Twelve Black Code Monkeys

In a random remembrance moment I had this morning, a couple of food items that I really enjoyed, but only briefly, came back to me. It’s odd that I would remember such ephemera and I can’t think why I would right now except maybe for the added focus on food during the week of Thanksgiving.

Zeus Pasta Chips – Back when I was in college in Boston in the late 80’s, a small Massachusetts snack food company called Smartfood was making some waves, at least locally. Their cheddar popcorn was all the rage, but another snack by them didn’t quite make the big time. I remember buying Zeus Pasta Chips or just “Zeus Chips” a few times at a local convenience store. I was smitten with these chips, which were some kind of pasta that was fried and covered with a similar cheddar powder. They were crispy, but not tough and brittle like raw pasta. Smartfood eventually got bought by Frito-Lay who did not continue the Zeus Chips product, if it was even still being made by that point. A Google provided only one small bit of info about Zeus Chips and some other similar pasta chips by Bill Robert on this page.

Pepsi Kona – Much later than my affaire with Zeuce Chips, I came across this product at a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. It was Pepsi that had been given a slight coffee flavor. Being a big fan of coffee, I was smitten. Unfortunately, as I found out later, I believe from Pepsi itself, it was a product that was being test-marketed in certain areas but apparently had not garnered enough good buzz to warrant an actual release. I would say that I probably had this drink somewhere between 1995 and 1999, but I can’t be any more exact. Ok, some further searching on Wikipedia says that it was released in 1997; however, this Geocities page (watch for popups - no pun intended!) has this to say:

Pepsi Kona was an innovative creation by Pepsi, being a mix of Pepsi and Coffee. In 1994, when this soda came out, Pepsi began to limit production of the lines that were just released; only selling 20oz and 2 liters. Also in the highly caffeinated arena, but in a different era, was Pepsi A.M. A.M. actually stands for what one thinks A.M. should stand for, being the period in the day before noon. In the mid 1980’s, Pepsi came out with A.M. to reach a lot of the coffee-drinking youth. Of all of the failed sodas, Pepsi A.M. was the only soda that I remember a commercial for. The commercial ended with a sunny window and Pepsi : The Taste of a New Generation in horridly bright white letters.

Further searching on the web “uncovered” the fact that I probably knew at one point but had forgotten that the company that bought Smartfood – Frito-Lay - is owned by the company that makes Pepsi, PepsiCo! Hey, there’s a connection!