Hard choice, very hard choice... I love chips 'n' salsa, but I also love a sack o' Lays every now and then. Since I have to pick one because that's how this site works evidently... I'll go with corn chips! There's nothing like a fresh tortilla chip... with or without salsa, those things are delicious!
I am not much for chatting myself, but I think the feature is great. I have been thinking however that it might replace the "So this is the tavern" thread over time.
It is convenient to be able to report spam threads and speak with moderators and admins live instead of awaiting a response through profile comments. I also like to keep the Tavern Chat open in case interesting conversations happen.
The ability to have a live conversation with a user on your friends list should prove very popular with those who do not want their conversations to be seen by everyone else.