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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Panera: The Cookies

Update Review, July 2025

Chocolate Coconut Macaroon. $1.99.

"A deliciously crafted chocolate coconut macaroon cookie finished with a chocolatey dip."

One day when I was at Panera picking up items for my Mom, I saw a different cookie I hadn't tried yet: the chocolate macaroon.  I haven't liked any of Panera's cookies before, but the regular coconut macaroon I thought was the best of any I had tried, so I was curious to try the chocolate version.  It looked much the same, as both are dipped in chocolate the same way, this one just actually had chocolate integrated in with the coconut too.

It was a decent macaroon.  Super moist inside, good texture from the shredded coconut, strong coconut flavor.  I didn't really taste that much chocolate.  It was fairly sweet, perhaps a bit too sweet.  It only had the very base dunked in chocolate dip, I would have liked more of that for a stronger chocolate flavor.

But overall, it was fine, and I didn't mind it, just not something I'd be all that excited to have again.  ***.

Lemon Drop Cookie (back). $3.09.
Whole Wheat Bagel (front). $1.39.

"Freshly baked lemon sugar cookie topped with lemon flavored powdered sugar."

It is true that I don't like cookies.  It is also true that I don't generally like lemon desserts.  Yet I ordered a lemon drop cookie?

Yeah.  I had a birthday freebie to use, and I've tried basically everything else at this point, so, for research purposes, I opted to try it.  Plus, compared to the other items, it actually looked decent.

It was, for a cookie.  It was thin but shockingly not crispy, really soft and gooey, the only way I like cookies.  The cookie seemed to be a classic sugar cookie, but with lemon added.  The lemon flavor was certainly there, but it wasn't overwhelming.  More lemon than I like, but, if you like lemon desserts, I think this could be a winner.  There was also white chocolate chips, which I liked for the extra texture and bursts of sweetness, but, this was a very sweet cookie anyway, sugar was the first ingredient.

It was also somehow 440 calories.  Sure, it was large diameter, but it was really thin.  I honestly don't understand how it racked up that calorie load.  I guess whatever made it soft and gooey was, uh, butter?

I'm glad I tried it, and I'd recommend to the lemon likers out there, but I won't get another.

Update Review, August 2023

I no longer live near a Panera (pandemic casualty in SF), so I don't frequently encounter their goods.  However, I recently attended an event in New York with Panera catering, and got the opportunity to re-try a few cookies, even though I had never loved them before.  The verdict?  Yup, still don't love these.

Candy Cookie. $2.99.

"Freshly baked sugar cookie topped with semi-sweet chocolate candies."

Big meh to this cookie.  Not as soft as I'd like, not a great chew, pretty boring base (not really buttery as I'd like), and even the off brand M&Ms weren't particularly good.  Not my style of cookie at all. *+.

Oatmeal Raisin with Berries. $2.99.

"A chewy oatmeal raisin cookie with sweetened, dried cranberries and infused, dried strawberries and blueberries."

I've had this cookie before, and didn't find it all that compelling, but, my appreciation of cookies has grown in the past few years, so I gave it another try.  I again appreciated that it was nicely soft, and that it used more interesting dried fruit than just raisins (cranberries, strawberries, blueberries), but, it wasn't actually a particularly good cookie.  Sure, it had a nice chew to it, and was well baked, but, it wasn't as buttery nor sugary as I'd like, and although it had oats, it certainly isn't actually a healthy cookie.  Eh.  ***.  

Petite Chocolate Chipper. $6.69/12.

"12 mini versions of our Chocolate Chipper cookie, freshly baked and made with semi-sweet chocolate chunks & milk chocolate flakes."

Well, this is not a good cookie.  Yes, fairly soft, and yes, nice chunks in it, but, the base flavor wasn't particularly buttery or sweet, or notable in any way.  It tasted highly processed, and not particularly fresh.  Meh. **.

Update Review, January 2018

I've reviewed nearly all the Panera cookies before, but there was one more left to try.

Coconut Macaroon. $1.09.

"A coconut, chocolatey craving satisfied in two bites. A traditional small coconut macaroon with the bottom dipped in chocolate."

One day, I used Panera's Rapid Pickup option to make an order from my phone earlier in the day, with a pickup time set to when I'd be nearby and could just swing in to grab my bagel thin, intended to be used to make melts for dinner.  But when I arrived ... no bagel thins.  In fact, they were entirely sold out of bagels.  Doh.  It turns out that when you pre-order, it doesn't actually pull it from inventory.

To make up for this, Panera offered me any pastry item I wanted.  No pastry item was going to be a substitute for my dinner melts, so I used it as an opportunity to just try something new.  The one type of cookie we had never tried before: coconut macaroons.

The macaron was ... pretty much a standard macaroon.  Soft, shredded sweet coconut.  Nothing particularly notable about it.  The dark chocolate it was dipped in however was quite good, really dark, smooth, flavorful chocolate.  I was impressed with the chocolate.

The macaroons turn out to be one of the cheapest items sold at Panera ($1.09 at my store), and, one of the lowest calorie.  By a shocking amount.  A single macaroon is only 140 calories, compared to Panera standard fare of the 440 calorie lemon drop cookie (or even worse, the 800 calorie Kitchen Sink cookie!), the 720 calorie pecan rolls, 550 calorie cinnamon crunch scones, 580 calorie pumpkin muffins, 540 calorie bear claws, etc.

So, if you like coconut, and want a little sweet treat, this one is not a bad idea.

Original Review, March 2017

As I've said many times, I don't really like cookies.  But, Panera often adds freebies to my account in the form of pastries, and I've never liked most of the baked goods there (aka, the muffins, the coffee cake and danishes, and most of the scones), so, I finally ventured out to try most of their cookies over the past year or so.

The cookie lineup changes every so often, but always features their signature Chocolate Chipper (available in a petite size as well), a classic shortbread, and some seasonal version of an iced and decorated shortbread.  Other than those, they seem to introduce new cookies a few times a year, trying to find some crowd pleasers.  I'd like to note, they don't ever have peanut butter cookies, which would be my top choices!

Anyway, for the most part, I expected to try the cookies, take some notes, and hand over to a cookie-loving friend.  I was pleasantly surprised that I genuinely liked a couple of them.

Oatmeal Raisin with Berries Cookie. $2.39.

"A chewy oatmeal raisin cookie with sweetened, dried cranberries and infused, dried strawberries and blueberries."

