Salt and Pepper Shakers

The idea seems so inevitable, we’re surprised that salt and pepper potato chips aren’t as common as nacho cheese chips. Terra, the chip company known for its sweet potato and other vegetable chips, makes a line of foodie-friendly Yukon Gold potato chips from the pedigreed Canadian spud. Onion and garlic, salt and vinegar, barbecue and original (just salt, we suppose) are flavors that have been on the market. The newest flavors are yogurt and green onion, no slouch, and the excellent salt and pepper chips, which were gobbled up almost instantly by everyone in the area when the bag was opened for sampling.

The package boasts that the chips have half the fat of most potato chips--5 grams per 1-ounce serving instead of 10--but unlike most low-fat chips, they taste like real fried potatoes.

Suggested retail $2.49 per 5-ounce bag. Available at Southern California supermarkets.

Cornering the Market

Where does Orange County get its rustic bread these days? The Corner Bakery in the South Coast Plaza is where sourdough bread inspired by La Brea Bakery’s Nancy Silverton can be found. Silverton consulted on the original Corner Bakery when it was a single-store operation in Chicago years ago, and the chain’s culinary director, Mary Kay Halston, spent three years with Silverton at La Brea. This isn’t La Brea South, however. It is, after all, the brainchild of restaurant whiz Richard Melman who took the concept and made it bigger. That means there are sandwiches, salads and pizzas that can be eaten at tables in the bakery, and Halston offers more sweets (good brownies, tender cookies) and flavored breads (poblano-cheese, ricotta-polenta) than Silverton. But just as at Los Angeles’ La Brea Bakery, the Corner Bakery’s most popular bread is the country sourdough.

Corner Bakery breads, $2.95 to $4.50, at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Uncommon Cups

Whoa, these pastel coffee cups aren’t round--they’re elliptical. And with a solid feel, too, because Michigan artist Paul Eschelman makes them from cast terra cotta, like his oblong terracotta tray.

Cast terra cotta cups, $20 each, and tray, $48, from Freehand, Los Angeles.

Two-Toners

Well, maybe they aren’t exactly reversible, but Santa Fe ceramist Shel Neymark makes his bowls a different color inside and out: say, plum and spring green.

Shel Neymark bowls, small, $38, and medium, $60 (larger sizes available to $120), from Freehand, Los Angeles.