MacarOn Café hits Midtown with more than Macs

Yesterday morning my alarm clock went off an hour earlier than normal for a very good reason. I was invited to celebrate the grand opening of MacarOn Café's new location on Third  Avenue. As you may well know by now, MacarOn Café is one of my favorite spots in the city for getting my macaron fix. I can always count on a variety of flavors, something new to try, and above all consistently perfect shells and fillings. My favorite location has been the 59th and Madison shop; it is on my way home from work, right by FIAF and has cozy seating in the back. The new shop, located at 750 Third Avenue (between 46th and 47th) may very well become my preferred location in the coming weeks thanks to an evening menu and another favorite of mine: wine. The pink-and-white shop is officially open now but the evening menu and wine will begin in the coming weeks. I can't wait to try it out and will be sure to report back when I do.

The Third Avenue location is in a great spot, right by Grand Central, and easily accessible from the north, east, south or west. Yesterday white and pink balloons encouraged  guests to come in for a free macaron and maybe a perfectly made espresso beverage or a cup of Mariage Frères tea. I was glad to start my day with a balanced cappuccino complete with decorative foam on top.

Fortunately I was able to spend a bit of time chatting with Cecile and Arnaud Cannone, the chef and owners of MacarOn Café. Cecile and I spoke about the process of making macarons and, as always, ways of troubleshooting problems when baking the shells. She advised me how key controlling the humidity of the oven is and suggested not baking them in the summer when it is as humid as it has been in New York. We discussed some flavors- Cecile, like me, is a chocolate lover. I mentioned to her how I like that there are always new flavors to choose from when I come by. Most recently I tried the new Earl Grey, which I had bought for my friend Kyle. I don’t normally enjoy Earl Grey teas or bergamot in general so I didn’t try it until he told me it tasted like… Trix cereal! (They really do!) I told Cecile this but she hadn’t hear of our sugared-up American Trix. I suggest trying one out when you stop in.

PARIS Part II: Les Macarons

The fact that I am writing an entire post devoted to the macarons I had in Paris needs no introduction if you've been following The Culinary Librarian blog, Facebook page or Twitter for the past year. I did my best to try the top-rated macs in Paris during my trip this spring. I did pretty well and tried a variety of flavors- even a very surprising savory macaron. 

I have listed each macaron shop with the address in Paris. The city is divided into 20 neighborhoods, called arrondissements. Each zip code will tell you what neighborhood the address is located in based on the last two numbers. For example, the first boulangerie ends in "05" telling you it is located in the 5th arrondissement. Enjoy! I certainly did. . .  

Le Premier

Daniel Pouphary (La Parisienne)

28 Rue Monge, 75005

Jocelin and I enjoyed pistachio and raspberry flavors for our first macarons. La Parisienne is the boulangerie I mentioned in my first Paris post. I always stopped by this place on early Monday mornings when I had my French literature course. Those little pain au chooclat helped keep me awake through the two hour long lecture. 

It is very common to see macarons in the neighborhood boulangerie. Typical flavors include raspberry, pistachio, vanilla and coffee, a limited selection compared to shops that specialize in the beloved treat. Macarons are all over the city and are rarely poorly made. Next time you're in Paris don't hesitate to pick up a mac with your daily baguette! These two below were some of the best I tried my whole trip. 

Le Deuxième

Pierre Hermé