French Macarons at Financier
As a lover of intense flavor experiences and creamy desserts, meringue cookies are about the least interesting treat in the entire world for me. They look nice and all, but their taste is always too weak, and biting into them is like biting into a hunk of diabetes-inducing chalk.
But after being served a mango macaron at The Wright for my birthday, I keep finding myself unexpectedly craving those little French cookies. They have the tiniest layer of crunch on their outsides, easily broken just by holding them, but then their centers are somehow super-moist, almost like raw cookie dough. And their flavors are always wildly dense, like heavily-concentrated versions of things found in nature.
So naturally I Googled “best macarons NYC”, because I am a master searcher who doesn’t type out entire questions like, “Where do I find the best macarons in NYC?” like everyone who finds my blog via Google. (I still love you, though.) The first viable result came from some snob from Serious Eats who wrote:
After Paris, the city whose macarons I’m most familiar with is New York City. Unfortunately, after eating NYC’s macarons I think I’d rather wait until my next vacation to Paris than eat another one here. I don’t mean to imply that they’re all horrible—obviously someone likes them or else these shops wouldn’t keep churning them out—but I’ve found most of them to be disappointing.
I kind of want to punch the woman in the crotch. Calling a macaron disappointing is like calling a flavor of ice cream disappointing. Or pizza. Or corndogs. Yes, some corndogs are better than others. And when you’ve had a corndog dipped in pumpkin sauce, I can see how other corndogs wouldn’t live up to it. But you’re still getting to eat an effing corndog, so shut it.
Sorry. I’m just jealous that I’ve never eaten a macaron in Paris.
The writer recommended La Maison du Chocolat for the best of the apparently-unsatisfactory NYC macarons, and incredibly, my boyfriend works right above one. I begged and pleaded and called him things like “darling” and “cuppycake”, but he doesn’t think women should be sitting around eating bonbons on a Tuesday night, so I was left to my own devices.
Luckily, a co-worker informed me that Financier, home of the famed Bûche de Noël, carries them. So I stopped after work and bought a package of 8, all in different flavors.
YOU GUYS. Maybe it’s good that I’ve never been to Paris to compare these to the real things, but glurgglurgglurgglurg. They were so good.
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7 Comments
plumpdumpling
It should be noted that it’s almost impossible for me to talk about how much I love these things with anyone in person, because they assume I’m talking about coconut macaroons, which are entirely different and not nearly as good.
Heesa Phadie
So which flavors and which were your favorite?
I’ve never had a traditional macaron…only those not so macaron coconut macarons. I’ve always wanted to try a good one. I hear they’re all the rage these days.
Sammy Skye
1. try macaroncafe.com they have 2 locations in the city. im partial to the pumpkin spice, lemon, and caramel. but ive had dozens from them and they are always delicious and airy.
2. ive had macarons in france and in new york. and think they are equally delicious. maybe i have lower standards than most?
Mrs. Bachelor Girl
I’ve been tempted to try to make macarons at home, but Jesus, what a pain in the ass.
On an unrelated note, I’m delighted that you said you want to punch someone in the crotch.
Ash
I looooove macarons. Apparently they’re pretty difficult to make too, which is why they’re usually so expensive. I think they were part of why I gained so much weight when we spent Christmas in France. My sister was so obsessed over them that my aunt bought a package almost every morning together with bread.
Kim
Oh, pshaw, that lady. I’ve had them in Paris and in New York and in Boston, even, and they’re delicious everywhere (although, for snobbery’s sake, when you do get to eat your way through Paris, Pierre Hermé makes the best, better than the more-often-referenced-by-Americans Ladurée, in my opinion).
I also like the totally different coconut macaroons. I believe that the origin of the macaroon and macaron are actually possibly the same, though, which is why they have the same name? Once upon a time the idea was a cookie of egg white and sugar with almond or coconut, and the French, after having been making the usuals for years or whatever, introduced a new/different version with the meringue sandwiches and they were often called “French macaroons/macarons” to differentiate. I could be making half of this up but I feel like I read stuff along these lines once when I was considering making my own.
I obviously suggest you just pronounce macaron with your heaviest, most obnoxious French accent to ensure no one is confused, because that’s always fun.
dbdtron
I like Financier’s Pistachio the best.
Bouchon does ok.
La Maison du Chocolat has a location near us, on Wall, no? They were ok..
Let me know if you want to make a trip!