Bouchon bakery Irish soda bread

St Patrick’s day is long past but I had a really nice Irish soda bread from Bouchon in the Time Warner Center 2 weeks ago and felt it was worth a mention (I doubt it’s even still available).  The single serving bread was served like a muffin wrapped in wax paper.  The bread had a nice aroma and was not sweet as an Irish soda bread should be.  Read the interesting history of Irish Soda bread  here.

Blackberry financier with brown butter $3.75

I’m going to keep on visiting Dominique Ansel Bakery until Mr. Ansel stops adding new items!  The latest thing I tried was the blackberry financier with brown butter–very moist and buttery tasting.  This “simple” financier stacked with plump blackberries is almost as much of a treat as one of the specialty pastrie  $3.75.

American style coconut macaroon

With all the hype for French macarons in this city it’s easy to forget about American style coconut macaroons–and Petrossian has a damn good one.  It’s much lighter than the macarooons in a can you find during the Jewish holidays.  This is really more like specialty candy or tiny pastry than a coconut cookie.  If the macaroon is too much coconut for you, grab the coconut and banana mini-muffin.

Bouchon Bakery has multiple locations in NYC.  The location I visited was in the Time Warner Center (3rd Floor).

Dominique Ansel Bakery is located on 189 Spring Street.  Their website is here.  More coverage on DessertBuzz.

Petrossian in located at 911 7th Ave.  Their website is here.

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Bisous Ciao had the NYC macaron crown for almost 2 years

I updated this post because I received a very comprehensive comment from a reader about NYC macarons.

Reader “Elle”:

I am a serious macaron fan, although I have not tried Bouchon and Laduree yet. I have had macarons from MacarOn Cafe, Bisous Ciao, Financier, Bruno Balery, Panya, Takahachi Bakery, La Maison du Macaron, and…Trader Joe’s! Overall, the best is Bisous Ciao $2.50per mac (I recommend Salted Caramel and Jasmine+Green Tea), followed by MacarOn Cafe $2.25 which have the most variety of flavors that change with the seasons (I recommend Pistachio and Honey Lavender), Financier and Bruno Bakery has bigger and limited variety of macarons for $2.25 that serve okay macs (shell is crackly, but better than Panya), Panya has the largest thickness and is cheapest for $1.50 a pop, Takahachi Bakery has around 5-7 different flavors with good ganache and shell, each for $2.00-$2.25 (recommend Yuzu Passion and Goma(black sesame)), La Maison du Macaron has good macarons too for $2.25-$2.50 (recommend Pink Champagne), and finally, if you crave for those delicious macs but is running low on cash, go to Trader Joe’s to buy their dozen macarons for $5 (6 vanilla & 6 chocolate)! They aren’t the best, but they are better than expected:)

Thanks Elle!  Do you have a strong opinion about a NYC dessert category?   Leave me a message in the comments!

If you pay for a dinner at Le Bernardin you can get one of these.

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Why is it so important for New Yorkers to know what other people think is “the best”?   With the opening of Laduree in New York City there has been a considerable amount of macaron hype, most of it around how superior their macarons are to everything else. Last week I finally got to try about eight of them (thank you Doctore) and I can safely say they are the best this city has to offer right now.  They feature perfect buttercream, super-soft almond flour cookie shell and insanely strong flavors–despite flying 3600 miles from Paris every day!

Now that we have that out of the way let’s take a look at some of the other DessertBuzz recommended macarons in New York City.

Laduree 864 Madison (71^st St.) Recommended: all products are equally excellent.  The lemon and vanilla are my favorites. Notes: Why can’t one other place in all of New York make butter cream this good?

Bouchon Bakery peanut butter and jelly

Bouchon Bakery Recommended: Peanut butter and jelly, pistachio.  Notes: A surprisingly good value compared to the other items they sell.  Large size means more to enjoy.  Located in the Time Warner Center (10 Columbus Circle @ 59th St.)  and in Rockefeller Center (1 Rockefeller Plaza).

