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Red Hot Riplets - The Best Hot Potato Chips in the World?

Scott Roberts January 19, 2008 at 4:27 pm food

Red Hot Riplets Medium-Sized Bag Without a doubt the best spicy potato chips I've ever eaten are Red Hot Riplets, made by the Old Vienna company of St. Louis. They're certainly the hottest chip I've tasted, far surpassing even Blair's Death Rain Habanero Chips. On the back of a bag of these babies it states that these "flavor of America's heartland," which includes "Dakota 'chipping' potatoes" and real "St. Louis Style Hot Sauce" (whatever that is…I mean, the St. Louis, MO area has it's share of chileheads and fans of fiery cuisine, but we're not exactly known as a Mecca of hot sauce). In a "ballpark" estimation of the chips' heat, I'd compare them to a sauce in the range of 50,000 – 100,000 scoville units; a nice burn for most folks but not hot enough to have you running for a fire extinguisher.

But they're more than about heat – they have a slightly sweet flavor with a hint of BBQ sauce. This combination makes them a truly addictive snack. Remember Lay's old slogan "Betcha can't eat just one"? Well, an appropriate tagline for Red Hot Riplets ought to be "betcha can't eat just one BAG". For those who like their munchies with a little kick, these are almost like heroin in chip form.

Red Hot Riplets in Bowl Like the name infers, these are ridged chips with a hearty thickness to them and a beautiful orange-red seasoning. Red Hot Riplets are fried in liquid vegetable oils and because of the cut of the chip are thankfully not overly greasy out of the bag.

Unfortunately for a lot of you reading this, Red Hot Riplets are only available in stores the St. Louis metro area. If you're ever passing through the Gateway City, be sure to stop at a supermarket or convenience store and pick up a bag or two. You may also wish to try contacting Old Vienna at their website and see if they can ship some of these to you by mail. I promise you, it's worth the effort to get your hands on some of these.

Update 9/19/09: For some reason, I'm personally getting weekly calls requesting orders for cases of Red Hot Riplets. I have no idea why, but people are thinking I'm the one selling the chips. I am not. Please call Old Vienna LLC, the owners of Red Hot Riplets, at (800) 684-3050 for sales inquiries.

Comments

Ray Reeves
2008-02-06 16:28:09

Dear Vienna(Hot Ripplets)Potato Chip Corporation: Hello and to your corporation and staff; I have been trying for years to order your snacks since moving here to Orlando,FL. There's nothing compare to your line of Hot Ripplets and Cheese Snaps; please help me or assist me in ordering your products. Ray

nick1987
2008-02-24 11:11:36

Ray, it looks like you can contact the company at http://oldviennallc.com/contact.htm

t marsh
2008-03-15 10:38:21

awesome, awesome chips. i guess you can call them old school but the taste remains. the old vienna red hot riplets rock but i always liked their barb-q chips too.

tmarsh
2008-03-15 10:44:12

my bad, not the barb-q, the cheesy chips, does anyone remember the kas barb-q chips?

RedBirdsRule
2008-03-17 13:43:08

No arguement here...Red Hot Riplets rule...Old Vienna could make a fortune by distributing these chips nation wide!!

j.dunbar
2008-03-25 15:05:22

tmarsh, remember the old KAS chips. But the ones I really remember were the old Ozark BBQ chips. They were the BEST!!! They had the picture of the hillbilly on the bag and they had a delicious, almost sweet barbeque taste similar to the Red Hot Riplets....without the intense heat of course. I live in South County, MO and I haven't been able to find them in years.

Tyler Van Der Haar
2008-03-27 13:29:38

Damn right they are the best. Im scarfin a bag of Red Hots right now while writing this.

