You read that right: the tacro, a cross between two of the world’s favorite foods—the taco and the croissant — has arrived in SF courtesy of bakery Vive La Tarte.
I know, I groaned aloud too when I first saw the news as I was hangry-scrolling through my food-filled Instagram feed. Really, pastry bakers? You couldn’t stop messing with this crescent classic? God knows we’ve seen enough Mr. Holmes Bakehouse cruffins and Dominique Ansel cronuts popping up on our feeds. Some simple Googling (for the sake of this important cause) led me to discover that the cragel and the crozel also exist.
Ugh.
Perhaps my displeasure at these pastry hybrids is because I’m a boring, keep-it-simple kind of gal. A classic, after all, should be treated with respect. I like my donuts thick and glazed, my croissants flaky with just that right touch of savory butter. Why mess with what works? Another reason for my eye-rolling attitude: after going to college in New York City, I got tired of waiting in seemingly endless lines for an Instagram-worthy dessert that absolutely everyone is eating all for the sake of that prized #omgfoodporn shot. I quickly learned that those desserts end up being disappointingly mediocre.
But I can admit that if another croissant innovation were to occur, it makes sense that it would happen right here in SF. I’ve always designated San Francisco as the American croissant capital — fueled by its history as a sourdough haven, it’s now home to modern-day classics such as the legendary Tartine Bakery, the trendy Mr. Holmes Bakehouse and that little shop that just happened to win Bon Appétit’s “Best New Bakery in the Country” award back in 2016, Arsicault Bakery.
So for the sake of supporting local businesses and all that, I justified going and getting the tacro. I’ll admit, I was curious. And maybe I was just a tad incentivized to have it on my Instagram. I mean, just look at these babies:
Vive La Tarte has been a popular SOMA bakery for the past two years and debuted its second outpost in the Ferry Building, along with the tacro. And so on one sunny weekday afternoon — smartly avoiding the weekend lines — I made my way to try the infamous tacro. Vive La Tarte, one of the few vendors with an outside booth at the Ferry Building complex, was completely empty that day. I was a little worried that that meant the tacro was sold out (Vive La Tarte had posted previously on Instagram about this happening as early as 11:00 a.m.), but the employee behind the counter soothed my concerns and told me about the three tacro flavors being offered that day—chicken and avocado, slow-roasted pulled pork, and pineapple with barbecued jackfruit. The employee behind the counter recommended the pulled-pork tacro, so I went for that one.
I placed my order and sat on Vive La Tarte’s red bench alone, my back facing the slew of tourists coming in and out of the Ferry Building. The first surprise of the day? One tacro set me back $12, which I initially considered a leeettle steep, to say the least, considering you could get at least a full meal in the Mission for that price. But then again, I was also at the Ferry Building, a tourist spot that sells olive oil more that’s expensive than any of my Costco wines, so perhaps it’s not that surprising at all.
I anxiously awaited my tacro, which showed up about five minutes later. (I was the only customer there, so they probably don’t arrive that fast on the weekends.)
It looked like this:
Famished, I almost immediately took a bite before realizing that I needed an important #foodintheair photo. After what seemed like 10 minutes of passersby staring at me as I crazily raised my tacro up to take pictures from a million different angles — really, it was probably two, but I was just that hungry — this was the best shot I got:
Not great, but definitely not bad. That, in my book, meant we were off to a good start — the tacro is definitely the kind of #instaworthy food that does not require much effort on the Instagrammer’s part, which I appreciate. Looking good with minimal effort is my kind of aesthetic.
Finally, I took my first bite and got the second surprise of the day: it’s not bad. The tacro tastes slightly more savory than—but it’s just as flaky as—Insta delicious butter croissant should taste. The crunchiness of the pastry actually makes it a pretty acceptable tortilla replacement. At first bite, I deemed it already a more successful croissant innovation than, say, the cronut, which combines two different pastry textures.
As for the filling, the pulled pork was tender, complemented by an unknown-yellow-sour-fruit salsa that enhanced the entire dish to make it savory and fresh. The fact that they use a completely new take on salsa is probably why this whole combination works; a traditional tomato salsa would have been too overbearing. Neither of the green and brown sauces that came with my tacro was very spicy, but again, I wouldn’t have expected to have any heat on what’s a pretty mildly tasting dish.
As I continued gobbling my tacro, the one thing that got on my nerves was the little green leaves and cut-up purple vegetables on top that served no purpose whatsoever other than to amp up the bougieness factor.
I gobbled some more, and I analyzed some more. The tacro, I realized, is much bigger than a typical taco would be, which helps justify the $12 price. What I was holding was more an open-faced croissant sandwich with taco-like fillings — a folded up croissant, rather than an actual croissant hybrid. The texture is definitely crispier than one of Vive La Tarte’s sweet croissants, which I’ve had, but it’s definitely still just a flaky.
Overall, I think the tacro is a successful “innovation,” because it really isn’t one. Vive La Tarte didn’t mess with the crescent classic; they just taught us a new way of eating it. Given this, is it really honest advertising to bill it as a croissant hybrid? Then again, I realize you wouldn’t have the likes of me, the curious food-grammer, coming so far to try something simply called a croissant sandwich. Oh, how we fall for the wonders of social media marketing.
My final thoughts on SF’s latest food craze: I didn’t hate eating it, and it was actually a fun, try-it-once kind of food to order. That being said, I don’t think I would have a craving for a tacro like I would for an actual taco or an actual croissant. So for now, I’m going back to sticking with the classics—you know, until the next croissant hybrid.
