mmmmmmmmmmmm, Utz

Utz is a maker of chips (potato and tortilla), pretzels, cheese balls, cheese crunchies, cheese curls, pork rinds and lots of similarly delicious snack foods.

You can get potato chips packed in 3/4-ounce wussie bags, or 6-pound macho boxes, or almost any conceivable size in-between. They're available in regular or kettle or thick or Mystic or BBQ, or sea-salt-and-vinegar or almost any other variety you can conceive of. Even chocolate-coated. I'm not kidding.

Utz also makes great crunchy pretzels with chocolate coating, or no coating, or mustard and onion flavoring, or honey-wheat, or no salt, or God-knows-what-else versions... in different shapes and sizes, packed in bags, barrels and boxes.

The company also has a growing line of lower-fat, lower-salt, natural and organic snacks, if that's important to you.

If you want to enhance your chips or pretzels, Utz will gladly sell you salsa, or Jalepeno & Cheddar, Mild Cheddar Cheese, or Sour Cream & Onion dip to stick them in. They also have lots of gift packages, including a baseball-stadium-shaped tin that plays "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and is filled with chocolate covered pretzel wheels; and a 20-gallon can filled with 75 one-ounce bags of Utz's assorted snacks.

The company has been making people smile since 1921 and is based in Hanover, PA. (near Lancaster, Gettysburg and Three Mile Island). Their magnificent munchies are available in supermarkets or online or at the factory.

The factory tour is a lot of fun. It smells wonderful, and you can buy munchables that you might not find in your local stores.

In addition to "purist" packs of snacks, Utz also offers good stuff to eat that's packed in sports logo containers and gift boxes. You can get bags of Hokie Chips to honor Virginia Tech; and there are chip-of-the-month and snack-of-the-month programs to keep you crunching with no more effort than opening your door, the package and your mouth.

Seasonal specialities include the pictured Tailgate Mix: a 26-ounce football-shaped barrel for your next tailgate party or couch-potato session. The barrel is packed with Cheese Crunchies, Pretzel Wheels, BBQ Corn Chips and Oriental Rice Crackers. All that's missing is beer.

All of the canines and humans in our family (even Cynical Cousin Dave, who doesn't like much) agree that Utz Cheese Curls are the best in the world. Maybe in the universe. They make both puffy and crunchy curls; and if you don't like orange fingers, you can get white cheddar.

You can even order a hand-packed barrel o' goodies filled with up to 56 ounces of your personal Utz favorites. It's like having your very own factory, and a great gift idea. A case of snack-size pretzels or chips is perfect for treating trick-or-treaters. The sugar deprived population will love the Utz TWO GALLON tin of Caramel Popcorn with Chocolate Drizzle.

And, if you're a major Utz fan, you can cover your body and fill your home with Utz clothing, toys and gadgets, play golf with official Utz balls and golf umbrella, and write love letters and do homework with an Utz pen.

Visit the factory or the website. Request a catalog to salivate over. Spend twenty bucks or a hundred bucks. You won't regret it. Also, get on the Utz email list for special savings, and to find out about new treats. Email dmmyers@utzsnacks.com