Snack Review: Good Humor Chocolate Éclair Bars
Summer is Ice Cream Novelty season. Remember all of those treats, mostly on sticks, that you used to buy at the ice cream truck when you were a kid? Well, there’s nothing stopping you from eating them as a grownup. If you’re lucky enough, that is, to live in a place where the ice cream truck hasn’t gone out of business because of high gas prices, or it hasn’t been banned because of its noise pollution or its carbon footprint or the fact that it sells stuff made with corn syrup or trans fat or whatever the evil of the day is.
Fortunately, you can buy a lot of these treats at the supermarket, too. Unfortunately, it turns out that it might not be worth the bother.
Seriously, what have they done to these Chocolate Éclair bars? The chocolate inside layer is a nasty icy texture. There isn’t enough vanilla ice cream surrounding it, ruining the interplay between chocolate and vanilla. The chocolate coating, which has the cake crumbs stuck to it – it’s barely thick enough to be chocolate-colored, much less chocolate flavored. And didn’t the cake crumbs used to be both chocolate and vanilla? And why are they so stingy with them? And the whole deal is too darn sweet.
I didn’t even finish it. I can’t remember ever in my life not finishing a serving of ice cream.
I had planned to also conduct research into the mystery of why these are called Chocolate Eclairs when they bear not even a metaphorical resemblance to the pastry of the same name, which has a non-chocolate filling and no relationship to cake crumbs. But now I’m too depressed.
14 Comments
Linda on July 28th, 2008
Yup, I remember eating them last summer and not noticing anything wrong.
Deb on August 1st, 2008
I used to love those! What happened? That’s so depressing. I hope nothing happened to the Strawberry Shortcake bars, but after this, I’m sure something has.
Vinny on August 1st, 2008
Those one’s aren’t that good but I have tried some that were just like you described them being.
Lot’s of good chocolate inside and enough vanilla to equilaize it.
I’m not sure whta you got 
Snackerrific :: » Dove Miniatures Ice Cream on August 6th, 2008
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[...] of whipped cream in the fridge to add some creamy dairy goodness. So there’s no comparison to the Chocolate Éclair debacle. Still, a bit [...]
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cindy on September 18th, 2008
You are absolutely right on!! You can barely see the chocolate coating, and it used to be covered with cake crumbs, not sprinkled with a few crumbs, and I have been insisting to friends that there were chocolate cake crumbs as well as vanilla cake crumbs. I have also been complaining to my daughter that there isn’t enough vanilla ice cream as ratioed to chocolate ice cream! Why can’t they stick to the original recipe!!! And either reduce the length or increase the price if they have to, to make it taste right.
cindy on September 18th, 2008
Try the Blue Bunny Chocolate Eclair Ice Cream bars. They look like they have both vanilla crumbs and chocolate crumbs. Of course the picture on the package alway looks perfect.
Linda on September 18th, 2008
Thanks for the validation and the tip! I will try to hunt those
Blue Bunnies down.
LetsBeReal on June 17th, 2009
Yes, there is a definite change. I noticed it right off. They added chocolate cookie pieces to the soft vanilla cake coating. They vanilla ice cream tastes like bad ice milk that has been sitting around awhile in the freezer. This is really sad! I would rather pay more for the original Good Humor Chocolate Eclair that we all grew up enjoying than tasting bad ice milk. I’m guessing Good Humor is doing cost savings or outsourced, or something designed to undermine the customer base. Unacceptable! Remember who brought you to the dance!
Minnie on July 2nd, 2009
I just bought a box and bleh it was awful. I don’t think they added the cookie crumbs till the last month or so. It’s too sweet now.
Quinn on August 1st, 2009
Wow, I thought it was just me who noticed this. The new version definitely suck. I just finished writing a complaint to the company and I recommend that you all do the same.
Brian on July 28th, 2008
Have they really changed that much? I used to eat them when I was a kid
and they were great. I had one not too long ago (6 months?) and I thought it was
just as good. Did it change recently? Hmmm.