Every once in a while, I actually like oatmeal cookies, particularly soft ones, and particularly when they miraculously aren't oatmeal raisin.  I hate raisins, and I'm so grumpy they have taken over the oatmeal cookie market!  Why!

Anyway, this looked like a big, soft, butter cookie, with oatmeal, and NOT raisins!  Score.

The verdict?  It was ... fine.  It was actually quite soft, which I appreciated.  And it did have a decent distribution of bits of dried cranberries, strawberries, and blueberries, decidedly NOT raisins.  But it wasn't particularly buttery or interesting in any way.  I gladly handed it off, and wouldn't want another.

Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookie. $2.19.

"Almonds and a fruity hint of raspberry jam and powdered sugar. A perfect little treat. An almond butter cookie with a thumbprint of raspberry jam and dusted with powdered sugar."

I really liked this.  It was buttery and crumbly, with little bits of almond inside.  The powdered sugar added a nice touch of sweetness, and the raspberry jam in the center tasted fresh and wasn't too gooey or sweet.

A shockingly good cookie, and I'd gladly eat another.

Giant Cookie Box.

On one visit, there was a huge, I mean, huge, cookie on the shelf, unlabelled.  I asked what it was, and the worker told me it is the "kitchen sink" cookie.  It seemed to have everything in it, and sounded interesting, but it wasn't eligible for my freebie.  I didn't get it then, but I couldn't help but notice it every time I visited.  I had to finally get it, as ridiculous as it was.

It was too big for any of the normal pastry bags, so, he put it into a giant box.

Kitchen Sink Cookie. $4.39.

"A salty, chocolatey, caramel confection big enough to share. A large cookie with semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, caramel pieces, pretzels & finished with flake salt."

They aren't kidding when they say this is "big enough to share".

I looked it up later online, and, I kid you not, it has 800 calories (and 43 grams of fat!).  In a cookie.  Yes, compare that to their "petite chocolate chippers" with 100 calories, or even the regular chocolate chipper with 380 calories, and you'll realize the scale I'm talking about here.  This is a monster.

And he wasn't kidding when he said it had everything in it.  While chocolate (both semi-sweet and milk) flakes were certainly the dominant visual item, the caramel actually dominated the flavor, super sweet, and plentiful, infused into nearly every bite.  The chocolate helped balance the sweet though, and the large flakes of salt on top complimented it nicely.

It was a crispy cookie, but mostly in a caramelized way from the toffee bits, rather than a cooked too long way.  I don't normally like crispy cookies, but it worked here, since it was so caramelized.

I didn't find any bits of pretzel in mine, which was a bit disappointing.  Perhaps they were chopped finely and I just didn't notice?  Another ingredient would be nice, but, I don't think was actually necessary given everything else in it, so I didn't mind too much.

The cost of $4.39 sounds a bit insane, for a cookie, at a place like Panera.  This isn't a fancy bakery, this is Panera, selling a nearly $5 cookie.  It is twice the price of any other cookie they sell, because, well, it is more than twice the size.  There is a reason it isn't eligible for the free pastry award!

I'm glad I tried it, but I probably wouldn't get another, just because, well, still a cookie.

Jack-O-Lantern Cookie.  $2.49.

"Freshly baked, pumpkin-shaped shortbread cookie decorated with icing to look like a jack-o-lantern."

I have a memory of really liking Panera shortbreads years ago.  And what is better than a shortbread?  A decorated shortbread!  Panera seems to always have a seasonal shortbread, I recall seeing Easter Eggs around Easter, tulips and daises in the Spring, flip flops in the summer, mittens in the winter, etc.

The astute reader will realize that this is called a Jack-O-Lantern cookie, and the website shows a cookie with a face on it.  Mine had no such face.  I guess the decorators were lazy that day?  All cookies in the store were faceless.  Pumpkin, yes, Jack-O-Lantern, no.

I wasn't very good.  The icing layer was too thick and just sweet, the cookie itself was crumbly, too soft, sugary, and didn't really seem that buttery, the defining characteristic of a shortbread.  And ... this was the shocking part, it was 450 calories!  In a SINGLE COOKIE!  Besides their plain shortbread (only 380), all the other cookies are also over 400 calories.  I know Panera certainly isn't a healthy place, but it is a bit hard to believe that a cookie can rack up those stats.  Definitely not worth it.

$2.49 price for a large cookie I guess was fine, and they are only 99 cents if you get a meal.

Chocolate Chipper Cookie. $2.19.

"A traditional favorite, freshly baked and made with semisweet chocolate chips."

I got this for Ojan, who does actually like cookies.  It looked like exactly the sort of cookie I wouldn't like.  On the rare cases where I like a cookie, it is soft and gooey.  This looked hard and crispy.  Not my style.

Of course though, I tried a bite.  It was actually loaded up with tiny chocolate chips, far more than it looked like.  The bottom view would have revealed just how loaded it was.  The chips were tiny though, so, you didn't really get a deep chocolate flavor.

And it was indeed crispy, and quite thin.  Highly unremarkable.  It also tasted very unhealthy, but not in a good buttery way.  Believe me, I'm all for a decadent dessert, the more butter and cream the better, but this just tasted ... unhealthy.  Highly processed.  I don't know how else to better describe it.

I was curious, so I looked it up when I got home, and saw that this cookie, the single, thin, not actually large cookie, was 440 calories.  I don't really understand.  I wouldn't get this again, obviously.

Candy Cookie. $2.49.

"Freshly baked sugar cookie topped with colorful milk chocolate candies."

Another giant, hard, crispy cookie, another Ojan request.  And ... yup, a hard, crisp cookie, not particularly good, just a plain cookie.  He described it as "halfway between a shortbread and a sugar cookie".  The little tiny milk chocolate candies were basically just small M&Ms in spring colors, very milky milk chocolate.  Ojan liked the candy bits, but wasn't really into the cookie itself.  I didn't like anything about it.

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Gluten-Conscious Triple Chocolate Cookie with Walnuts. $2.69.

"A freshly baked flourless chocolate cookie with a soft, brownie-like texture, made with chocolate chunks, white chocolate chunks and walnuts."

This seems like a crazy choice for me.  I don't like cookies.  I'm not a chocolate lover.  And gluten-free baked goods are rarely impressive.  But, literally every time I visited Panera, I couldn't look past these.  They looked so good.

So finally, I got one.  And failed to photo.  Sigh.

