Taco Bell and Salt & Straw Are Bringing a Cult-Favorite Treat Back From the Dead
Their take on the Choco Taco will be available nationwide, but don’t look for it on Taco Bell menus.
Photo courtesy of Taco Bell and Salt & Straw
Who doesn’t like ice cream? And who doesn’t like tacos? For a few decades both of those tastes could be satisfied by one frozen treat: the Choco Taco.
What is a Choco Taco?
Even though it sounds like a mashup created in the more recent social media-induced wave of wacky food mashups, the original Choco Taco actually traces its roots back to the early 1980s before becoming an ice cream novelty staple in the decade that followed, even appearing on the Taco Bell menu until 2015. But in 2022, Unilever-owned Klondike announced that its iconic taco-shaped waffle filled with ice cream and topped with chocolate shell would officially be discontinued.
Like any food with a fervent fanbase, ice cream taco lovers were upset over the news, but their void for street-food-themed frozen treats was quickly filled by some local shops and, on a slightly more national scale, by Portland-based ice cream maker and chain Salt & Straw. Of course, trademarks are trademarks, so this more bespoke version was called the “Chocolate Tacolate,” and it dropped on National Taco Day (October 4) the same year we said goodbye to its more mass-produced inspiration.
Photo courtesy of Taco Bell and Salt & Straw
What is The Tacolate?
This year, however, Taco Bell is getting back into the taco-meets-ice-cream game, teaming with the aforementioned Salt & Straw for an updated version of The Tacolate. And this time around it won’t be available at Taco Bell. According to Salt & Straw, the new-ish treat was created by Salt & Straw co-founder Tyler Malek in collaboration with Taco Bell’s “culinary innovators.” According to a description provided by the brands, “the taco shell, made from hand-pressed, extra crunchy waffle cones, is filled with cinnamon ancho chili ice cream, dipped in single origin chocolate, and studded with toasted brown rice.”
But as any Taco Bell diner knows, you gotta have those sauce packets to complete your meal. So every Tacolate comes with “two custom Taco Bell-inspired sauce packets: Mango Jalapeno Sauce and Wildberry Cinnamon Sauce.”
Photo courtesy of Taco Bell and Salt & Straw
Where can you get Salt & Straw and Taco Bell’s Tacolate?
If you want to try The Tacolate in person, you can do so starting Friday, October 3 at “participating Salt & Straw shops across Oregon, Washington, California, New York, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and New England.” However, if you’re not near a Salt & Straw, six-packs of the Tacolate will also be available online for nationwide shipping via saltandstraw.com and some third-party delivery platforms also starting on Friday.
As for the original Choco Taco, Klondike did open the door to a possible return, however unlike some “get it before it’s gone” stunts, at the time of its discontinuation, the company cited production complications as one of the main reasons it was paring down its offerings. But in the meantime, Salt & Straw and Taco Bell don’t seem to mind picking up the slack.
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