As the weather grows warmer during these blooming weeks of May, there’s just one thing on the minds of junk food junkies. The hot sun and warm breeze ushers in a celebrity like none other, and when this guy hits the red carpet, we all get a little bit fatter. Welcome home, Mr. Ice Cream Man.

When you walk up to that familiar truck window, keep an eye out for the nontraditional yet completely delicious cult icon known as the “Choco Taco.” Made by Klondike, these off-the-wall entrees seem to have faded into obscurity in recent years, but make no mistake: Choco Tacos are still out there, waiting to assault your tongue with fourteen kinds of chocolate and the spirit of the South.

Fashioned quite like any regular meat-stuffed taco, Klondike’s version features a sugar cone shell containing frozen vanilla ice cream, topped with everything from chocolate syrup to peanuts. It’s like eating a dozen kinds of junk food simultaneously. A warning label on each wrapper sums it up perfectly: “This is not a reduced fat food.” We’re allowed to treat ourselves once in a while, and gaining 6,000 pounds is a small price to pay for a treat so shamelessly filled with Mexican froza treata.

With sixteen grams of fat, Klondike promises a snack worth taking a long nap after. More rarely seen in your local grocer’s freezer section these days, Choco Tacos are still regularly stocked in ice cream trucks. Much like that frog-shaped pop with the bubble gum eyes and those strange strawberry cones with more layers than an eighty-year-old redwood, Choco Tacos force us to chase escaping vehicles down long streets, screaming all the way. The best pleasures are the ones we suffer for, so get your running shoes on.

Choco Tacos have gained a sort of underground fame in recent years, in part because of their previous inclusion on Taco Bell’s dessert menu, but mostly because they’ve grown so elusive. Those fortunate enough to have an abundant supplier of Choco Tacos are in the minority, while the rest of the world glumly pines for the slick silver wrapper and gooey chocolate crunch. Finding a Choco-Taco might seem like a low-rent fantasy, but have you ever tasted these things?

If you can’t live without seeing a Choco Taco’s guts, click here.

Posted by Matt. E-mail me!