It was a deep, dark chocolate cookie, with generous size chunks of both white and milk chocolate and walnuts.  The texture was soft, as they described, kinda brownie-like, except it was a cookie, and still had a crisp exterior.  A bit hard to explain really.  I liked that.

The flavor was also good, chocolately, fudgy.  I loved the sweetness from the big white chocolate chunks (I know, I know, but I like white chocolate!) and the crunch from the walnuts.

It is described as "gluten-conscious" which I think is because it is not baked in a gluten-free environment.  It does not contain wheat flour, nor, any flour.  I'm still a bit confused by that part honestly.  The first ingredient is ... powdered sugar?  I'm still not entirely sure how it holds together, but, it works out just fine.

For a cookie, this was really quite enjoyable and I'd get it again.

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Miette Patisserie & Confiserie

Update Review, 2025

When I first moved to San Francisco, I visited Miette fairly regularly for the cupcakes, but somehow they fell off my rotation until last year.  It had been probably 10 or so years since I last had goodies from there, when I had a few cakes and cupcakes at my office and found them acceptable, but not memorable (as you read about then, below).  But another year has gone by, and I found myself drawn back to Miete one more time.

Rose Macaron. $3.25.

"This delightful little cookie is what put Miette on the map. Although macarons have enjoyed popularity in France for decades, they were virtually unknown in the States until we brought them back from a trip to Paris. Since then, they’ve become our most beloved treat.  Our macarons have a unique density and chewy texture that melts in your mouth. Crafted with coarsely ground almonds, we take pride in using no food coloring or processed flavorings, allowing the natural flavors to shine through.  We believe our macarons are among the finest in the world—fresh, natural, and distinctively Californian."

I'll never be super excited about a macaron, definitely just not my sweet treat of choice, but, I have to admit,  Miette makes a pretty exceptional macaron.  The shells are perfectly smooth and shiny, are slightly chewy inside, and have truly a unique texture that isn't quite soft nor crisp.  Reasonable almond flavor.  Pretty textbook.  Clearly fresh. 4/5 for execution, although again, not really the item I get excited for, so more like a 3.5/5 for me.

The fillings are another strong point for Miette.  The rose one blows me away every time I have it.  It is just such a lovely, complex, sweet but not too sweet, and definitely not too floral flavor.  My favorite flavor, always.  4/5.

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Dulce de leche Macaron. $3.25.

The dulce de leche is less successful.  Chewy, sticky, sweet, pretty basic dulce de leche, but I felt it overpowered the delicate nature of the macaron.  I wouldn't get this again.  2/5 filling.

Yellow Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream. $5.25.

"Indulge in our classic yellow cupcake, made with rich butter and egg yolks for a moist yet light texture. Topped with velvety vanilla buttercream frosting, this delightful cupcake offers a perfect balance of sweetness and buttery goodness, making it an all-time favorite for any celebration."

It had been a while since I had a Miette cupcake.  

At first I was a little surprised by how relatively unassuming it was.  Just a standard, smaller size cupcake.  No elaborate decoration, no overly abundant frosting.  Just, a simple cupcake.  It looked almost like one that a really good home baker could make, or like you'd find in a grocery store.

It tasted however better than a home baker or grocery store cupcake.  It wasn't earth shattering, but a very enjoyable cupcake.  The cake was moist enough, well baked.  The yellow cake was a simple, basic flavor, no interesting tang, nothing particularly unique, just, classic yellow cake, done well.  The frosting was definitely my favorite part, and the reason I always did enjoy Miette cupcakes in the past, super smooth, sweet but not cloying, buttery, just, pretty fantastic buttercream.  

What amazed me the most was that even though I had not had a Miette cupcake, literally, in close to 10 years, I instantly felt compelled to rip the cake in half horizontally, and sandwich the frosting with it.  That is how I always used to eat these cupcakes, and it just felt ... right that way.  I think the ratios of frosting to cake are just ideal for sandwich style.

Anyway, I enjoyed this, and would get it again.  A classic, not too sweet, done well.  3.5/5, maybe 4/5.

Update Review, Late 2023/Early 2024 Tastings

Chocolate & Mocha Cupcake. $4.

"Double Chocolate Cake with a swirl of coffee buttercream."

It had been years since I last had a Miette cupcake, which is surprising given the proximity to my office.

This is a pretty good bakery quality cupcake.  The cake is moist and fairly light.  Not remarkable, not a super deep rich chocolate, nor any tang to it, but, better than a grocery store cupcake.  Average decent bakery quality.  ***.

I did love the fluffy sweet buttercream, sweet but not cloying, and no overly strong butter element.  Only mild coffee flavor however.  **** for consistency, *** for flavor.

Overall, a satisfying cupcake, but not one to go out of my way for. ***.

French Vanilla Birthday Cake.

"Of course this cake can be served at any occasion, but we wanted to offer a quintessential birthday cake, perfect with candles and an inscription. This cake is three layers of our tender Hot Milk Cake and frosted on all sides with French vanilla buttercream, made with organic egg yolks and pure Bourbon vanilla. And we know it will pair extraordinarily well with a chorus of Happy Birthday to You...!"

Hot Milk Cake sounds more interesting than this was for me.  For me, it was just, well, fairly plain cake.  Reasonable crumb structure, reasonable density, reasonable moistness, but, nothing really remarkable nor interesting about it.  The frosting was similarly a bit boring, although it was a nicely made buttercream, well balanced in sweetness and butteriness.  

Overall, just boring, but not bad.  ***.

Milk Chocolate Birthday Cake.

"Of course this cake can be served at any occasion, but we wanted to offer a quintessential birthday cake, perfect with candles and an inscription. This cake is three layers of our tender Hot Milk Cake and frosted on all sides with milk chocolate buttercream, made with organic egg yolks. We know it will pair extraordinarily well with a chorus of Happy Birthday to You...!"

The milk chocolate birthday cake is the same cake, just, different buttercream.  The cake was again fine, but not noteworthy.  Fairly plain cake.  The buttercream was very mild chocolate flavor, not particularly interesting.  Overall, just, boring.  Better than a grocery store cake, but, not special in any way.  ***.

Scharffen Berger Cake.

"This cake gets its name from Scharffen Berger Chocolate, the small-batch chocolate makers who were our original neighbors in the Ferry Building. We developed this cake using their raw cocoa powder because it delivers a huge chocolatey flavor. The cake itself is dense and moist, and we glaze it with two coats of smooth-as-silk bittersweet chocolate ganache. It's a lot of chocolate, yes, but it's never overwhelming because of the surprising variation in textures and flavors."

