Believe it or not, there is a National Potato Chip Day – don’t you just love America? What an amazing excuse to eat as many of these salty, crispy, and beautifully fried chips as your heart desires! To help you fully celebrate National Potato Chip Day, we decided to highlight two Indy-original potato chip companies: The Amazing Potato Chip Company and Broad Ripple Chip Company.
The Amazing Potato Chip Company is a staple of City Market in Downtown Indianapolis. Owner Larry Carman has been around for over 25 years selling his potato chips, popcorn, caramel corn and cheese corn treats. His mission, as stated on his website is, “to create a market for upscale snack products and have fun doing so. Stuff so good; you’ll thank God for having taste buds.” What a fantastic motto! As far as his process, Larry starts by cleaning the locally-sourced potatoes, slicing them in a high-powered slicing machine, frying them in peanut oil, and dusting them in salt. That’s it! Larry was once quoted in an article on the Broad Ripple Farmers Market website saying, “if [I] can’t say an ingredient, then [I] won’t use it.” Clearly this simplistic focus has paid off. He now sells in nine locations and has been highlighted by Indianapolis Monthly’s “Best of Indy” article. You can even find these chips at Bankers Life Fieldhouse events!
If you are a resident of Indianapolis, you will most likely have seen this adorable pug logo before. This iconic logo belongs to Broad Ripple Chip Company which started in 2014. Owner Mark McSweeney originally sold his chips at local bars such as Books & Brews, Deviate Brewing and Sun King Brewing Company. Since then, the brand has grown with its products now sold in big groceries such as Kroger, Market District, Fresh Thyme, and Meijer. They can even be found in some Market District and Kroger stores in Ohio. These chips gained national attention when they were featured on Food Network’s “Good Eats” as per the request of Alton Brown. Alton Brown, on his blog site, Altonbrown.com said, “I am kicking myself for not picking up five bags, as I finished these in a 10 minute sitting.” If that did not convince you to try these chips, I am not sure what will! As far as its process, Broad Ripple Chip Company uses Russet Potatoes, giving the chips more flavor and crunch. They also soak the sliced raw potatoes in water prior to frying in order to strip the raw potato of its starch. All chips are fried in canola oil and seasoned appropriately, depending on their flavor. Their most widely distributed flavors are Original and Sweet & Spicy, but they also sell specialty flavors at local farmers’ markets such as Cheddar, Salt & Vinegar, Bacon, Ranch, and Dill Pickle.
Now that my taste buds are tingling, I am ready to run out the door to grab both amazing chips! Of course, there are also many restaurants around Indianapolis that serve their own homemade chips such as the Shallows Restaurant in Greenwood and City Café in Indianapolis. Needless to say, there are plenty of ways to satisfy your chip craving on National Potato Chip Day on March 14th.
