Tortilla/corn chips

[ldubois2]

Did a search and found no evidence of this topic. Was wondering, when you purchase tortilla chips to go with salsa or guacamole, what chips do you buy? In the midwest, the best brand so far is "El Ranchero" - green bag, with salt.

[theabroma]

That's a good question. There appear to be a lot of local and 'house' brands around. Here in Texas we can get 'Fiesta' which is the house brand of Fiesta Markets, El Galindo, which is a large tortilleria chain, etc. Of course there are innumerably morphed shapes bagged by Frito-Lay.

I would suggest looking for a tortilla maker in your area - they often sell chips, and usually are the best ones around. Here in Dallas we go to Luna's Tortillas; in Austin, El Rio. Also, you can make your own - just use the thinnest tortillas you can find. The thick corn ones come out like armor plate!

Theabroma

[caroline]

Hi lldubois 2, Interesting question because it touches on lots of differences between Mexican and Mexican-American food. So here's how I see it from a Mexican perspective.

You can buy american-style tortilla chips here in the supermarkets. I don't, and I don't know who does. Mexicans in general do not eat salsa and chips, as I am sure you know, and so far as I can see guacamole remains primarily a sauce and only secondarily a dip, at least in home cooking.

So chips are used primarily to decorate beans and to make chilaquiles. The common wisdom among Mexicans is that the worst tortillas (that is the thickish machine-made ones) make the best chips. And here I have one of my few differences with Theabroma because I agree with this judgement. If a little stale, they fry up nice and flaky. So buy some of these, cut them up, heat your oil, dump them in, and leave for about five minutes. You will know when they are done because they stop sizzling.

These are great with just salt. I would prefer them with salsa to the very thin and to my mind tasteless bagged chips. And they have the heft to absorb sauce, turn meat, and make great chilaquiles.

In Mexico the big supermarket chains sell their day-old tortillas prepared this way. They are pretty good.

Rachel

[chefsteban]

Ain't nuttin' like a good, fresh tortilla chip with guacamole or a simple salsa.....The store bought chips suck the big one....as mentioned above, look for a local tortilla shop and buy some of the best ( and freshest) chips your taste buds will ever come across.

Here in San Diego, we are fortunate to have many great place to buy chips that are still warm....

I recommend Tortilleria Lily on University Ave near 43rd St-- just walking into the shop is a head-trip with the aroma of freshly cooked corn tortillas that promises earthly delights.

[fierydrunk]

Juanita's in Oregon are the best store-bought, locally-made tortilla chips. I only see them at Winco in Portland and some tiendas.

[CookingFire]

Yes, they are sort of Americanized, which is good news for American shoppers. While you will find chips here in Mexico, in my grocery-shopping experience they are not as good as what you can get commercially in the U.S. (Fried tortillas are not really the same thing as chips -- they've got a different consistency, heavier, oily).

I love the blue chips made by Garden of Eatin'. They also make other organic versions in red corns, and soy etc...

FritoLay has actually come out with an organic blue chip through their Tostitos brand. I'm not one to plug big corporations, but this is very good -- not too oily, not to salty. If you can't find the Garden of Eatin' ones, these are great too.

A note -- these aren't good because they are organic, they are the best chips, in my opinion, and organic as an added bonus.

(Another thing -- don't try to make chilaquiles with these, they'd fall apart. You need those armor-plate deals so they stand up to stewing in sauce. These are just for chip-n-dip situations)

Edited July 9, 2005 by CookingFire (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Staff note: this post and responses to it were split from The History of Frito Pie topic.

 

This sounds like the opening line of an entertaining story: 

On 8/23/2025 at 12:37 AM, Shel_B said:

I quit eating Fritos in 1958, …

OK, I’ll bite. What happened in 1958 that caused you to quit Fritos?

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

This sounds like the opening line of an entertaining story: 

OK, I’ll bite. What happened in 1958 that caused you to quit Fritos?

Trader Joe’s hadn’t yet opened?

[Shel_B]

13 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

This sounds like the opening line of an entertaining story: 

OK, I’ll bite. What happened in 1958 that caused you to quit Fritos?

I grew up surrounded by Fritos.

 

In the early 50s, my dad and a couple of his friends had the Frito distributorships in the NYC area. If you bought a Frito in NYC in the early - late 50s, you bought it from us.

 

A couple of years after my dad died, Fritos bought out all the distributorships, we cashed out, and Fritos was no longer a part of my life. My mom ran the business for a while after dad died and then sold to Fritos.

 

When I was 8, 9 years old, I started going to work with my dad. I counted stales, organized the inventory, made sure we had enough "cardboard" (boxes and packaging material), he showed me how to do the books, I'd go out with the drivers and make deliveries, and so on.

 

I loved making deliveries. I'd ride in the truck, usually with Howard driving, and stand in what would be considered the passenger area (there was no passenger seat), often with the door open. Howard would go into the stores to take the orders, and I'd get to deliver the order to the store, often using the hand truck that was a little too big for my small stature. After a while, I'd go into the stores, get the order, make the physical delivery, and fill out the paperwork.

 

By the time I was 10 - 11 years old, one of my minor responsibilities was dealing with the local cops when they came by looking for chips for their summer BBQs. After a while, they wouldn't even ask for my dad. They'd see me, put in their request, I'd fill it, and log the expenditure to keep track of inventory. In return for that accomodation, my Dad's trucks were immune from hassle as they'd often have to double-park or park in red zones to make efficient deliveries. His trucks and drivers were never ticketed. I learned a valuable business lesson and about quid pro quo at an early age.

 

We always had Fritos in our home, and they were frequently part of our meals. Instead of croutons we'd put Fritos in our tomato and split pea soups, they'd be around the house as snacks, there was usually a case or two in the basement ... my dad would give 'em away as little thank you gifts.

 

Fritos was very good to us, but after my dad died I wanted - needed - distance from some of the things that reminded me of him, and so I put Fritos out of my life. Had he lived, he'd have been offered an executive position with the company, as were his friends, and I'd have been part of the "Frito Family."

Edited Saturday at 12:26 PM by Shel_B (log)