Dunn's Dill Pickle Chips - Chip Review

Earlier this summer LJ and I were stocking up on some snacks at Costco for a gathering with kids and adults. We were in the chip aisle when a bag stood out because I had never seen it before, and it was black (unlike most bags of chips). It was Dunn's Dill Pickle chips, and I was a bit excited.

See I love dill pickles, and dill pickle potato chips. I also like Dunn's Famous Deli. I was going to link this to my review of Dunn's, and to my surprise, I have never reviewed Dunn's. If you are unfamiliar, Dunn's is a Montreal based deli that has expanded greatly in Ottawa, but also across the country. 

photo from https://www.mtlblog.com/best-of-mtl/best-montreal-pickles

 It was founded by Myer Dunn in 1927 and eventually specializing in Montreal smoked meat.  I love a good Montreal smoked meat sandwich, which should come with crispy fries, a Cott's Black Cherry soda, and of course, kosher dill pickles. Now I know the next time I go I need to do a review.

So this was a product I was not expecting. The only commercially sold item I had seen sold from Dunn's was their pre-packaged smoked meat. Being at Costco, the bag was huge; 750g! To get an idea, an average bag of say Ruffles Creamy Dill chips are 245g. That's 3+ bags of a regular chips, and at $5.99, it's not a bad deal.

We picked up a bag, and the Costco reciept checker at the door asked me how they were because he was curious. "I don't know yet, I'll let you know" I said, never seeing the man again. Also funny, we didn't use it for our event. We were going to take it home with us, but my wife's dad said he would try them. LJ tried to tell him he wouldn't like them, but he said he would. So we didn't get to try them right away, then we bought another bag. Then her dad did try them and said he did not like them and he thought they were a different kind of chip altogether. We collected that bag the last time we visited as well. Also, at the time of this post, they are no longer sold in Ottawa, and only available in the GTA it seems.

The bag is huge, but like all chip bags, is half filled with air. That makes the above photo very deceptive in how much is in the bag. You cannot deny the dill pickle smell when you open that bag. Some people like that sour pickle smell, others hate it. I love it, personally.

The chips are simulated in flavour - a quick scan on the ingredients doesn't even list pickle, dill, or anything else similar, most closely 'spices'.

The chips are ruffled in nature - making them pick up lots of flavour seasoning. They are also very crunchy and you would think sturdy, but in both bags I found that a large portion of the bag is broken. Dunn's isn't usually in the chip game, but I find the quality of their chip in between brand name chips that are higher in quality and no-name store brand chips that I find kinda crap.

The flavour is there - these are sour, salty, and dilly. They will make you pucker your lips, for sure. As sour and salty as say Salt & Vinegar chips, but with a creamy, dilly note in there. They aren't drenched in seasoning, but you are going to need to lick your fingers when you are done. LJ liked them well enough, but she's not a big dill pickle chip person. I also found these went really well with dip (especially Frank's Hot Wing chip dip, review to come).

Would I get these again? Yes, but these bags take a LONG time to go through when it's only two people. I think it's too bad that the bags are so big, and as well that they are only available at Costco. The chips have the crunch and they have the flavour you want in a dill chip. I wouldn't say they were my favourite, but they were good in my opinion.

Dunn's Dill Pickle Chips
dunnsfamous.com