good - great. But I did a search to find the nutritional info. They have 7 grams of fat & 110 g sodium. Baked Lay's has 2 g fat and 180 g sodium. Their Lightly Salted variety has 10 g fat & 90 g sodium. My favorite, though, is UTZ Unsalted (I have to watch my...+READ

    Ha! "got a bag of these....a couple weeks ago" and "haven't tried them yet" does not register to my obsessive snack mind.

    If they taste good - great. But I did a search to find the nutritional info. They have 7 grams of fat & 110 g sodium. Baked Lay's has 2 g fat and 180 g sodium. Their Lightly Salted variety has 10 g fat & 90 g sodium. My favorite, though, is UTZ Unsalted (I have to watch my salt intake): 9 g fat and less than 5 g fat (and, I think, they taste great). (all are also gluten free)

    Point is - the subtle advertising here gives the impression that these are better for you than regular snack chips - but the fat & sodium are similar. If they taste good - great - but don't eat them because they seem 'healthier.'-COLLAPSE

  • Couldn't find the Sea Salt or Parmesan Roasted Garlic chips, but I snagged a package of the Spicy Marinara. Eaten out othe bag, they've got a little bit Too much 'palpable heat' for my palate. However, covered in a mozzarella-cheddar blend, they make an interesting pizza nacho. :)

  • "at the cost of your afternoon snack tasting like a loofah." HA! hilarious, thanks.

  • i got a bag of these in the gift bag at the gluten-free cooking expo in chicago a couple weeks ago. a full size bag! havent tried them yet though. i believe i will tomorrow. thanks for the review.