TMARSH
2008-04-06 18:41:32

hey j. dunbar, i'm over here in valley park and i ain't seen them in forever either. they rank right up there with the old hostess cakes "chocodiles" that you cant get around here anymore. i had a real hankerin for some last year so i ordered some off of ebay, they still make them on the west coast. a friend of mine also found some in the mountains in arizona and sent me some back here.

superfly
2008-04-10 22:20:12

what the hell my lifelong favorite red hot riplet has had a makeover the bag I purchased 4-6-08 not the same!!! someone please explain

Marcus
2008-04-14 15:36:54

Check out the MySpace page for these chips. LOL.

http://www.myspace.com/rippletts

blessed
2008-04-28 22:48:56

i am very disappointed with the change in the chips. the original redhot riplets did not have all this barbeque flavor in them. i to am old skool so please help me to purchase the original redhot riplets, because the flavor has change. there's to much of the barbeque flavor HELP ME TO FIND THE ORIGINALS

OriginalRedHot Lover
2008-05-02 02:56:02

As a lifelong St. Louisian, I became "addicted" to these chips. Even when I moved away for a while, I used to dream about grabbing a bag or two when I passed through the "Gateway City." However, recently Old Vienna has changed the chip from a thicker wide ridged chip to a thinner ridged chip. Furthermore, they have changed the distinct flavor to a more mundane barbeque flavor. I thought I was the only one who noticed the change! I plan to email Old Vienna to complain about this change. I hope the rest of you "original" Red Hot Riplet lovers will do the same! If anyone knows where I can find some of the original Red Hot Riples, please email the store location to me. Thanks.

TPW
2008-05-02 15:03:00

When did the flavor of Red Hot Riplets change? Just recently, as in the past few months? I'd be pissed if it did.>:(

Sharnita
2008-06-04 15:43:49

Hello. I was raised on these chips. I am now in college in TN. I was disappointed last year when I came home and Red Hot Riplets didn't taste the same. I read the bag and it said something about bbq flavoring. I went to 15 stores and they all said the same. I want the original chips. How can I get those?

Ray
2008-06-04 18:39:21

Hello to all the Old Vienna Potatoe Chips Fans: Love all your comments concerning the St. Louis Old Vienna Potatoe Chip Snack Line; there's nothing compare to the Old Vienna Potatoe Chips truly nothing out here in the United States. Especially the Hot Riplets,Cheeze Snaps and the Sundance Corn Chips; I miss the foods of St. Louis,Missouri. Orlando,FL and other east coast cities do not compare to the Mid-West Cities Snacks and Foods we all have come to known as children throughout years even as adults likewise. I would like to thanks Nick1987 for the great information about the Old Vienna Site; thank you brother and hope you have a wonderful summer and bless year. Ray

Big Al
2008-06-10 18:39:24

Shit they used to be a different flavor? Get out of town. I think their the bomb now, I can't get enough of them.

debbie mask
2008-06-20 08:42:41

When will the hot riplets be back in the grocery stores.
I was told you took off for awhile.
is that that true.
You are still going to make them for the St Louis areaplease respond.
I keep looking for them in the
stores.PLEASE CALL IF YOU CAN.
ARE TELL WHERE I MIGHT BE ABLE TO BUY
YOUR CHIPS.

THANK Y ou

Debbie Mask

Cree
2008-07-02 12:17:11

The new flavoring isnt bad but I think the ripple change makes for a much thicker chip and I like the old chips. They are still making them, but I have found you have to go to stores in the inner city to find the chips. the stores out by me stopped carying them

babeman
2008-11-11 08:32:49

I can't find 'em anywhere anymore.:(

Matt Birk
2009-01-07 09:12:34

The best way to order is by contacting them at:(800) 684-3050

They are located all around the St. Louis area, including some nearby Illinois cities. They have a wide variety of potato chips to choose from. If you're in the area you can always stop in and buy a case, save on shipping and handling.

Here is their address:
Old Vienna of St. Louis
345 S. Old Highway 141
Fenton, MO 63026

I work for Old Vienna so if you have questions let me know.

mattbirk@charter.net

Sincerely,
Matt

Matt Birk
2009-01-07 09:39:09

Also, to clear up the reason the chips were having a different taste back in March until around May. The company making the chips went bankrupt with no warning, and shut their doors. Old Vienna LLC had to then find someone who could start producing all of their products. Of course this led to a turnaround time, and it took them a while to get the recipe tasting back to normal. For a couple months in the warehouse, every truck that came in was a rush to taste the Red Hot Riplets to see if they were tasting back to the original Red Hot Riplets recipe. After some trial and error the chip is back to its wonderful taste, and everything is running smoothly again. The turnaround time took a bit, but it was well worth it, having the Red Hot Riplets back to the taste everyone knows and loves.

