Chip Tuesday: Boulder Canyon Balsamic Vinegar & Rosemary

This weekend I ventured up to New York to take in the sights, eat the food, and attend one day of the U.S. Open. On Sunday night, in preparation for the tennis festivities of the next day, le boyfriend and I went to his local corner market in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn to pick up some sustenance. Being the tennis nut that he is, Christopher has attended too many U.S. Opens to count, so he knew all the tricks to having the best experience. One key step? Packing your own food. The food on the grounds is insanely overpriced, not that good for you, and not worth waiting in long lines for, so instead, we opted for ham and cheddar sandwiches, fresh melons, peaches, granola, and, of course, chips.

There's one corner market in Ft. Greene that I love. Not only is it run by Koreans (gotta support my peeps!), but it is insanely clean, has one of the best tea collections I've ever seen, and also carries an impressive selection of chips. Knowing Chip Tuesday was approaching, Chris and I carefully scoured the bags to find the next contender for our running tradition. As soon as I saw this bag, I knew it was the one.

Now having been burned by exotic flavored chips before (sweet maui onion, anyone?), I was a little nervous about these. Frankly, one little potato discus can only handle so much flavoring, you know?

Willing to take the risk, we decided to pay the $2.79 and try them. We got home, quickly ripped open the bag, and popped the first chip.

It - was - delicious.

The scent of rosemary hits you first. It's strong, but not overpowering. The chips are surprisingly light in flavor. You let the rosemary and salt, oil and potato impress you for a little bit. And then you realize that this is also a frou frou kind of salt & vinegar chip, but the balsamic is just a little more refined than the aforementioned low-brow, absolutely delicious guilty pleasure that leaves your nose and eyes watering for its strong flavor. Instead, the balsamic is mild with a slight kick at the end.

All in all, the chips made for a complex, tasty, pungent addition to our ham sandwiches, which we ate before watching a rousing match with my new favorite tennis player, the 5'5" Belgian pro, Olivier Rochus. He may be short but he packs quite a lot of punch and heart in that frame of his. And the same could be said of a Boulder Canyon Balsamic Vinegar & Rosemary chip.