Ladurée

While visiting New York City I finally had the opportunity to try the famous Ladurée macarons. After reading and hearing so much about these delicate treats the expectations were quite high. However, I was not disappointed.

Located on Madison Ave in the Upper East Side, the retails shop is adorably delightful. Macaron towers adorn the windows and the shelves, and of course, the trays upon trays of macarons are proudly on display behind the counter. I learned from the staff that these macarons are prepared daily in Paris and shipped across the ocean 3-4 times per week; these French pastries are authentically French.

The packaging for these treats is just as lovely as they are themselves so I ordered an Arabesque box of 8 macarons and headed to the Pond in Central Park to enjoy a couple (i.e. I ate all of them within 2o minutes). 

From top left: cassis-violet, salted butter caramel, rose, lime-basil, strawberry candy, lemon, chocolate and blood orange-ginger. 

The texture was unreal. Why can't I get my shells that thin?! Each macaron had the same consistent texture which was pretty remarkable considering the fillings ranged from creams to ganaches to marshmallows to gelees. 

Not a single air pocket, not a single crack, and beautiful, perfect feet. The chefs at Ladurée definitely know what they're doing. If I had to choose a favourite though, it would be the cassis-violet. The filling was perfectly tart and sweet. Salted butter caramel is a close second, and rose takes third place.

I enjoyed these treats so much I went back to Ladurée the next day. And the one after that. I spent an embarrasingly huge amount of money on macarons, but they were worth it. They were certainly one of the highlights of my trip to NYC.

And maybe next time I'll taste them in Paris.

-Danielle