Tacro Pastry At Vive La Tarte SF

It's been five years since pastry genius Dominique Ansel introduced the Cronut—a combination of croissant and doughnut that proved to be irresistible, causing crazy-long lines and spawning imitators far and wide. Fast-forward three years to the cragel, a croissant-bagel created by The Bagel Store in Brooklyn. Now, just barely a month into 2018, we have the tacro, a mash-up of croissant and taco.

The tacro is the brainchild of Belgian husband-and-wife team Arnaud Goethals and Julie Vandermeersch of Vive la Tarte bakery in San Francisco. The shop began as a pop-up and caterer, then opened a brick-and-mortar location in SoMa in 2015. Creative director Jimmy Houghton explains that the team wanted something unique yet recognizable to launch at their second location in the San Francisco Ferry Building. That's when they settled on this unique spin on California's beloved taco.

According to Houghton, it took about two months of experimentation to develop the perfect recipe. The classic croissant dough was too sweet, so the recipe had to be adjusted to lend itself to a savory, tangy combination of pickled onions, fresh cabbage, microgreens, thinly sliced radishes and mango salsa. This proved to be successful: On day one, all 100 tacros sold out in less than two hours.

Current tacro offerings include chicken and avocado, pulled pork and pineapple, and the vegetarian-friendly BBQ jackfruit, but you can expect more seasonal fillings and perhaps a breakfast version to come. They're served in a bright-red retro box, fast food-style, and are much larger and more filling than typical non-croissant tacos. One tacro is a substantial meal and is also available as a bowl sans shell—but where's the fun in that?