Apparently El’s Kitchen has been all over the place lately getting the word out about their gluten free bagel chips and Gardetto-like snack mix called “Medleys”. I saw a giveaway on Gluten Free is Life yesterday, as well as a review from Gluten Free and the City. Maybe they’re looking to build out their testimonials section?
Well, I’m happy to help! They were so nice to offer to send me a sample bag of each as well.
When they arrived in my mailbox I immediately ripped them open and dumped them on a plate to see what was inside.
Bagel chips on the bottom, Medleys on the top
This is not your average snack mix, people.
The Medleys mix was so interesting and fun!
There were corn nuts, which I don’t even remember eating before, and now I don’t know how they were absent from my life for 24 years. So yummy! Like edible popcorn kernels mixed with a nut. Plus there were these potato cracker/chip pieces that were ultra crunchy and had ridges on them. And to round it out, there were little Frito-like corn chips.
All covered in delicious spicy coating of Worcestershire, honey, paprika, cumin, and a bunch of other ingredients.
The bagel chips are really crunchy and thin, but I was dying to dip them into something. So I pulled out some smoked salmon dip from Whole Foods and got to it.
And that is the bagel chips’ natural state. SO good with the dip. They’re so crunchy that they didn’t break when I loaded it up with dip.
But, I didn’t stop there.
Last night I decided that they needed to go on top of soup. I used to get soup at Bruegger’s Bagels and use their bagel chips to dunk in my soup. Those were thick, and still a bit hard to gnaw on after they waded in the soup for awhile (in a good way).
Doesn’t that homemade roasted corn and poblano chowder look good?
Oh, who am I kidding? I bought one of those pre-made quarts of soup from Whole Foods. I did add in fresh broccoli, yellow squash, and a salmon fillet. That has to count for something, right?
Kind of like I remember. I think that if I’m truly going to get the Bruegger’s effect, I’ll need to make my own really thick bagel chips from gf bagels at some point.
Still, they made a pretty great topper. I think I still prefer them with that smoked salmon dip. Yummmm
El’s doesn’t sell their products in DC yet, so you’ll have to buy them online. Or check if they have them in your area on their website. They would make a great gift for your gluten free BFF too, since it’s a specialty product that you won’t be able to recreate.
I think we can safely say that El’s owns the market in gf bagel chips and snack mix. Crunch away!
Gluten Free? Gimme Three! 