The lemon macaron from Bisous ciao

Bisous Ciao Recommended: all flavors (butter cream and ganache fillings) Notes: The other standout macaron in New York city.  The only shop that currently comes close to Laduree.  Many pastry chefs pointed me to this place. Located at 101 Stanton St.

DessertTruck Works monkey finger macaron - would Laduree approve?

Dessert Truck Works Recommended: Salted caramel, chocolate ganache.   Notes: Creative flavors excellent value.  Located at 6 Clinton St.

Francois Chocolate Bar Macaron with cocoa nibs

Francois Chocolate Bar Recommended: dark chocolate with nibs.  Notes: As good as the best if you get them fresh.  Very good chocolate macarons.  Located in the food concourse of the Plaza Hotel at 1 West 58^th St.

Macaron Cafe Dark Chocolate Macaron - worth the $2.25

The Macaron Café Recommended: Citrus flavors, lemon, orange, etc. Notes: very solid huge selection of flavors, friendly staff.  Two locations: 625 Madison (on 59th St.) and 485 7th Ave. (at 36th St.)

Silver Moon Bakery chestnut macaron

The Silver Moon Bakery Recommended: Chocolate, chestnut.  Notes: pick up a French bread when you go because Serious Eats just rated their the best in the city!  Located at 2740 Broadway  (105^th St.)

I also want to recommend at two other outfits that don’t have  a “bricks and mortar” store.  You can always order their macarons for  a special event such as a wedding or party.

Mad-Mac's Macarons

A delicious Nutella Macaron from the Macaron Parlour

Mad Mac’s macarons Recommended (website is here.) Notes: The choice of Jacques  Torres for his big anniversary party.  And The Macaron Parlour Recommended: lemon, dark chocolate ganache, raspberry.  Notes: These guys have a cult following from their Hester Street Fair appearances–you won’t be disappointed.  (website is here.)

——–

More coverage of the opening of Laduree. FloFab from the Times, Amanda Kludt: Eater NY, Craftiness Now, Yelp reviews

Ladurée is located at 864 Madison Avenue (71st Street), open Monday – Friday 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. ; Saturday at 9:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. Closed Sunday. Macarons $2.70 each (ouch!)

Friday night was the New York Food & Wine Festival “Sweet” event.  A rare opportunity to try some of the best desserts from New York’s top pastry chefs–all in one place.  This is part 2 of our report  (Part 1 with fan favorite Doughnut Plant and Johnny Iuzzini is here). 

Ron Ben-Israel - Ron Ben Israel cakes - Duo of Cakes

Ron Ben-Israel, fresh off the debut of his new show on the Food Network, Sweet Genius, showed off his cakes skills with a cake pairing: Salty Godiva chocolate cake with salty pistachio and mascarpone filling and an almond cake with brown sugar and  apple fillings.  For a review of Ron’s new show, Sweet Genius go here.

Catrine Oscarson, Mas Farmhouse Date cake with cinnamon caramel cranberry compote and yogurt mousse

Catrine Oscarson from Mas Farmhouse brought a date cake with cinnamon caramel cranberry compote and yogurt mousse.  She also brought some House-made marshmallows as well.  Catrine’s desserts from Mas were featured on these pages a few weeks ago.

Mad Mac's Macarons - fall collections #1

The colorful and flavorful French macarons from Ludovic Augendre and Florian Bellanger of Mad Mac.

Allison Kave from First Prize Pies - Hot Chocolate Pie with Godiva Chocolate

Allison Kave from from First Prize Pies transported us to a New England bed and breakfast with her Hot Chocolate Pie with Godiva Chocolate.  This was no ordinary pie–it had a serious spicy kick to it.  You can find Allison selling her pies at the Hester Street Fair.  Look for a video of Allison talking about this pie later this week.

Stephen Collucci Colicchio and Sons

Stephen Colluci from Colicchio and Sons - Peanut butter chocolate pretzel tart with banana malted milk

Stephen Colluci from Colicchio and Sons brought a beautifully composed dish containing a peanut butter chocolate pretzel tart and banana malted milk.  He also had a huge tub of dark chocolate pieces with pretzels.  The banana malted milk was not sweet at all which  helped cut the sweetness factor of the tart.  Look for a video of Stephen talking about his dish later this week.