Questions?
mattbirk@charter.net
or
stevebirk@oldviennallc.com

RedBirdsRule
2009-01-16 09:16:21

I've started seeing them in stores again. I'm glad to see things back to normal. Thanks for the info, Matt.

kelly waggoner
2009-02-13 16:33:32

I live in Mayfield, Ky and would like to find a place that sells the Old Vienna of St Louis chips. My husband tries some today and loves them. He is wanting me to locate somewhere in Western Ky that sells these products.

Cheferist 09
2009-06-02 12:55:19

There are two things I can't live without...RedHot Ripplets(st. Louis) and Gates Barbque Sauce(Kansas). I grew up in St. Louis but moved away to Alabama...there is nothing here. The fried rice isn't even good, and it is impossible to get home enough to get my Ripplet and Barbque fix, so whenever I go I have to buy like six bags and stuff. I can't wait until their website let's you order on line. Kelly, you might not find them because I have not heard of them being anywhere but St. Louis, but the website is supposed to be setting up so that we can order online. Hope it doesn't take too long...I only have one bag left!

Matt Birk
2009-06-02 17:16:54

Kelly,
Odds are you won't find them there. They are a St. Louis area snack, but there are few small distributors around that buy from Old Vienna, LLC and sell them on their own.

You can always place an order via telephone, (800) 684-3050, and an place an order to be shipped that way.

Have a good day,

Matt

Yvonne
2009-06-04 16:36:36

My name is Yvonne and I'm from Chi-town. We have Jay's Hotstuff Potato Chips up here and they used to be da bomb, but the company began slacking off on the flavor afer a new company took over. Needless to say, I was depressed. While passing through St. Louis earlier this year, I was blessed to find Old Vienna Red Hot Ripletts!!! I was estatic! I brought as many bags as i could, but I slowly ran out. I've been online for months trying to find these chips. I'm so glad I ran across Scoot Robert's blog and I will be ordering a case ASAP!

Kutty
2009-06-05 16:44:46

Born and raised in Lovejoy IL aka Brooklyn IL Red Hot Ripletts are the best potato chips are the best in the world. We need them shipped to Columbus Ohio.

E.P- Thomas
2009-08-22 20:17:11

Can I order the chips on-line? If so what do I need to do?

Matt Birk
2009-08-27 11:32:14

Currently, there is no online ordering yet. You can call to place an order to have shipped to you. The contact information is here: http://oldviennallc.com/contact.htm

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Matt

Chanderia
2009-09-17 11:27:54

I was born and raised in St. Louis and now reside in Sacramento, CA. I crave Sundance corn chips and Red Hot Riplets, so every now and again I have my mother ship them to me. I'm so glad I stumbled upon this website so that I can order a case because even my co-workers LOVE them!

Mocja98
2009-09-29 20:54:17

Hello,
I was also raised on Hot Riplet potato chips. I lived in STL for 32 years. I now reside in the ATL and they do not sell them here. I get to STL about twice a year and every time I go home I get 20 bags to bring back. People look at me crazy. But they just don't know. I have my mom chip me 20 bags in-between time. I would love to be a distributor for OLD VIENNA in the ATL area. But for now I will settle with having some bags shipped to me directly. Where can i order the chips?

Matt Birk
2009-09-30 09:24:51

You can place orders by calling:
(800)684-3050.

The website is being built now and should be ready within a month or so.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks!
Matt Birk

DavidWC
2009-10-05 09:14:39

I picked up a bag of old vienna potato chips at a store my daughter works at, 1st time I had them in years.When my older brother moved to Atlanta back in the 50s he would always complain they didnt have them down there Cardinal was their big seller . No comparison Old Vienna is the best chip ever made!

RockCastille
2009-11-30 09:41:03

No doubt that these "Red Hot Riplets" are the best "hot" chip in the USA. After I eat one bag (9.0oz) my scalp has beads of sweat on it. I have worked in 26 states and never come across a better hot chip. I now live in Texas and my family ships me a few bags every year. Maybe with the new website we can order ourselves? I would be a distributor in Texas if they needed one.

madashell
2010-01-25 16:10:49

Tell me why my boyfriend has to ship these chips to me Memphis, because there is no store in the city that sell them, come on now, let us try them too.

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