Do you remember O'Gradys chips from Frito-Lay? These were gloriously thick ridged chips available in Au'gratin or Sour Cream & Chives flavor. I got such a hankering for them the other day that I tried to manufacture my own. Got some Lays rippled chips and some cheddar cheese sliced real fine. Take a bite of chip and a bite of cheese. It's okay but it just didn't bring back the magic.
Man, oh man, did Pops and I love those chips. Step Mom would get one bag for the both of us when she went shopping. She shopped once a week, usually on Monday. Do the math here: (1 bag o' chips) / (high school student + adult male) * (1 full week) = (insufficient chips for harmonious living). Thanks, Step Mom. Thanks for adding that extra layer of tension between us. My raging hormones weren't causing quite enough problems without the two of us competing for food like hyenas of the Serengetti.
Anyway, like I said, we had a bag per week between the two of us. There was a set of very well defined unwritten rules for O'Gradys consumption:
- Either of us could pop that bag. There was no veto power by either party.
- The bag was not fair game unless we were both home.
Now some of you out there might say "What's the problem? Open them up the night that she buys them. Share and share alike. Everybody walks home happy (figuratively of course as you're already home)." I hope that you personally were not one of the people who would say that because those people are complete and total idiots with no regard for proper snacking etiquette or the crisp cheesy goodness that was the O'Grady chip and they should be coated with raspberry jelly and ground up Fritos then locked in a room with Michael Moore until the crunching sounds stop.
The key, you see, is waiting. If you are suffering Carbohydratic Sour Cream withdrawal and there is a bag of your particular fix in the kitchen then you can pull yourself through. When the DTs hit you and there are no O'Grady chips in the house that is a completely different situation. And when you get that feeling and there are no O'Grady chips and it is an entire fucking week until there will be more chips then people can get hurt. It was a moral imperative to hold that bag until late in the week.
So we would wait, fighting back the rising urge to assault that bag as if we were the Norman conquerors themselves. The first couple days wouldn't be too bad. An occasional pang would surface. One or the other of us might put out half hearted feelers on possible chip opening but the other would remain strong and talk the instigator down. Day four is when it started to get dangerous. By day four neither Pops nor I would be able to sit calmly at the table or relax and watch the TV. The undercurrent of tension began to grow. We started keeping an eye on each other. If one of us went into the kitchen then the other would suddenly "get thirsty" and follow.
Day five was when things started getting dangerous. We no longer did things like work on projects in the basement or help move the cars so Step Mom could leave the house. Neither of us was so foolish as to remain technically "at home" but out of sight of both the chips and our adversary. By day six we wouldn't go to the bathroom if the other one was in the house and unencumbered.
God forbid if you screwed up on day five or six. Give the other guy a window of opportunity as small as five minutes and you could return to find a potato crumb covered, orange cheesy stained fingered, gleefully smiling and extremely sated opponent. There would be a couple chips left in the bag of course. Somewhere in the half dozen range. Just precisely enough to still be able to claim "sharing rights" on the next bag.
Fortunately it didn't often work out that way. Most times we struggled through the week and opened that bag together and slowly savored the chips in companionable silence. We were all kinds of polite once that bag was opened. I'd take a chip, he'd take a chip, I'd take another one. No taking a second in a row until the other fellow has his! That would be rushing consumption and would affect enjoyment of the O'Grady chips. No, once that bag opened all of the tension and strain evaporated in a haze of flavored powder and extra thick rippled potato slices.
Pop: Just one left. Go ahead.
Me: Oh, no! You take it. I insist.
Pop: Are you sure?
Me: Yeah, I'm sure. I've had plenty.
Pop: Thanks, son.
Me: No problem, Pop.
Pop: I sure do love you, son.
Me: I love you too, Pop.
I sure do miss those O'Gradys chips.
UPDATE: Got an email asking why we didn't just buy more chips. Evan, you are so not getting it.
UPDATE2: Unfortunately this post has become the victim of a repetitive spambot and I have to close the comments. :-(
Seriously creepy. I was just thinking of those chips this week! I loved them-the cheddar ones were the best. You put them in your mouth, sucked them until they were mushy and the cheesy goodness attached to your throat, then swallowed.
