I’m not much of a dessert person, but I have a special place in my heart for a certain French sweet… namely the macaron. (Not the coconut macaroon, the extra “o” makes a huge difference.)
It’s no secret that I love macarons; I think this is even my second post about the French confection. My love affair with macarons started a few years ago in Paris at Ladurée, which is famous for its luxury cakes and pastries, as well as inventing the “double-decker” macaron (its current form).
When we visited New York, one of the places on our list to visit was Ladurée’s only North American location on Madison Avenue. (Another Ladurée is supposed to open in SoHo in the near future.) Note: As of April 2014, the SoHo location is open.
At the time, Ladurée sold 18 different macaron flavors — raspberry, incroyable (incredible) almond, strawberry candy marshmallow, chocolate from Ghana, orange blossom, coffee, coconut, pistachio, caramel with salted butter, rose petal, lime & basil, chocolate, lemon, green apple, vanilla, blackcurrant & violet, strawberry & poppy, and milk chocolate.
Each macaron goes for $2.70 each, although they also sell macaron boxes for different prices — such as the Little Girl Gift Box (8 macarons) for $25.00, and the En Voyage (18 macarons) for $55.00.
My mom and I ended up buying a paper box of eight macarons to eat outside the Metropolitan Museum.
I don’t recommend the orange blossom or rose petal macarons — they’re incredibly floral tasting. Pistachio is always a good flavor, as well as incroyable almond, but the strawberry candy marshmallow and blackcurrant & violet were surprising standouts. Another good flavor to try is the vanilla, which I had the second time I went to Ladurée (yes, twice in a day). It’s surprisingly sweet and tasty, not boring and “safe.” As long as you stay away from the two “flowery flavors,” you’re in good shape. Ladurée, whether in New York or Paris, has some of the best macarons you’ll find around the world.
An interesting take on the classic macaron, the sorbets were very interesting. Running for $8.25, each sorbet is topped with half of a macaron. Ladurée has a few different sorbet flavors, including strawberry, salted caramel, and coffee.
This sorbet below is a tropical sorbet (with mango). It is seasonal so you won’t be able to find it at this time of the year—the only orange-colored flavor currently being sold is apricot.
Would I recommend having a sorbet every day? Probably not. But it’s definitely something to try, especially if you visit in the warmer summer months.
Do I recommend Ladurée? YES! If you happen to head out to New York, definitely go to Ladurée — either on Madison Avenue or in SoHo. You won’t be disappointed.
Kuya's Notebook 