Confetti Cakes Elisa Strauss Godiva White Chocolate Push Pops

Elisa Strauss used a cool “push-up” apparatus to house her delicious White Chocolate layer cake.  Look for a video of Elisa talking about her cakes soon.

Deborah Racicot from Gotham Bar and Grill - Cinnamon cheesecake with roasted figs

Deborah Racicot from Gotham Bar and Grill brought a cinnamon cheesecake with roasted figs.  The roasted figs added some texture to her silky smooth cheesecake.  Gotham Bar and Grill has been putting out superb desserts for years.  Go here for DessertBuzz coverage of Gotham Bar and Grill desserts.

Gustavo Tzoc - Abe and Arthur's French toast bread pudding Godiva chocolate chip butter pecan ice cream

Long time DessertBuzz favorite Gustavo Tzoc from Abe and Arthur’s brought a “comfort food” dessert of French toast bread pudding and Godiva chocolate chip butter pecan ice cream.  Read and interview with Gustavo Tzoc from the DessertBuzz archives here.

Ashley Brauze from DB Bistro Moderne - Plum Delice: Ricotta Mousse, cornmeal poundcake, plum gelee, candied corn

Ashley Brauze from DB Bistro Moderne brought one of my favorite desserts of the evening.  She said  this light dessert was meant to compliment all the chocolate desserts that were expected to be on hand.  I found the “Plum Delice”  (Ricotta Mousse, cornmeal poundcake, plum gelee and candied corn) to be really light and flavorful–the candied corn was a nice touch as well.  Look for a video of Ashley talking about the dessert in the coming weeks.

Katherine Thompson of Dell’ Anima brought a Sicilian ricotta with bittersweet Godiva chocolate and candied cranberries.

Stephan Motir - Tribecca Grill a selection of verrines

Stephan Motir from Tribecca Grill brought a number of superb verrines that tasted as good as they looked.  My favorite was the black forest cake verrine.

Alessandra Altieri Bouchon Bakery - Chocolate caramel peanut butter parfait

Alessandra Altieri from DessertBuzz favorite Bouchon Bakery brought a Chocolate caramel peanut butter parfait (and a few hundred macarons).  More coverage of Bouchon on DessertBuzz  is here.

Colleen Grapes from The Harrison - Sticky toffee pudding with bourbon custard and orange

Colleen Grapes from The Harrison brought a sticky toffee pudding with bourbon custard and orange pieces.

Stanton Social Jaime Sudberg - Fall parfait spiced panna cotta with Pom Gelee

Jaime Sudberg of the Stanton Social brought a beautifully photogenic dish: Fall parfait spiced panna cotta with Pom Gelee.

Sandro Micheli Adour at Alain Ducasse Roasted Cranberry Crumble whipped vanilla cream

Andro Micheli of Adour (at Alain Ducasse) brought a  roasted cranberry crumble with whipped vanilla cream.  This dish also reminded me of a New England or Vermont bed and breakfast–it was like a bite size apple crisp except made with cranberries.

Go here for Part I of this feature.

Follow DessertBuzz on Twitter for more updates.

Here’s a listing of chef’s and their restaurants:

New York Food and Wine Festival - Sweet Event on September 29th, sponsored by Godiva

I can’t believe how many Dessert Buzz favorites are attending the “Sweet” event at the New York Food and Wine Festival (Tonight!).  It will be a truly awesome event this for any attendee, so grab your tickets asap since this event will sell out. EVENT IS SOLD OUT! Pastry chefs attending the event who have been featured on DessertBuzz  include  Francois Payard (interview) of Francois Chocolate Bar, Gustav Tzoc (interview) of Abe and Arthur’s, Andrea Jarosh of Donatella, Michelle Park of Kyotofu, Karen DeMasco of Locanda Verde, Catrine Oscarson of Mas, Ludovic Augendre and Florian Bellange of Mad Mac, Johnny Iuzzini of Jean Georges, Alison Kave of First Prize Pies and Ron Ben-Israel Cakes,  Details below.

