Few things are so regionally beloved as potato chips. In the Northwest, we have Utz-owned Tim’s Cascade Style Potato Chips, which are made in Washington state and proudly boast their PNW pride: they're dubbed "Cascade-style" chips, and one flavor is called Sasquatch Surprise, with packaging that says #WeArePNW.

Which flavor belongs in your party bowl, barbecue plate, or daytime snacking stash? We tested seven flavors to find out, and list them below from best to worst.

BEST CHIP

Tim's Jalapeño Potato Chips

These chips were our unanimous favorite: hot enough to make you sweat a bit and gulp down a little more water (or beer), but not enough to cause any pain. Opening a bag "smacks you in the face with the smell of a jalapeño—just like cutting into a jalapeño,” said one tester. Yet even as the heat kept building in our mouths, we reached for more. One of our testers, a native Portlander, recalls that when his middle school cafeteria would run out of Tim’s jalapeño chips, “all hell would break loose.” We understand why: we couldn't put down this bag.

RUNNER-UP

Tim's Sasquatch Surprise Potato Chips

The flavoring strategy of these is everything-but-the-kitchen-sink, and it works. “It’s like sea salt, vinegar, dill, and barbecue,” said one of our testers. An online reviewer detected tamarind; another tasted Banana Runts. Despite the flavor ambiguity, these chips maintain a nice balance between saltiness and tanginess, earning it a crowd-pleasing second place.

GOOD CHIPS

Tim's Honey BBQ Potato Chips

Move over, Lay’s. Though these are a little sweeter and less salty than the national brand, this chip might actually go better with barbecue. “They taste like a cookout,” said one tester. Our team appreciated the thicker texture: “Lays just melt in your mouth, but this one is a lot more crunchy,” a tester said.

Tim's Vlasic Dill Pickle Potato Chips

These are difficult to stop eating. They reach your tongue with an initial odd hit of sweetness, followed by pleasant tanginess and lots of dill that inspired us to imagine adding these to sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs. “It tastes like when you’re 10 years old, and you’ve been swimming all day, and your mom gives you a sandwich cut right down the middle, with these chips inside,” said one tester, conjuring a (possibly made-up) memory. 

NOT SO GREAT CHIPS

Tim's Dungeness Crab Potato Chips

There’s no crustacean ingredients in these chips, but opening a bag of them smells just like lifting the lid of a steaming Cajun-style crab boil. The paprika gives these chips a vibrant orangey-red color, alongside a significant hit of pepper. “These aren’t bad,” was the lukewarm response from a tester, which summed up our communal feelings.

Tim's Original Potato Chips

While we certainly wouldn’t turn down these chips next to a hot dog, they leave something to be desired alone. “Not salty enough,” said one tester. “Kind of bland,” said another. “Too oily,” added another. If you crave a plain salted chip, we’d rather go for Lay’s Classic Potato Chips.

Chips to avoid

Tim's Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips

We’re in the camp of folks who love salt and vinegar chips—but not these. The amount of vinegar in each chip varied widely: while some tasted bland, others blasted our taste buds with tartness. They're certainly not terrible, but ranked dead last in our testing. As one tester put it, “There’s some salt and vinegar chips where you can’t stop eating them. I would stop eating these."