Junk Food Nation, this weekend is the weekend of March Madness that the Final Four is decided.  Two of the seeds have been decided: Louisville and Ohio State. Today my pick to win it all, UNC, and my personal diehard fan-of team, Kansas, battle for another spot while Kentucky and Baylor fight for the other. My bracket’s busted already, so I’m hoping that the Jayhawks kick some Roy Williams tail, and I feel that Kentucky and their uber talented one-and-done squad will be too much for Baylor.

But what is happening in the Big East? For the second year in a row, a team that was below the top 5 in the Big East not only swept through the Big East tournament, winning it, but also has played their way into the Final Four.  Kemba Walker and the UConn Huskies did it last year, and Louisville is doing it this year. Maybe there’s something about the Big East tournament’s double bye system that hardens teams? Maybe since college basketball often times relies on momentum, a team that is able to win out in the Big East tournament is unstoppable in March Madness?  All I can say is if Kentucky/Baylor loses to Louisville and the Cardinals are in the final game, I’m shoving all my chips in on Rick Pitino.

I will say one thing: Cincinnati may be last year’s Louisville – higher ranked in the Big East and ended up losing in the Big East Final, like Pitino’s crew did last year.  Keep an eye on them in 2013.  BTW, I realize there is no real sports analysis here.  But whatever – most of March Madness is luck anyways, right?

Today’s junk food: Popcorn, Indiana Jalapeño Ranch Chip’ins!

The Money Shot

What more do I need to say about Popcorn, Indiana?  They are a favorite here on Junkfoodguy.com, as reflected by the numerous reviews of their products.  By why not recap a little bit? This Popcorn, Indiana chip was found at my local Walmart.  I first saw the brand on a season of the Apprentice.  Also known as Dale & Thomas Popcorn, this company was founded in Englewood, New Jersey. Go Jersey! It’s your birthday!

The apostrophe is a chip???

Popcorn, Indiana Jalapeño Ranch Chip’ins, you have opened my eyes – how did I not SEE before that the apostrophe in your name is a chip with a bite taken out of it!?  Brilliant.  Seriously, I love it.  Good branding, Popcorn, Indiana.

Love the neon green trim

I’m also loving the neon green trim on the bag of Popcorn, Indiana Jalapeño Ranch Chip’ins.  Simple and reflective of the flavor profile.

Brilliance in spice

Why does creamy ranch and a spicy kick go together so well?  Usually a creamy milky substance goes with spicy substance because the dairy helps neutralize the capsaicin in the spice… but ranch and jalapeño just TASTE good together.

Jalapeno peppers and paprika

18 Popcorn, Indiana Jalapeño Ranch Chip’ins for 130 calories is amazing, and I LOVE that the fourth ingredient on this list is jalapeño.  Good.  It’s the way it ought to be, not buried down on the list after onion and garlic powders.

Standard look

The Popcorn, Indiana Jalapeño Ranch Chip’ins and upon opening the bag, you could smell a LITTLE hint of jalapeño pepper but not much of anything else.  Time to crunch.

Flecks of green

Ok, Popcorn, Indiana Jalapeño Ranch Chip’ins, where have you been all my life?  This is definitely one of those snacks, like Chex Mix Muddy Buddies, where I had to STOP myself from eating.  I needed to stop eating them or else I’d not have enough to savor and write thoughtfully about for this review….but I couldn’t STOP!

One crunch and this chip quickly replaced White Cheddar Chip’ins as the best. Chip. EVAR.   Like the other Chip’ins, the chip tasted like popcorn.  Perfect crunch, perfect air popped popcorn flavor.

But, my God, the FLAVOR.  Immediate ranchy, creamy, savory flavor.  A very tasty bite, but then all of a sudden the POWERFUL kick of the jalapeño RIGHT in your mouth.  And it wasn’t just a neutral generic spice – this had a LITTLE bit of vegetable-y jalapeño flavor, which I love, AND it managed to tingle my ENTIRE tongue without over-burning it. I can’t describe it – the chip didn’t just kill the one spot where my tongue happened to taste the spice, instead, the tingle managed to spread…and spread…and SPREAD… ALL OVER MY MOUTH.  And despite this, it didn’t feel unpleasant — in fact, it was a rather exciting sensation (ok, I’ll try to refrain from the pornographic descriptions.)

I learned from Food Network that most of the time spice is more of a sensation rather than a flavor, but here it worked on both levels.  And then, as soon as I thought the spice was going to take over, the creamy ranch savoriness kicked back in to wash it all away.  Amazing.

Buy these, eat these, thank me later.

Thoughts? Hit me in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page. Sincerely, Junk Food Guy