Bienvenue au Macaron Cafe!

 Ok ok, so I know I've been gone for a while, and I really have no good excuse why, but I'm back!  And... I'm dedicating my return post to Ellie, my biggest fan and connoisseur of French pastries.  For months now I have been anticipating the opening of a lovely bakery around the corner from my office called Macaron Cafe.  Finally, they have opened and the shop looks delightful.  Running into the office late, I poked my head in to grab an iced coffee and something to tide me over until lunch.  My options seemed fairly limited at 10:30 a.m., so I quickly chose a plain croissant.  Initially, I was sort of turned off by the prepackaging.  For some reason, to me pre-wrap screams "not fresh".  I was wrong in the case of the Macaron croissant.  It is as fresh as can be, and although simple, my breakfast tastes delicious (I'm eating them as we speak).

In addition to an assortment of croissants (plain, chocolate, almond, and bacon/eggs), the breakfast menu includes Tartine Organic Butter, Tartine O. Butter & Jam, and a variety of crepes (avec sugar, jam or nutella), as well as yogurt with granola and fruits.

ps. Macaron flavors include, but are not limited to, Dark Chocolate, White Choloate, French Vanilla, Violet Flower, Rose & Litchee, Espresso, Pistaccio, Praline, Nutella, Coconut, Cassis, Lemon, Raspberry, Strawberry, Passion Fruit

Attention! : the macarons cost a pretty penny, $2.25 for one, $13 for six, and the iced coffee is a little pricier than the street vendor's ($3.00)

Macaron Day NYC 2010

As mentioned yesterday on Gadling.com, not only is March 20th the first day of Spring, it is also Macaron Day in New York City.  What exactly does this mean?  Well, it means that at least 11 bakeries throughout the city will be celebrating with free macarons!  I fell in love with this tasty treat a couple years ago when Ellie, my french friend you've heard so much about lately, came to visit and brought me a beautiful box of the tiny morsels from the famous Ladurée tea salon in Paris.  For those of you who are not familiar with french macarons, the Ladurée's website describes them as "small, round cakes, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle" and provides a delightful history of the pastry.  They come in a variety of flavors ranging from chocolate to rose to caramel with salted butter.

It just so happens that NYC's 1st annual Macaron Day coincides with the 5th annual Jour du Macaron in Paris.  To find more information on this delicious holiday, including participating bakeries, please visit macarondaynyc.com.