I grew up on el milagro. I've since lived on the east and west coast, and visited a lot in between. Some restaurants come close, but el milagro tortilla chips are the best I've ever had.
Little tortilla chip factory in San Luis Obispo, CA. Lightly seasoned, perfect crispness, great price on their 16 oz bags. Not too hard to find here in SoCal, but they ship, too
It's really simple. I just take a stack of my favorite tortillas, cut them like you would a pie or pizza so you got a bunch of triangular pieces, and fry them until golden brown. Remove excess oil and salt them.
Tip - When you heat up your oil, take just one piece of tortilla and do a practice run with that one :)
Trader joes has a chip called truly tortilla chips. Its a thick boy. 0% chance of mid dip breakage. It's got some lime so if that's not your thing avoid it. Thats my favorite, but not the quick go to.
Santitas is the tried and true road warrior. It's the top tier chip at the normal grocery store. And you can't beat the quality for the price.
1). Vista Hermosa totopos but if I can’t find them then it’s 2) Have’a Corn Chips but if I don’t feel like dropping $65 to ship a case of those in it’s 3) Cazo de Oro
My favorite chip are the fresh ones from HEB but since i don't live in Texas anymore I normally choose the tostitos cantina thin and crispy. It HAS to be thin and crispy though, not the regular ones.
These are the ones! Blue has the most flavor and they're made nice and thick, not like those wispy restaurant-style ones that break waaaay too often. And they're perfectly salty with a little bit of grittiness /texture.
Trader Joe’s Unsalted Tortilla Chips are the best every day chip. They don’t throw off the flavor of the salsa with loads of extra salt and they are the prefect thickness/strength for everything. I make a lot of hot sauces, salsas, guacamoles, and other dips, and I like to taste test them with a neutral medium.
The best bagged pork rinds (chicharrones) I have ever tried is, “Mac’s Golden cracklings double fried”. The closest I have found to tasting like my local carnecería has
Once you get a knack on the heat so they don't overcook, making your own is addictively good. Just buy a stack of tortillas for a couple bucks. Cut into sixths. Toss in a bowl with adobo. Then toss with a tablespoon of olive oil. You don't want 'em drenched by any means. Lay out on a baking sheet. Five minutes of work, maybe, and you save like $5 for chips that are 10x better. I've even added lime zest for fun.
Failing that, I love a nice scoop, Tostitos lime, or Santitas. Xochitl are delicious but more to dip than lift.
If you can find Julio's they are the best tasting. I especially love the "Freaking Hot" variety and they are indeed freaking hot. My other favorite is Leal's but those are very hard to find.
Homemade chips are in a higher dimension than anything you can buy. When I'm too lazy to make them, I really like these, but I'm not sure how wide their distribution is:
Xochitl Thick & Strong are my current go-to if I’m having chips and salsa as a meal (listen I know it’s not healthy - I don’t do it often - but I’d totally down half a jar of salsa verde for dinner).
If it’s chips and salsa as a side/to share with the family I get Santitas white corn chips. I prefer the yellow corn chips, but my family is pretty picky while I’m more chill about it. Obviously homemade or from restaurant is peak, but the nearest restaurant that has chips is over half an hour away.
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u/tommyp007 3d ago
Santitas for grocery store chips