Cheap wine and potato chips

Just to share a couple of discoveries:

Good, cheap pinot noir

The other day we arrived at a BYOB place in Ravenswood and realized we forgot to bring our own. So we scouted for a liquor store and stopped at the first one there was room to pull up by. I didn't make a note of the place, but it was small and the wine selection was clearly aimed at people buying wine for the same reasons we were -- drinkable plonks. I didn't know what we'd be eating and our friend expressed a preference for red, so I acted on my theory that pinot noir goes with everything.

They had two, neither of which I'd ever heard of, both cheap. Without confidence, I picked this one, 2002 the Little Penguin from South Eastern Australia, $8.99 the bottle. Despite the cutesy name and label, it turned out to be delicious -- spicy, fruity, soft but not too jammy -- an ideal food wine. I'd have been happy with it had we paid considerably more. Aussie wines are generally reliable at low prices; they don't bother to export something that's not at least drinkable, but this seems an exceptional bargain. (Not only that, proceeds help support a foundation for Australian penguins.)


Kicky black-pepper potato chips

As noted, we shop at Meijer fairly often these days. Its grocery line is an odd mix of cheap, exotic and just OK. If it weren't for the cat's food and the 24-hour schedule, I probably wouldn't go there so often, but where else can you buy eggs, plumbing supplies, shoes and Devonshire double cream at 2 in the morning? (Also, the Rolling Meadows location is near Johnnie's Beef in Arlington Heights.)

So we tried the Meijer house-brand Salt and Pepper potato chips, currently on sale for three bags for $5. Meijer's plain chips are perfectly fine examples of the thin and crispy variety (not too oily, on a par with Jay's), but this flavor, in the black bag, kicks things up with black pepper, just enough to give them zest. Those of you who condescend to junk food and can get out to a Meijer may enjoy them.