macaron moment at ladurée in nyc
December 15, 2011 § 6 Comments
I haven’t been toParis. I could’ve been had I accepted my parents’ generous offer to have a family trip a decade ago, but I declined because I wanted to take summer courses on Late Baroque art and architecture here in Toronto. So off they went, mom, dad, and brother, to celebrate mom’s 50th in Europe and to see, in the flesh, the very places and art works I was studying in my books. Go figure. Sigh. Going to Paris on dad’s dime is an opportunity long gone. But I digress. Paris has come to us in 2011. Here it is, Ladurée‘s first and only North American branch opened in New York City late this summer.
I was in New York over the weekend to give O.T. emotional support as he signed a rental agreement on a new apartment in Hudson Valley, home to IBM’s headquarters and many campuses. As of Monday next week, he will be designing computer chips for IBM after several years of doing so for AMD. It is a very stressful time for him and a little sojourn was in order. A macaron moment! We spent a couple of hours in Manhattan for one purpose only: to indulge in macarons. Ok, fine, I admit. This was really more of my thing, but I was happy he conceded.
I love macarons, as I’ve recently attested through creating my own plaster macaron ornaments.
I was armed with $150 and managed to afford one box of 24 macarons and three boxes of 6 macarons as gifts, and a bag of 4 macarons for O.T. and I to snack on, leaving me $13 under budget. Yes, $137 gets you less than four dozen macarons at Ladurée, which may be hard to stomach, despite being able to scoff down a teeny macaron in two bites.
As for the taste of the macarons, I hate to say this, La Bamboche and Ruelo in Toronto are still my favorite, considering the exotic and innovative macarons they serve such as green tea-sesame, rose-lychee, mango-green tea, and yuzu, among other delightful flavors.
But isn’t Ladurée’s packaging so pretty? With less than four dozen macarons, perhaps I paid more for the packaging than I did the sweets. I love the details, down to the custom-cut wax paper that lines the boxes and the golden seal that secures said wax paper (in the box of 24) and the elegant slip of paper listing all the flavors available.
It’s an indulgence indeed and one I could only excuse now that it is Christmas.
paper, plate, and plane 
The boxes remind me of Kamakura Hangetsu, or any of the other gaufrette type cookies they sell as souvenirs in Japan.
Hmmm, I will definitely check those out, David! Love anything out of Japan!
Is a macaron the same as a macaroon, a delicate coconut cookie? It takes a while for new things to get to Kansas. However, the cooking shows on TV have helped. I guess I’ll go look them up and find a recipe. Have a lovely Christmas eating your devine confections. Blessings Gayla
So sorry for my late reply, Gayla! Hope you had a lovely Christmas, too. I just posted my adventures from the holidays.
The macaroon (coconut) is very different from the French macaron, which is made of egg whites, ground almonds, and sugar (like a merengue, but more sophisticated) and filled with buttercream or jam. You have to try it. If there’s a Trader Joe’s near you, they sell frozen ones for cheap! $4.99 (if I recall) for 12 pieces, and just as delicious!
Oh yes, their pale green one is DIVINE!!!
Agreed! Love the pistachio. But I have to say my fave is the rose! So delicate. But I could eat them all (and I did over the holidays, my family didn’t really love them as much as I did as they are so super sweet).