This cake was indeed very chocolate heavy.  The cake was dense and rich.  The ganache was thick and richer.  Definitely paired best with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  But I still didn't find it particularly compelling.  ***.

Original Review

Miete is one of the first bakeries I ever discovered in San Francisco.  Er, patisserie & confiserie that is.  Even better.  Baked goods AND great candy.  My kind of place.

"San Francisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop including macarons, made-to-order cakes, licorice, candy, and artisanal chocolate."

Miette has a shop right in the Ferry Building that I used to frequent, and, given the proximity to my office, their macarons regularly showed up when co-workers brought in treats.  The macrons are their most famous item, but I was always drawn towards the cupcakes, and candy, which features a very pricey but well curated range from many other countries (not housemade).  They have the best salty licorice collection I've found around town.  The main location in Hayes Valley carries even more candy, and is really quite adorably decorated.

The baked goods all use high quality local ingredients when possible, like Straus cream and butter and Scharffen Berger chocolate

As more and more cupcake shops have opened I visit Miette less frequently, but it still holds a special place in my heart for all those early visits when I moved to the area.

Cakes & Cupcakes. 

Cupcakes are the main draw to Miete for me.  The lineup always has their famous gingerbread cupcake, along with basic chocolate and yellow cakes, and a carrot cake.  No other wacky flavors, besides sometimes seasonal icing.  $4 each.  Some are available as full size cakes as well.

The full size cake lineup also has a lovely Princess Cake and crowd pleasing chocolate forward Scharffen Berger cake, along with layered versions of basic cakes.

The chocolate cake base is "double chocolate", made from both unsweetened Scharffen Berger Cocoa Powder and 70% Guittard Chocolate, an interesting choice to mix and match, but, clearly, they found what they like!

Old Fashioned Cupcake.

"Double Chocolate Cake with a puff of sweet marshmallow icing and topped with a candy-coated peanut."

The old fashioned cupcake is my strongest memory of Miette.  My partner absolutely loved this thing.  He doesn't care for buttercream ever really, but adores the glossy boiled icing on this.  When we used to go to Miette as a large group, it was always a point of contention to see what style others would like - would they fall in his camp and love the Old Fashioned, or mine, and go for buttercream? (The answer?  Generally, split!).

Not that I don't like the Old Fashioned, don't get me wrong.  It uses the same chocolate base as the rest of the lineup.  The marshmallow-like topping is quite delicious, and I love the candied peanut, I just like the buttercream more.  I have to admit the boiled icing does look really, really tempting, so in the looks department, this one does win.  The icing is pretty sweet, so not a good choice if you are going for something less sweet.

This flavor is also available as a full size cake, which I of course got for his birthday one year.  That one has a cherry rather than a tiny candy coated peanut though, which is a better size, but, I missed the crunchy candied nut!

A great cupcake if you aren't craving buttercream.  ***+.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake. $3.25.

"Our double-chocolate cupcake with a swirl of vibrant raspberry buttercream made from fresh, organic berries."

I have had a lot of Miette cupcakes in my day, but I've never really been that excited by their chocolate ones.  Sometimes I get a chocolate base as part of the Old Fashioned, since they only put the boiled icing on the chocolate cake, but given the choice, I always pick Miette's yellow cake over the chocolate.

I'm not sure quite what it is about the chocolate cake that doesn't do it for me.  The cake is chocolately, very consistent, not quite moist nor dry, just somewhere in between.  Unremarkable to me, as I prefer moister, or a crispy top.  The vanilla cake is the same in that way, but has a rich vanilla flavor.

For buttercream frostings, Miette makes classic vanilla, chocolate, and a seasonal flavor, often raspberry or strawberry.  This one had a sweet fluffy raspberry buttercream.  Again, not that remarkable.  It wasn't too sweet, had good raspberry flavor, but overall, it was just there.   That said, the frosting to cupcake ratio on these is perfect for my liking.

I probably would not get this again, as I prefer the yellow cake.  ***.

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcake.

"Double Chocolate Cake with a swirl of chocolate buttercream. ".

I picked this up for my partner one day when they were out of Old Fashioned, but of course I snuck a bite.

The same base chocolate cupcake as the Chocolate Raspberry and the Old Fashioned, but this time with chocolate buttercream.

The buttercream was pretty tasty, slightly sweet, nice milk chocolate flavor.   Again, great amount of frosting for the amount of cake.  But I still just rarely go for their chocolate cupcakes.

***.

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Yellow Vanilla Cupcake

"Golden yellow cake with vanilla buttercream."

As boring as it sounds, the vanilla is, hands down, my favorite.  The cake is still a bit dry for my taste, just like the chocolate cake, but the flavor is buttery and rich.  A really great flavor in that base.

I love their vanilla buttercream.  Sweet, simple, creamy.

Yes, my absolute favorite cupcake there is the yellow cake with vanilla buttercream, by far the most basic one they make, and I always enjoy it.

****.

Gingerbread Cupcakes (back row). Carrot Cupcakes (front row)

Gingerbread: 

"Our all-time best selling cupcake.  Made with a dark stout beer, molasses, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom then topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting." 

Now, I know people who go nuts for this cupcake.  Food Network dubbed it the "Best Cupcake in America".  I could care less about it.  

The cake flavor is rather mediocre, the frosting a bit sour.  I've tried it several times, and still haven't ever liked it.  To each his own right?  I still love the Yellow Vanilla!  This one is also available as a cake.

**+.

Carrot:

"A little cupcake chock-full of carrots, walnuts, & currants, topped with a creamy, tangy cream cheese frosting."

So, I have strong opinion on carrot cake (I LOVE my great aunt's recipe), so I didn't expect to love Miette's version.  I avoided it for years, until I was at an event with only gingerbread or carrot to choose from.  Since I hadn't cared for the gingerbread before, I figured it was worth trying the carrot.

It was a very boring carrot cake.  Yes, it had shredded carrot, some little bits of walnut, and little currants in it, but, the flavors didn't pop.  It wasn't dry, it wasn't moist, it just was what it was.  Homogenous, a bit oily, and boring.  

I did like the cream cheese frosting though, very, very rich, thick, and tasty.  This one is also available in cake form.

***.

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Princess Cake: 

“White chocolate fondant drapes over a sponge cake soaked in eau de vie syrup, layered with homemade raspberry jam, pastry cream and a mound of lightly sweetened Straus whipped cream.” 

