I like my Thai food mild and have never subscribed to the “sriracha cult” — you know, the one that puts hot sauce on every conceivable food, or buys commemorative pins and pillows — but now I think I’m starting to get it. A trip to a Clinton Hill “healthy” deli (“Fresh to Go” Deli Juice Bar, to get specific) recently turned me into a believer when I came across a sriracha chip — the Daily Crave Sriracha Lentil Chips — that has edged out virtually every delicious orange snack I have ever loved.
Vegetable chips are usually bland as hell, enough for me to skip over them in favor of something fattier and tastier, but these are wonderfully crisp, perfectly seasoned with spice and salt, and pack a satisfying kick that you don’t need to chase with a glass of milk. And if they’re not healthy, they’re not that bad for you: kosher, vegan, halal, trans-fat-free, low-sodium, and low-calorie (well, compared to your standard Lays and Cheetos chips). They’re low-guilt and highly addictive.
Because I have a bad habit of snacking at night, my boyfriend likes to tease me when he finds a bag of chips in my bed, which more and more frequently has been the Daily Crave. One morning when the next-door neighbors were awake at 3 a.m. (which meant, therefore, that I was awake at 3 a.m., and starving), I polished off an entire bag in one sitting. I’d happily do it again if hunger struck. As a journalist, the “Read all about it!” urgency of its newsprint branding really spoke to me, too, as if its creators knew this was hot stuff worthy of being evangelized in a place like the Strategist.
After a recent game night where I came bearing the Goods, my friend texted me to say, “I’m in a health-food store looking for those lentil chips (crying-face emoji).” My boyfriend has also become a Daily Crave fan, and will usually ask me to buy two bags if I’m stocking up, since he knows I’ll get to one first. The only thing to note if you’re looking to buy some is that these are not a basic bodega chip. You might have to trawl through the shelves of your local “soy and whey” health-food store looking for them. Luckily, if you can’t find them in your neighborhood bodega, they’re available on Walmart — and for even cheaper.
Camila Cabello and deputy editor Jason Chen both crave these Takis chips, which he prefers buying in small singles for added freshness: “They’re not nearly as virtuous, but deliver a high-intensity crunch, lime, and chili explosion.”
Another of Jason’s favorites are these spicy Popchips, which he says are similar to the lentil chips, only potato-based rather than lentil-based. “The spice is mixed with a savory cheese flavor similar to Hot Cheetos (only less spicy).”
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