“Talen, want to do an article about pie tacos?”
“What? … But, yes. Whatever that is, yes.”
The buzz around Hubbard Avenue Diner’s pie tacos has been more than Jason “The Pie Guy” Harder — creator of these Level 2 pie snacks — could have imagined. But surprisingly, he’s been hanging onto this idea for a while, waiting for the opportune moment.
“Every year we have a pie-eating contest for Pie Day [March 14] and I always try to find a new shape of pie for that contest, to keep it fun,” Harder said. “The idea of a pie taco came to me while we were brainstorming for that, and in the end, it wasn’t messy enough. For a pie eating contest, you need it to be messy.”
But it seems hanging onto his idea has paid off. Hubbard Avenue Diner’s “Pie Tacos” have been mentioned on newscasts in seven different states thus far. People are taking the April 12 release date very seriously.
Harder said some dedicated fans are even taking that Thursday off from work.
“I told them, ‘You know we’re going to have them after the 12th too, right?’ But people can’t seem to wait.”
So, what does this hungry and eager public have to look forward to? Four flavors: Dutch apple, cherry, French silk and key lime pie.
I got to try them all.
Harder serves each cute, little taco in a hard shell made of pie crust. This was the topic of a lot of conversation among my friends. Was it a waffle cone? Would it fall apart?
Well, no to the waffle cone. The pie shell is identical to the pie crust you’d find in the pies Hubbard Avenue is famous for, just baked into a taco shell shape.
As for the mess, when I think of cutting into a standard pie, especially cherry, I picture the filling falling into empty space of the pie pan. To counteract this, the apple and cherry taco-fillings are a condensed version of their full-pie predecessors.
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I tried apple and cherry first, and I have to say, I’m surprised at how well they stay together. The filling stays in and there’s minimal flake-age.
Overall, I can picture myself eating this with one hand, casually dipping it into a vanilla ice cream cone with the other. If that doesn’t make you want summer to come even faster, I don’t know what will.
As for the key lime pie and French silk, phe-nom-e-nal. Key lime was my number one pick of the four. The consistency of both the key lime and the chocolate of the French silk are ideal for a handheld pie vessel. Both are topped with whipped cream and garnished with appropriate yummy shavings.
You’ll be able to get your hands on some pie tacos this Thursday, April 12 at the Hubbard Avenue Diner in Middleton. The official addition of tacos to the menu is sure to draw a crowd of foodies from across the state.
What can we expect next on the pie-taco front line?
“More flavors!” Harder said. “Once we hit rhubarb season we’ll definitely adapt that into a taco.”
Yes summer, yas.
Come fall, you may just be holding a pumpkin spice latte in one hand and a pumpkin pie taco in the other.