I was excited when someone brought a Princess Cake in for a birthday at my office.  I had wanted to try it for a long time, but since only available as a full size cake, I wasn't ever able.

It was a nice buttery moist cake (super moist from the syrup), with layer of flavorful raspberry jam, subtle layer of pastry cream, and tons of whipped cream. These things all combine together beautifully.  The outer fondant shell was just sweet and gross though.  I understand that it is part of a traditional princess cake, but meh.  

***+ overall, only the outer layer brought it down.

$60 for a 6 inch cake.

Cookies

By now you probably know how I feel about cookies.  They are "ok", but generally more of a snack than a "real dessert", in my world.  I don't seek them out often, but I've still managed to try many of Miette's offerings, as they show up at my office frequently.  Miette's cookies are all a crisp style, not soft fresh baked cookies.  They make several flavors of shortbread, sablés, and snap.

Chocolate Wafers. $8.50.

"This cookie is based on the chocolate wafer cookie that is used to make the famous Icebox Cake. The Miette version is crisp and buttery, with an intense cocoa flavor that is highlighted with both sweet and salty accents. We use brut cocoa powder, a type that is especially dark, and it makes the cookie almost black. Each cookie is cut by hand, sprinkled with sugar, and baked to crispy perfection."

You may have noticed that I often review chocolate.  That is partially because I run a very informal chocolate tasting at work, where I bring in different chocolate, and make everyone try it with me.  I enjoy hearing other's reviews of the chocolate, and it also enables me to get through many more bars than I normally would on my own.  Anyway, one friend knew I was into chocolate tasting, so she brought me a container of Miette's Chocolate Wafers to feature at my next chocolate tasting.

These had a very rich dark chocolate flavor.  They were crispy, buttery, and sprinkled with sugar. Really quite good, and everyone enjoyed them.  They were actually a bit bitter, but so buttery that it cut the bitter nicely.  And then hold up for quite a few days if you keep them sealed.

****, and a nice surprise as I tend to go for softer style cookies.

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Chocolate Sablés: 

"Pierre Hermé of Paris is the inspiration behind this cookie. The Miette version replicates the same experience of biting into a crisp, sandy cookie with bits of pure, soft chocolate. This recipe calls for both cocoa and chocolate. When you bring these two ingredients together, you get a resounding chocolate taste, much more complex than if you were to use just one or the other. Each bite-sized cookie is carefully packaged by hand into our signature polka-dot bag."  

The sablés are thicker and less crispy than the wafers, but also have a deep chocolate flavor.  Basically a chocolate shortbread.  Not really my thing, but my mom loves them, and brought a package home after her last visit to San Francisco.

***.

Chocolate Chip:

"There are so many great versions of this all-American favorite, and here's ours: petite chocolate chips, crushed toasted walnuts and coarsely-ground oatmeal incorporated into a crisp, buttery cookie. Each bite-sized cookie is carefully packaged by hand into our signature polka-dot bag."

Eh. This was just a dry boring cookie, hard style.  I think fairly shelf stable, which just isn't a selling point for cookies for me.  Also, beware, it is oatmeal based, no traditional chocolate chip here.  **+.

Lemon Shortbread: 

"This cookie takes the tart, fresh flavor of lemons and contrasts it beautifully with the richness of butter. The zest for these cookies comes from the year-round supply of organic lemons we have in California. Each bite-sized cookie is carefully packaged by hand into our signature polka-dot bag."

Decently buttery, but I didn't really taste the lemon.  An ok shortbread, but not likely something I'd go back for.  **+.

Lavender Shortbread:

"Bite-sized and delicate, this buttery shortbread cookie has a restrained floral taste that will remind you of summer. The lavender is picked from the fields at Eatwell Farms in Dixon, California. Each bite-sized cookie is carefully packaged by hand into our signature polka-dot bag."

Like the lemon, decently buttery, crispy.  The lavender was subtle and nice.  But still, just a shortbread, not really my thing.  Would probably be very nice with a cup of tea! **+.

Macarons

A category of their own, the macarons.  Displayed in glass jars atop the pastry counter at Miette.  A centerpiece of the store, no question.

"This unusual little cookie put Miette on the map. Although it's been popular in France for decades, they were virtually unknown in the states. After a trip to Paris, we decided to start making them at Miette and they've been our most popular item ever since. Our macarons are dense, chewy, and meltingly light. They are made with coarsely ground almonds with the skins intact. We do not add any food coloring or processed flavorings, so they are distinctly rustic and natural."

The macarons are all assorted colors, available in a slew of flavors: chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut, pistachio, dulce de leche, rose geranium, raspberry, chocolate orange, lemon, and more.  I've had these many times over the years, but seem to have lost most of my other tasting notes.  

The macarons are fairly classic: the cookie part has a nice give to it, shiny on the outside, a little texture from the almonds inside.  The fillings are creamy and infused with flavor.  Yet somehow they never wow me.  Maybe that is because macarons in general are just not all that interesting to me (well, unless they it is a black sesame and foie gras mouse macaron!)  The only sweet macarons I've really enjoyed are from Sugarie, although La Boulange makes a few decent ones, and everyone's are leagues above the ones from Tout Sweet.  Even the famous ones from Confiserie Sprüngli in Zürich did not impress me. 

That said, if someone brings a box of Miette macarons, and there is a rose geranium one, I'll still go for it, my favorite.

Macarons!

One of my co-workers decided to randomly bring in macarons from Miette.  I tried a few:

• Raspberry: Classic almond cookie with raspberry buttercream filling. The filling had a really nice raspberry flavor if you had just the buttercream, but it was too easily lost when eating a whole macaron, the flavor masked by the cookie. ***.
• Rose Geranium: Same basic cookie, rosewater and geranium infused buttercream.  This is always my favorite!  Everyone else seemed to hate this flavor, saying they tasted like soap.  I continue to love the subtle flavor and the sweetness from the rosewater. ***+.

Other

The rest of the baked goods lineup at Miette is varied, with some tea cakes, puddings, tarts and tartlettes.  This lineup seems to have really dwindled in the Covid days, now I rarely see these available.

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Banana Cream Tartlette:

"A buttery pâte sucrée crust filled with chocolate ganache and ripe banana slices and topped with pastry cream." 

Wow! This was a pâte sucrée tart shell, covered with a layer of chocolate ganache, then a layer of fresh banana, a layer of pastry cream, whipped cream, and topped off with chocolate shavings.  It far exceeded expectations. 

