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.

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Parm, Barclays Center

Carbone.  Iconic upscale Italian New York Italian restaurant (with outposts in other major cities now too).  The place to be seen ... as if you can get a reservation.  And, well, actually known for having great food (although they *did* lose their Michelin star). 

"Since the original location of Parm opened in New York City’s Little Italy in 2011, the restaurant’s takes on Italian-American soul food have reached iconic status. From the prized Chicken Parm to the homemade meatballs to the Rigatoni Carbone, the menu is inspired by the cooking Michelin-Starred chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi ate growing up. The goal is to make the best versions of these recognizable dishes while remaining faithful to their history—and to serve them in a fun, familial environment."

But this isn't about Carbone.  It is about Parm.  wIf you aren't from the New York City area, you probably haven't heard of Parm. It is a small chain of casual sister restaurants to Carbone. Yes, they have a similar version of the famous spicy rigatoni vodka, where you can get it for $18 rather than $37.  But besides perhaps that shared sauce recipe, the establishments are quite different. No ridiculous ordeal to get a reservation. No celebs frequenting the place.  No hand made pasta.  Fast casual.  You can get it delivered.  The business does get its own accolades though, earning a place on the 101 Best Places to Eat in North America list by Newsweek.

The menu focuses around mostly sandwiches/heroes, parmesan platters (chicken, eggplant, meatball), and basic pastas.  Cannoli, brownies, ice cream sundaes.  A very approachable, quasi generic, American Italian menu.  

I've been tempted to order that famous rigatoni Carbone on Doordash a few times, but red sauce pasta just isn't something I prioritize most of the time.  I grew up eating a lot of it, and I've kinda moved on.  And then I attended an event at Barclay's Stadium, where Parm has a stand.  I studied the venue map in advance, so I knew exactly where to head immediately.  This was my top choice of food to check out!

Barclays Stand.

For our event, the Parm stand had only two items: chicken parm sandwich, and spicy rotini.  Given that the spicy rotini is what I had my eyes on anyway, this was fine with me.  The rotini is sold at all their locations as a side dish, and uses the same sauce as the rigatoni Carbone.

Spicy Rotini.

"Rotini pasta tossed in our spicy vodka sauce."

I was so excited to try this, even if from a food stand at a stadium and obviously not prepared fresh.

The sauce was certainly the interesting part.  It truly did have some heat to it.  I was impressed that it was legit spicy (not overwhelmingly so, but, certainly not just regular mild tomato vodka sauce). The sauce was creamy and well seasoned, and really was good.  That said, it didn't necessarily taste fresh and vibrant, and could have been just a good jarred spicy vodka sauce.

The pasta was fine, but not great.  Not fresh pasta obviously.  Rotini is a great shape for 1) holding sauce well and 2) just being kinda fun to eat.  It was on par with generic restaurant anywhere pasta, no more, no less.  Not too mushy, not overly al dente, fine, but not special.

So put it together and this was an enjoyable side.  I think it would indeed go well with their parm sandwiches.  It didn't really feel like main dish action though (even if portion was bigger) without some kind of mix-in or even fresh parmesan on top.  For the setting, as a side dish, yes, maybe low 4/5, but more objectively probably really just a high 3/5.

At the regular Parm outposts, this is $8 for the side dish, not sure of Barclay's pricing.

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