Rating: ©©©©-1/4 chips (lip-smacking)
Well look at you Archer Farms. You’ve gone ahead and redesigned your packaging. We have to admit that we like it. The re-vamped design feels more natural, streamline, and fresh. Great big, clear picture of the main ingredients, with the AF logo and description simply floating inside of a dark green square in the upper left side of the bag. Works for us.
In case you have never heard us say it, Archer Farms really puts out a lot of great chip products. Their vast selection, originality, and quality are definitely near, if not, at the top of the grocery-store, exclusive line of chips. And, in case you are somehow unfamiliar with Archer Farms – SHAME ON YOU, and you should probably check out What’s Good at Archer Farms?!! And, in case you decide not to, Archer Farms is Target’s exclusive line of food products.
Archer Farms’ homestyle potato chips are thicker cut, hearty, with a robust, kettle cooked crunch. These are commanding potato chips, with super crispy edges, and are definitely up there with some of the crunchiest chips on the market. Visually, they are a light golden color, and come in every shape – large circles, folded half moons, wiggles and bunches.
Ranch AND Habanero?! We are there!! Initial reaction, these are pretty tasty. First wave of flavors includes an impressively rich and creamy, sour, buttermilk flavor. Then a wave of powerful garlic and onion! And we do mean POWER. FULL! You will be tasting those sweet pungent flavors for hours to come. Then the heat creeps up suddenly appears! It is most certainly present and powerful and packing a spicy punch. The heat level is certainly representative of habanero, but we can’t really taste any of habanero’s delicious citrus and floral notes that we love! Lastly, just at the tail end of the tasting experience, the chips settle with a rich, salty layer of cheese…? Do our taste buds decieve us? Ingredients list says: NOPE! Cheddar cheese is right there on the list.
In the end we would describe them as spicy & creamy garlic and onion flavored potato chips! But whatever we call them, they are lip-smackingly delicious! We just love how it seems like our society just continues to require, or demand, more and more heat! First it was ranch, then it was peppercorn ranch, then it was jalapeno ranch, and now we’ve transitioned to habanero ranch! At this pace we should have fire and ranch combined into one bag in no time!
As always, these are our thoughts, we would love to hear what you think. Agree or disagree, let us know.
Discovered at Target; Hillside, Illinois
Chip Ratings Scale:
(1/4 increments)
© – return to sender
©© – tolerable
©©© – notable
©©©© – lip-smacking
©©©©© – “A” list
Chip Review 
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I concur. It’s like all my favorite kinds of chips – sour cream & onion, cheddar and jalapeno – made a baby.
@ Gretchen – thanks for the comment. we concur! these chips seem to be gathering a following!!
These are my favorite kettle chips ever. Unfortunately I can’t find them at any target stores. Just the ol’ Jalapeño flavor. Which are a distant second to habanero ranch
@ David – thanks for the comment! we always love hearing about people’s favorite chips!! Remember, at least according to the bag we grabbed, the habanero ranch flavor was only availble for a limited time….so, hopefully that time has not passed!