The tart shell had a nice flavor, perfectly buttery.   To be honest, I expected to throw out some of the crust, since tart shells are always fairly boring, but this was just too good.  Perhaps the best tart shell I've ever had.  

The fresh banana had great taste, the pudding was super banana-y, the chocolate layer was subtle but added a nice chocolate component, and whipped cream was good.  This came together far better than I imagined! $6.50 for a tartlette, $27 for a full tart.

****+.

Lemon Tea Cake: 

“Our buttery, lemon pound cake is glazed with zesty lemon icing.” 

This had decent lemon flavor, was fairly moist, and was good for what it was, not something I'd normally pick, but someone brought it in, and I had a slice with a cup of tea.  There was lots of very sweet icing on top.  I wouldn't get it myself, but I'd eat another slice if if showed up in front of me.  $7.50 per mini loaf.

***.

Pumpkin Walnut Bunt Cake: 

Pretty standard and generic.  It was moist, good chunks of walnut, but nothing standout.  Then again, how exciting is bunt cake?

***.

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Air France Lounge, Boston Logan Airport

Update Review, December 2023 Visit

Another flight out of Boston Logan, another quite trip through the Air France lounge.  Not much different from my previous visits, and since I also got a chance to check out the new Chase Sapphire lounge with actual made to order food, I didn't nibble much this time.  I still enjoyed what I had.  This lounge is very consistent in their offerings though, which I appreciate.

Charcuterie & Cheese.

I generally do try the cheeses, but alas, I wasn't hungry enough to try any this time.

Salad, Veggies, Hummus.

I did grab carrots and celery sticks for something refreshing, and tried the not pictured pre-made salad that had very tasty candied walnuts and interesting mixed greens as a base.

Sandwiches.

One of these days, I'll try the sandwiches, the croissant ones in particular do really look decent.

Breads.

A new bread was on offer, a nice looking one with nuts and dried fruit.  It was fairly average bread though, it didn't taste particularly fresh, and had a bit of a sourdough taste to it.  I did like the bits of walnut, and think it would go well with brie in particular from the cheese section.  **+.

Quiche.

The only item not labelled in the buffet was the quiche.  I'm not sure what kind it was.  If I hadn't feasted in the other lounge first, I actually was tempted to try this.

Beef Bourguignon.

Both the Air France and Chase Sapphire lounges had beef bourguignon, a bit random that they were both featuring it, but it seemed more appropriate for this lounge.

Potato Gratin.

The other hot dish was the same from my last visit, that I did find decent then.  So even though I wasn't hungry, I still tried it.

I didn't wait around for a refill, although one came soon after I took my slice.  It was fine, slightly softer potatoes than I'd like, and not as much onion as last time, and not much seasoning, but, nicely creamy, and I enjoyed it well enough.  ***.

Macarons / Madelines.

The dessert lineup did have something different this time, instead of palmiers, they had even more French classics: assorted macarons and madelines.

I didn't try the madelines, but I did take a chocolate and a pistachio macaron.  

The macarons were fine.  Reasonably crisp shell.  The pistachio one did actually taste like pistachio, not just "green".  The chocolate one had decent enough chocolate ganache inside.  Definitely not patisserie fresh, but fine.  ***.

Blondies / Brownies.

The other dessert offerings were the standard blondies and brownies from previous visits.  I really do like these blondies, always nicely loaded with chocolate chips and nuts, with a sweet, moist, buttery base.  Better than average, always enjoyable.  ****.

Update Review, December 2022 Visit

Another JetBlue flight out of Terminal C, another chance to visit the Air France lounge in the adjacent Terminal E gate area.  For the JetBlue gate I most frequently depart from, this is the closest Priority Pass lounge (closer than the Terminal C one), and generally higher quality anyway.  There is nothing mind blowing about the lounge, but it has reasonable food offerings and is a welcome respite from the terminal.

I didn't take photos, but at the staffed bar area there was basic rice cracker mix that was a bit stale but still nice to nibble on, and plain salted peanuts.  No Chex mix this visit.  There was also the standard yogurt, fruit, and granola station near the desserts.  I had some grapes from there and appreciated the juicy fruit and healthy option.

Salad / Cheese / Deli Meats.

The salad, cheese, and charcuterie station was largely unchanged from previous visits.  

Salad offerings were a mixed greens salad, celery/carrots/tomatoes, a couple dressings and hummus, and  tuna salad.  All pretty average quality, although I appreciated the fresh veggies and non-limp salad.

The charcuterie station was just pepperoni and salami, the more premium offerings seem to have been removed.  The brie was kinda melted in a "this has been sitting at warm temperature too long" kind of way.  I liked the dried figs as always.

***.

Sandwiches.

The sandwich lineup was turkey swiss on baguette, caprese on ciabatta, tuna on croissant.  I didn't try any but they looked reasonably fresh.

Potato Gratin.

There were two hot dishes: chicken teriyaki with rice, and potato gratin.  I was impressed by the look of the potato gratin, creamy and gooey, with a nicely browned cheese crust on top.  I don't normally try the hot foods in the lounge, but, this looked too good to pass up.

It was only lukewarm, but it was decent.  The potatoes weren't too mushy, it was as creamy as it looked.  Good cheese level, but not much other flavor/herbs/spicing.  Not as amazing as the potato gratin I had from Fleming's Prime in Houston or Ocean Prime in Orlando, but those were exemplary and from high end steakhouses, and this was, well, an airline lounge buffet.  ***.

Brownies.

The brownie of the day was a chocolate chip brownie.  I was hoping for the blondies again, as I had quite liked them.  These were just ok, they looked richer than they were, and they were pretty dry.  I did like the extra chocolate chips in them though, and they were a nice texture, slight chew.  **+.

Palmiers.

The cookie of the day was the palmiers that I had enjoyed my last visit, although they clearly had chocolate chip cookies very recently, as I saw a number of people with them at their tables.  I again did like the palmiers, sweet, buttery, and crispy.  ***+.

Update Review, July 2022 Visit

Not much new to say here.  Another JetBlue flight out of Boston, another quick spin through the Air France lounge, which is in the international terminal but adjacent to JetBlue's gates, and to which I had access with my Priority Pass Membership.  I appreciate it for the sparkling water, snack mix, and actually decent desserts this time.

Pellegrino / Snack Mix.

