The potato chip as we know it today is structurally very little different from the form it took back in 1853, when legend has it that an American Indian cook named George Crum, frustrated by a guest's repeated rejection of his fried potatoes as too thick, sliced them paper-thin and fried them crispy. The resort in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., became the birthplace of what is now the most popular snack food on the planet.

The average American eats 7 pounds of potato chips a year. Back in my pre-weight loss days, I could go through two 6.5-ounce bags myself in one day of NFL football watching. They are addictive, hitting that salty-snack craving right where it lives. Just writing this column, I'm looking forward to going out later in search of some chips. It's all in the name of research, you understand.

Twenty-five years ago, if you went to buy some potato chips before the football game, your options would be pretty limited. You had your basic plain potato chips, your daring "ridged" chips, like Ruffles, and a couple of flavors, usually sour cream and onion and barbecue.

If you were lucky enough to live in Philadelphia, like I did, you could get Wise chips, and their salt and vinegar chip that to this day has yet to be equaled in its tangy, salty delight. In various areas of the country, you could find small chip makers experimenting with local favorite flavors, such as dill pickle chips in the Deep South and even chips with curry and other Asian flavors in the West. Frito-Lay, far and away the biggest chip maker in the world, however, was slow to add to its flavor palette.

In recent years, however, the burgeoning snack food market has brought about an explosion in flavor choices. One of the most innovative of the smaller chip makers has been Kettle Chips. With flavors like Cheddar Beer, Spicy Thai, New York Cheddar and my personal favorite, Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper, Kettle has taken the humble chip to amazing new heights, and revealed a bit about our expanding national palate in the process.

The proliferation of food shows, not just on Food Network but all over the dial, and the increasing diversity of American society, has led the average snacker to be exposed to flavor options and ethnic cuisines they would never have known existed even 20 years ago. Tell someone you just picked up a bag of lime and chile flavored chips, and they're likely not only to ask for a handful, but know that the flavor comes from the influx of Central and South American cultures into the country.

Even Pringles, that oddball chip made from dehydrated potato flakes which always has a space in my cupboard, has joined in the flavor explosion. Recent "limited edition" flavors ran the gamut from Italian Bruschetta to a Thai variant. There's also a "Sabor Latino" line, marketed to the Hispanic community but found in my local megamart, that includes an Adobadas flavor that knocked my socks off. The Pringles brand has always been the guerrilla in the big-chip world, providing a unique alternative to the standard chip.

If you'd truly like to expand your flavor choices, though, head overseas.

Frito-Lay is a global player, but has learned to its chagrin that the standard American flavor slate doesn't make it everywhere. Russians, for example, eat an average of 246 pounds of 'taters per person each year. That's nearly double the U.S. intake. However, salty snacks occupy less than a quarter of the snack food market. Also, Russians don't often eat chips with other foods, such as dips. Therefore, the classic plain potato chip doesn't do well. Instead, the flavor market is occupied by dairy-based tastes and meat- and seafood-based flavors.

But you should have plenty of exploring to do here at home. Here's a tip: Don't confine your search to the snack food aisle. Most grocery stores now have special sections for various ethnic foods, and usually also a health/organic food section. You can find some great small-maker chips there.

And, as I've preached so often before, your local farmer's market can even be a great place to find local flavor. Small food companies of all stripes congregate there, especially as the season grows late and the fresh-produce vendors take up less space.

So get out there and try a new flavor. And pick me up a bag, will you?

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