I loved those chips....
Yeah, those were the absolute best chips. Remember how you'd occassionally get one with a big cake of orange powder on it? Snagging one of those was sort of like winning the lottery. And man were they thick! Not that I was ever tempted to do so, but I've heard others decrying their superior dipping ability. They were strong chips. We're talking "Guacamole? No problem!" strong. Suspend David Blaine over the Thames strong.
And those were the only snack I've ever encountered in my lifetime where I honestly could not eat just one chip.
Goodness Gracious! O'Grady's!! The best potato chip you could buy, that's for sure. What happened that Frito Lay had to quit making them? Were sells low due to a higher price or do you think maybee that the marketing/ advertising was not good enough to get enough people to try them?
Yeah, I have fond memories of that beautiful chip. If anyone has an old bag that they were saving for a future birthday or something, let me know if you decide to sell it!
I thought I was the only one missing O'Grady's! I have never found a potato chip that compares to the Au Gratin flavored O'Grady's. Everything else pales in comparison. Maybe someday they'll bring them back, but till then I'm holdin on to the memories! :-)
hehe i found them and hopefully i have some on the way if i can actually get some i will let everyone know where to get them and what it cost me
Ohh please tell me if you can get them. I have been searching for years as they were my all time favorite. Nobody mentioned the Hearty Seasonings flavor they had. I would eat at least 3 bags of them a week. I cant believe they dont make them anymore as they were no doubt the best chip ever made!!!
I thought I was the only one with the passion ans severs addictionn of the thick cheesy chips.ets alletition Frito Lay to bring them back. I can do without Fritos completely so there shoud always be room for them on the shelves.HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I too much loved the O'Gradys chip. If anyone knows where to get a bag I would love a blast from the past. I saw we all send massive amounts of emails to Frito Lays demanding they bring back their alltime best tasting chip. For those who never had the pleasure of tasting one just simply don't know what they were missing. Poor saps...
I have an un-opened bag of Au-gratin that I found when I finally moved house some weeks ago. A little crushed but still intact.
I am reluctant to open and sample this blast from the past as the used by date is Feb 1986.
From the feedback on this site alone, it is nice to see other people fondly remember this great product. My next query is Triple Treats and the dissapearance thereof.
I am thinking of contacting Lays and showing them this website in the hope they can maybe re-release this product as it has some well founded support. These were the best chis ever as you all know. They got it right! Why would they pull such a good product off of the market? Sales would no doubt be the answer. So why were they no marketed better? Hmmmmmm!
David
O'Grady's potato chips represent one of my fondest food memories from the 8O's.
I'd wondered for years what happened to them & I still want them back, but it's nice to know that I'm not alone. I'd never even been on the internet until a couple of years ago, & I just thought I'd see what I could find out about this.
It's probably just wishful thinking, but maybe if enough of us are heard, it'll be revived.
Oh the O' Grady's! I think they stopped making them because of the disagreements in the contracts with the vendors that make them and license Frito-Lay to sell them. Hey all, Lay's Wavy Au Gratin chips are similar, not quite as salty or super cheesy, but really good! They are thick cut and crispy.
Man i don't feel alone anymore. Me and my mom use to sit after school and watch T.V. and enjoy a bag of those great chips. If there were none in the house I would be always willing to run to the store and get some.....usually would only take a commercial break to get to the store and back. Were there was a will there was a way.
Hey Guys,
The closest thing that I have found to O'Gradys is Lay Ruffles Chip with Cheddar and Sour Creme there "GREAT"!!
O'Grady's were the most delicious chip I have ever had. Why would a company stop making a product that was so popular? We need to get them to make O'Grady chips again!
me and dad are talking and there is little info on them online. I miss them :( so does my pops.
I have been cvraving these for years. I ate them for lunch every day at school in the 80's. I moved to Canada and just thought that Canadians didn't have them. I've been back in the States for two years now and have had a few mouth watering eppisodes while thinking about them. I just went on-line to see if I can order them somewhere. I'm so bummed now. I didn't know that they had been discontinued all together.
dudes you have to be a complete jack-a-- if you don't like these chips... they rock...
alright pat!
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