Drinks are served at a small bar area by the staff.  I appreciate that they have decent sparkling water, Pellegrino, and not just tiny cans.  They also had a rice cracker mix and peanuts on this visit.

The assorted rice crackers were a bit stale tasting.

Cheese / Charcuterie / Salad.

The salad, cheese, and charcuterie station was largely unchanged from previous visits.  

Salad offerings were a mixed greens salad, celery/carrots/tomatoes, a couple dressings and hummus, and a quinoa salad.  All pretty average quality.

The charcuterie platter had only salami when I visited, and I didn't stay long enough for a refill, I was hoping to see the prosciutto return.  I did, as before, love having the cornichons and little pickled onions.

The cheese platter again had dried figs I liked, and decent enough brie.

Sandwiches / Bread & Butter.

I did not try the sandwiches, two kinds available: turkey & swiss, and a vegetarian caprese, nor the sliced baguette and butter.

Roast Veggies.

The hot food side was mixed roast veggies - I saw potatoes, squash, and green beans, a bit of a random selection.  I didn't try it.

Pasta & Sauce & Meatballs.

The main dish was labelled "Egg Sandwich", but it certainly was not that.  There was tricolor corkscrew pasta, marinara sauce, and I presume meatballs.  Not so French!

As I was looking forward to my. meal on my Jet Blue flight (which, by the way, was glorious), I didn't try this, but I was curious about the meatballs.

Fruit Salad. 

On the other side of the area was fruit, yogurt, and dessert.

The fruit salad was mostly melons (allergic) and pineapple (meh), but I did pluck a few grapes, both red and green, out, as I wanted something juicy and refreshing (my allergy to these kinds of melons is only mild, not like watermelon, where I definitely could not take anything that had been near it!).

The green grapes were fairly standard, but the red ones actually had unexpected seeds, and had fairly bitter skins.  I wished I hadn't taken them.  **+.

Yogurt Station.

The yogurt station I decided to finally try, as I was kinda craving some nice creamy, rich yogurt.  I knew it was US based catering, but I still hoped for something more European, as they just do yogurt so much better than us.  This was definitely not my style of yogurt, tart, lumpy.  Meh.  It had blueberries on it though, which were better than the fruit salad fruit.  **.

Yogurt Toppings.

Toppings for the yogurt, besides the fruit salad that you could add, were granola and honey.  And just like every other visit, the sign said chocolate chips, but, there were none.  Perhaps it is time to finally update that sign?  I haven't seen chocolate chips in years.

Palmiers.

The regular chocolate chip cookie platter had palmiers this time, a nice change, and, actually, a cookie style I prefer more.

These were pretty good.  Super flaky pastry, nice butter and sugar level. Above average for a lounge cookie, no question.

***+.

"Brownie"

The brownie station also changed, now stocked with blondies, although, lol, they still said "brownies".  If you are keeping track, we had mislabelled blondie-brownies, Egg Muffin pasta and meatballs, and no chocolate chips. 

The blondies were actually quite good.  Soft, loaded with both chocolate chips and nuts.  I quickly scarfed one.

***+.

Update Review, December 2021 Visit

Another JetBlue flight out of Boston, another quick spin through the Air France lounge, which is in the international terminal adjacent to JetBlue's gates, and to which I had access with my Priority Pass Membership.  Nothing to rave about, but a nice break from the terminal.

Charcuterie, Salad.

The charcuterie lineup this time included salami, pepperoni, and prosciutto, with olives and cornichons.  I tried the prosciutto only, and it seemed fine, thin sliced, nicely fatty.  I was a fan of the cornichons and onions too.

The salad was listed as Ceasar, but did have baby carrots, red bell peppers, and tomatoes, so, uh, not quite a traditional ceasar.  Parmesan cheese and croutons were packaged separately on the side.  Tuna salad and cous cous based salad were also on offer.  I tried the "ceasar", and it was fine - ingredients fresh enough, and I appreciated the baby carrots to munch on separate from the salad. 

***.

Cheese.

Of course, being a French lounge, it had a decent cheese lineup, with very perfectly ripe gooey brie, sharp cheddar, and blue cheese, along with dried figs.

I enjoyed the brie and figs. ***.

Turkey Swiss Sandwiches.

The premade sandwich was turkey and swiss, with mayo and lettuce.  I stayed away.

Chicken Teriyaki & Rice.

The hot meal of the day was white rice and chicken teriyaki, which I also didn't try.

Clam Chowder.

The soup of the day was clam chowder, which I was excited to see, but was pretty awful - thin, flavorless.  This is the only item, besides beverages, that the staff serve for you rather than self-serve.  Not sure why they don't trust us to ladle out soup?

*.

Snacks.

For snacks, there were plain Lay's chips and ranch Doritos, along with oranges and apples, pretty standard offerings.

Fruit Cups.

The fruit cup was honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, and grapes.  The sign said watermelon too, but it wasn't there, which was good, as I'm allergic, and I was really craving fresh juicy fruit.  The grapes in particular were quite satisfying, but the rest was underripe. **+.

Yogurt.

The yogurt I believe was just plain greek yogurt.  It came with a sprig of mint and two blueberries on it.  Granola and honey were available on the side, but no chocolate chips as the menu said.

Brownies.

For dessert, the brownies just said "brownie" but they clearly had cream cheese swirl on them.

They were fine.  Rich, fudgey, not dried out.  Not bad, not amazing.

***.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

One kind of cookie was available, although the menu listed several. These were chocolate chunk, with large hunks of chocolate.

The big hunks of chocolate were nice, but otherwise, a pretty "meh" cookie.  They tasted like generic packaged cookies, and seemed a bit over baked, too dark and dry around the edges.

**+.

Update Review - December 2019 Visit

I took a super quick swing through the Air France lounge before an outbound JetBlue flight (the Air France lounge is the closest to the JetBlue gate, even though in a different terminal).  I mostly wanted to use the bathroom, grab sparkling water (Pellegrino little bottles, not chilled, boo), and check out the wine (meh to the bordeaux I tried).

Nothing particularly positive to say about the place, as I knew from previous visits, but it is spacious and quiet, and a good place to get out of the main terminal if you need.

Cheese / Charcuterie.

The offerings that were actually somewhat french ... cheese (although not the most inspired lineup) and cold cuts (salami, pepperoni, mortadella).  If I was hungry, I actually would have tried the mortadella as I kinda love it sometimes, and the brie for that matter, but I skipped this all.

Breads / Dried Fruit.

