True North Pistachio Crisps: RECOMMENDED

When I was in grad school, I heard a statistic once regarding new product launches. A ridiculous percentage of new products (something like 80-90%) fail and are removed from the marketplace within a year of launch. That being the case, it's easy to try new products and criticize them. It's much less frequent that I try something new and am genuinely impressed. That leads me to today's review.

The same day that I purchased the repulsive Progresso soup I reviewed in my previous post, I also decided to get a new snack for the little lady to enjoy. I had never heard of True North before, but was intrigued by the fact that the main flavor in this snack was pistachio. I don't think I'd ever heard of a cracker or chip based on nuts prior to that, so I decided to give them a whirl.

I had started my diet by that time, and said pistachio crisps should have been off-limits. After the little lady raved about them, however, I decided to put weight loss on hold and indulge myself. Unfortunately, this snack had an effect similar to Pringles: I couldn't eat just one. Until the bag was gone, I'd sneak a few here and there every time I saw the bag. They were crispy; they were salty, but not in an obnoxious way; they never left me feeling gross like most snacks do. I was obsessed.

I was surprised to learn that True North is a Frito-Lay brand. The same purveyors of fattening, addictive chips and snacks like Cool Ranch Doritos and Peppercorn Ranch Sun Chips (more on those later) have blessed us with a righteous bounty of natural, tasty snacks kissed by crystals of sea salt and a touch of love.

When times are tough, when the sky is dark, when all hope is lost, roll your old bones on over to Super Target and pick yourself up a bag of these hallowed crisps. You'll be glad you did. Your tastebuds need not be bored senseless any longer.