The Zapp's Potato Chips You Should Leave Behind At The Store

As Rilke's famous penpal Franz Xaver Kappus once put it, "Where a great and unique man speaks, small men should keep silence." He wasn't talking about potato chips, but all the same, this sentiment certainly applies to Zapp's Evil Eye chips in comparison to the brand's iconic Voodoo flavor. In a definitive ranking of every Zapp's potato chip flavor, Tasting Table ranked Evil Eye as the worst.

A name like "Evil Eye" (coupled with the Flamin' Hot scarlet hue coating these beauties) would lead consumers to expect spicy, which these chips are decidedly not. Despite the bright red flavor and visible, abundant coating of spices, Zapp's Evil Eye kettle-style potato chips offer a more tangy, sweet, tomato-forward flavor with some subtle warmth on the back end. If that sounds pretty extra, it's because it is (and not necessarily in a good way).

Per the ingredients label, Evil Eye chips are flavored with dehydrated tomato, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, vinegar, tamarind, molasses, salt, and sugar. While these elements might marry harmoniously in a New Orleans soup or slow-simmered sauce, they didn't meld quite as cohesively in the chip format. Ultimately, there was just too much going on here. As we mentioned in our review, the most memorable thing about the Evil Eye chips is a major "disconnect between all the flavors, with the sweet tomato taste and heat at odds. Frankly, this Zapp's flavor had too many ingredients."

Several Target reviews describe the Evil Eye flavor as a less-good version of Zapp's Voodoo chips, which took second place in Tasting Table's ranking. As our review raves, "eating a Voodoo chip is like tasting 12 things at the same time — but in the best, most harmonious kind of way." Alas, this bold-but-beautiful dimensionality cannot be said of Evil Eye. A more positive Target reviewer notes, "I like them even though I don't know what they are!" (nice). Confusion seems to be a common undercurrent here.

Elsewhere online, a review from The Impulsive Buy mentions that the chips "brought to mind one word: ketchup ... if you are looking for intense heat, the evil eye is not on your side." NOLA-based YouTube foodie @DadReviews agrees: "It's not spicy, from a Louisiana boy's stance," instead comparing the taste to "the tomato sauce that's on a pizza."

On a positive note, there's no doubt that the packaging is rad. It's a nod to the New Orleans-based chip company's roots and the spooky lore of Marie Laveau. (Although, Pennsylvania snack giant Utz of Hanover bought Zapp's back in 2011, making the brand somewhat of a regional Midwest-NOLA fusion.) As the official Utz website writes of the chips, "Beware of the Evil Eye! The famous New Orleans Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau, was rumored to have one ... Try if you Dare!" However, "if you dare" might be more aptly revised to "if you really like tomato."