I'm not sure if it was intentional, but I actually thought the bread and dried fruit board looked kinda nice, even though somewhat haphazard.

Snack Mixes.

I had to laugh at the label on the peanuts ... "snack mix w. peanut" it said.  Unless my eyes were deceiving me, it was peanuts, and only peanuts.

The other is wasabi crunch, with mostly rice crackers, which seemed stale.  The wasabi peas didn't pack much punch.  Meh.

Salad Bar / Fruit, Yogurt, Granola.

The cold well had yogurt, granola, and fruit (for those international travelers wanting breakfast?), and makings for salad - a kinda random lineup with cooked beets, croutons, and spring mix, plus tomatoes, cucumber slices, baby carrots, and celery sticks that would work as veggies to dip or salad editions.  And a slaw.  There were two unlabeled dressings, plus what looked like cranberries and sunflower seeds?

Broccoli & Kale Slaw.

"Almonds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, with creamy slaw dressing."

After I read the sign for the broccoli & kale slaw, I realize that the dried cranberries were likely the "dried fruit" intended for the slaw, the sunflower seeds as well.  I have no idea where the almonds were.

I tried one of the dressings, but it seemed to be very tangy ranch, not what I'd expect from a "creamy slaw dressing" and the slaw was undressed.

I did like the slaw base though, crunchy shredded broccoli, torn kale, carrots, and radicchio.

Pizza-ish.

Token hot veggie dish, pizza/flatbread, Mediterranean inspired it seemed, as I smelt feta and saw black olives.

Chicken & Rice.

Token hot meat dish, some kind of chicken stir fry.

Sandwiches.

Pre-made sandwiches were restocked frequently.

Minestrone Soup.

On the other side of the spacious lounge is the soup station, with two hot soups, including vegetarian minestrone soup ...

Chicken & Rice Soup.

Chicken soup ...

Waffles & Cinnamon Rolls.

And ... cold waffles (syrup on the side) and little cinnamon rolls between the soups.  Completely random placement, and ... kinda random items in general.  Breakfast leftovers?  They were also the only sweets, no token cookies or brownies even.

Classic Cup O Noodles.

And on the other side of the soup station, the most popular offering in the lounge, I'm not joking ... Cup O Noodles.  Every time I'm there, these are the hot item.  Comfort food I guess?

Original Review - 2018 / 2019 Visits

The Air France lounge in Boston Logan airport located in Terminal E, right near gate 4.  This is the international terminal, but it is accessible airside from Terminal C, and is a Priority Pass lounge.  Protip: if you are flying out of Terminal C, depending on your gate, it may be the closest Priority Pass lounge (rather than The Lounge, in Terminal C across from Gate 19).

I only cruised through quickly as my JetBlue flight at a nearby gate was delayed, but I'll return another time intentionally, as it was generally better than The Lounge (although, The Lounge certainly had better snacks and shockingly good clam chowder).

This is only the second Air France lounge I've ever visited, the first was in SFO.  The Boston location is considerably better than the San Francisco version, in nearly every aspect: size, seating options, and cuisine.

Setting

The lounge felt quite spacious.  Perhaps because it was 3pm, and there were no international flights taking off around that time, so it was nearly empty, but also, it really just was a decently large lounge.

I didn't get photos of all sections, but there was a wide variety of seating styles.  No showers or kids areas that I saw.

Seating.

Each arm chair had a side table, which is convenient, but these didn't look particularly comfortable.

More Seating.

The other seating area was far more appealing, with wider, more plush looking chairs, power outlets, and a section with a high counter and stools, which is where I set up, so I could stand - I'd be sitting for long enough soon!

Food & Drinks

The food lineup was fairly standard for an International lounge of this caliber - a few snacks, generic salad, sandwiches, soup, and one hot item.  I didn't try much since I was just there to scope it out, since I had a little extra time due to a flight delay in Terminal C.  

Drinks.

Everything is self-serve, including the bar.  It is a small bar with the basics, along with a couple wines, beer, soft drinks, and fruit juices in the coolers below.  The San Francisco lounge had a much more elaborate setup, at least with the mixers.

I tried a red wine (Côtes du Rhône), and it was fine, but not memorable.

This area also had cheese cubes and snack mixes.

Bread and Snacks.

The snack jars were certainly different from any other lounge I've visited, a bit clunky to use, with serving spoons on top, and real lids.  They were unlabeled, but seemed to be salted peanuts, Chex mix, and dates.

I tried the Chex mix, since I love snack mixes, but it was just standard brand name Chex mix, never as flavorful or good as my mother's version.  Peanuts seem like an odd choice if you are going to offer only one nut, just due to the severity of allergies, and dates were entirely random ...

On another visit, there was an asian snack mix, filled with rice crackers and wasabi peas, that was standard, but nice to munch on.

Next to the snacks were baguettes (so French!), along with little packets of butter and Smucker's jam.   This mostly made me sad, because, I saw that they were appealing to French desires, but, um, I'm certain this bread was nothing like that in France, and the butter certainly was not ...

Soup Station.

The lounge is large enough that things are really spread out.  On a busy day, I'm sure this helps ease congestion.

This station, all on its own on the side of the lounge, had two kinds of soup: miso and chicken noodle on my first visit, minestrone and potato cream on my next, along with toppings.  Next to it was also a hot water dispenser with Cup of Noodles cartons lined up.  The few kids in the lounge seemed quite pleased with that option.

The soups were literally boiling, um, a bit too ot.

Salad Bar.

The salad bar had a small assortment of fresh veggies (baby carrots, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes), a base of mixed greens, some cut fruit, olives, cooked baby beets, little cornichons, seaweed salad, cole slaw, and some white unlabeled dip (or maybe dressing?)

I tried the seaweed salad - it was fine, standard, just like in SF, great to pair with the miso soup if you are going for Asian cuisine I guess?  I also got a big scoop of the slaw, excited to see slaw, but I didn't like it at all, it was very overdressed, and the flavor wasn't anything special.

Sandwiches.

Sandwich options were turkey or ham and swiss (with butter, on baguette of course!).

Hot Entree.

The hot dish wasn't labelled, but it seemed to be a beef stir fry, with steamed white rice on the side.  It actually didn't look that bad.

My next visit it was pasta and red sauce.

Croissants / Waffles.

Next to the hot entree, even though it was 3pm, was ... croissants and waffles.  Cold waffles.  At least they had syrup on the side?

I did not try these.  This seemed to be the only baked goods, no actual desserts were offered.

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