Year-end arrived before I could even catch my breath. Advent calendars are everywhere in my timeline, and the seasonal impulse to contribute something has taken hold. After some deliberation about what topic to write on, I settled on richness. This post will distribute several means of enriching your life. Let us proceed.
1. Potato House — Potato Chips (Miracle Spice Flavor)
Since Hikaru-san introduced these on the Free Agenda podcast, they have changed my life. The thickness of the potato. The hardness that requires genuine jaw effort to get through. The inexplicably compelling seasoning that earns the name "miracle spice." In my neighborhood, they're only reliably findable at Natural Lawson — a rare experience. Everything about them is perfect. Please find them and eat them over the new year. Mail order also appears to be available.
They are apparently currently running a 15% increase to 100 grams in honor of a founding anniversary.
2. Calbee — Nori Shio Potato Chips
I don't eat potato chips regularly, but on the rare occasion of a small treat — or if I were to face death tomorrow and found myself with a potato chip craving and only one choice — I would choose this one. The accessibility of picking it up anywhere, the flavor tuned precisely for the Japanese palate, and the fact that Calbee is arguably the world's most dedicated company when it comes to the source ingredient (potato). Everything about it is perfect.
3. Pringles — Sour Cream & Onion
The polar opposite of Nori Shio. A processed chip. A seasoning that is unmistakably artificial and corresponds to no sour cream or onion occurring in nature. Highly addictive.
This product is poison. Japan has a fine proverb: "If you're going to eat the poison, eat the plate too." (i.e., in for a penny, in for a pound.) If Jiro (the legendary Tokyo ramen chain famous for its extreme, maximalist bowls) represents a certain archetype in the ramen world, then Pringles Sour Cream & Onion represents it in the potato chip world. Everything about it is perfect. Available at your nearest 7-Eleven.
There you have it. Use these three chips to enrich your life. Until next time.
(Note: this post is an internet meme. Please do not engage with it seriously.)
