MacarOn Café, NYC

Macarons are high up there on the list of baked goods / desserts that I could care less about.  I don't actively dislike them, but I'd never, ever pick one over most other things.  But when people bring special things to the office, and have leftovers, I'm always incapable of not trying.  Even if they are macarons.  

"MacarOn Café was established to pay homage to the delicate French confectionery, the macaron. Our shops have been recognized as the connoisseurs of this delicious French pastry because of the wonderful variety of flavors from our master chef, Cecile Cannone."

 In this case, our macarons came from MacarOn Café, which I had never heard of before then, which is not a surprise as I never seek out these item.  No, I don't know why they capitalize the O.  They have two locations in Manhattan, one inside Grand Central, and one in midtown.  They get really great reviews in general, which also surprised me, given that Ladurée is nearby too.

Signature Box.

"From time-tested flavors, like Pistachio and Vanilla, to the seasonal and eclectic, such as Pumpkin Cinnamon and Cherry Blossom, Cecile Cannone and our pastry chefs are dedicated to pleasing your taste buds with our sinfully delicious gluten-free Macarons."

The macrons all come in attractive signature boxes with French motifs on them.  The macrons are all gluten-free and kosher as well.  All are $3.49 each or available in larger boxes for slight discount.

Macrons.

The shop seems to carry about 30 varieties at any given time.  We had an assortment, but none were labelled, so I sorta just grabbed two that looked quasi-interesting.  I later looked up a flavor guide and saw I had missed out on the pandan coconut, tropical guava, mango passionfruit, and other more fun flavors, but, alas.

I tried two, and was instantly impressed.  Some of the best macarons I've ever had, no question.

Lavender Honey.

"Floral infused buttercream which takes you for a trip in South of France Provence."

For some reason the color in this photo looks awful.  This was actually a lovely shade of light purple, and I hoped it would be ube (a girl can hope right?).  Alas, it was very clearly floral.  As my co-worker immediately identified, lavender.

Once my brain adapted to florals rather than ube though, I really enjoyed it.  Sweet but not cloying, floral flavor that wasn't too over the top, and lovely sweetness from the honey.  It all just worked really, really well.  And the macaron itself?  Flawless really.  I don't get excited about macarons, but, this shell had great chewiness, the buttercream was fluffy, the ratio was perfect.  

One of the best macarons I've ever had.  4.5/5 maybe?

Pistachio.

"Homemade pistachio buttercream. Rolled in pistachios crumbs. Nutty taste, less sweet, very subtle. Our best seller at MacarOn Café."

I knew this would be pistachio given the visible bits of nut on the outside, and I picked it as a clear safe option that would leave no guesswork. And I was kinda on a pistachio kick that month (and yes, they make a Dubai version too with chocolate shells).

This was very clearly pistachio in taste too.  Really no surprises here.  It tasted like pistachio.  Perhaps a bit fake, but relatively straightforward nuttiness.  I liked the extra texture from the nuts.  Great execution on the shell and filling ratio again.  Execution wise this was a 4/5, but I didn't love it, so only 3.5/5 for me.