A potato chip is born in Northwest Michigan

So many potato chips, so little time to try them all? Here's a recommendation: Do not miss the kettle-cooked, skin-on kind that are produced in a former honey plant/boat-repair shop in Traverse City's Long Lake Township by Great Lakes Potato Chip Co.

As the pale yellow-and-brown bag proclaims, "It's one kick-butt kettle chip that stands up to the gnarliest snack craving you can dish out."  

Owner Ed Girrbach, retired Merrill Lynch manager and current owner of Pangea's Pizza in downtown Traverse City, grew up in River Rouge, just outside Detroit, once the reigning potato chip capital of the world. He did some research and found no regionally made chips Up North, so he and his son Chris embarked on a chip-making operation using local spuds -- Sackett Potatoes in Mecosta County -- and spices from Suttons Bay Trading Co.

They're hand-sorted and scrubbed, sliced with the skins on by machine, then cooked for four minutes in a 150-gallon fryer filled with sunflower oil. The result: A pleasantly flavored chip that's crisp, but not the least bit molar-challenging, like some kettle-cooked varieties.

The Girrbachs make three types of chips -- original, barbeque, and sea salt and vinegar – from their automated 12,000 square-foot facility. They debuted this month at Oleson's Food Stores and at Pangea's. "We've gotten a real good response – we're very, very pleased," says Ed, adding that other small local food stores are already signed up to carry them, too.

Writer: Patty LaNoue Stearns
Source: Ed Girrbach