Andrea Jarosh's Sfogliatella dessert from Donatella

Karen DeMasco Mini Rhubarb Pie

Mad-Mac's Macarons

Catrine Oscarson's plated dessert from Mas

Francois Payard's peerless Opera Cake

Alison Kave's S'mores pie from First Prize Pies

Chocolate Bench from Gustavo Tzoc

The Kyotofu chocolate cupcake

Event takes place Friday, September 30th at 9:00 p.m. $175.00 at 82 Mercer.  For more info go here or click on the logo above.

Bisous Ciao had the NYC macaron crown for almost 2 years

Why is it so important for New Yorkers to know what other people think is “the best”?   With the opening of Laduree in New York City there has been a considerable amount of macaron hype, most of it around how superior their macarons are to everything else. Last week I finally got to try about eight of them (thank you Doctore) and I can safely say they are the best this city has to offer right now.  They feature perfect buttercream, super-soft almond flour cookie shell and insanely strong flavors–despite flying 3600 miles from Paris every day!  

Now that we have that out of the way let’s take a look at some of the other DessertBuzz recommended macarons in New York City.

Laduree 864 Madison (71^st St.) Recommended: all products are equally excellent.  The lemon and vanilla are my favorites. Notes: Why can’t one other place in all of New York make butter cream this good?

Bouchon Bakery peanut butter and jelly

Bouchon Bakery Recommended: Peanut butter and jelly, pistachio.  Notes: A surprisingly good value compared to the other items they sell.  Large size means more to enjoy.  Located in the Time Warner Center (10 Columbus Circle @ 59th St.)  and in Rockefeller Center (1 Rockefeller Plaza).

The lemon macaron from Bisous ciao

Bisous Ciao Recommended: all flavors (butter cream and ganache fillings) Notes: The other standout macaron in New York city.  The only shop that currently comes close to Laduree.  Many pastry chefs pointed me to this place. Located at 101 Stanton St.

DessertTruck Works monkey finger macaron - would Laduree approve?

Dessert Truck Works Recommended: Salted caramel, chocolate ganache.   Notes: Creative flavors excellent value.  Located at 6 Clinton St.

Francois Chocolate Bar Macaron with cocoa nibs

Francois Chocolate Bar Recommended: dark chocolate with nibs.  Notes: As good as the best if you get them fresh.  Very good chocolate macarons.  Located in the food concourse of the Plaza Hotel at 1 West 58^th St.

Macaron Cafe Dark Chocolate Macaron - worth the $2.25

The Macaron Café Recommended: Citrus flavors, lemon, orange, etc. Notes: very solid huge selection of flavors, friendly staff.  Two locations: 625 Madison (on 59th St.) and 485 7th Ave. (at 36th St.)

Silver Moon Bakery chestnut macaron

The Silver Moon Bakery Recommended: Chocolate, chestnut.  Notes: pick up a French bread when you go because Serious Eats just rated their the best in the city!  Located at 2740 Broadway  (105^th St.)

I also want to recommend at two other outfits that don’t have  a “bricks and mortar” store.  You can always order their macarons for  a special event such as a wedding or party.

Mad-Mac's Macarons

A delicious Nutella Macaron from the Macaron Parlour

Mad Mac’s macarons Recommended (website is here.) Notes: The choice of Jacques  Torres for his big anniversary party.  And The Macaron Parlour Recommended: lemon, dark chocolate ganache, raspberry.  Notes: These guys have a cult following from their Hester Street Fair appearances–you won’t be disappointed.  (website is here.)

——–

More coverage of the opening of Laduree. FloFab from the Times, Amanda Kludt: Eater NY, Craftiness Now, Yelp reviews

Ladurée is located at 864 Madison Avenue (71st Street), open Monday – Friday 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. ; Saturday at 9:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. Closed Sunday. Macarons $2.70 each (ouch!)

Sunday, March 20th is Macaron day! Many bakeries in New York will be participating by offering free macarons. To receive a free macaron just tell the shop you are there for Macaron Day NYC.  Visit www.macarondaynyc.com for a complete list of participants and more information. Go here for coverage of last year’s event.  Participants as of March 17:

Chocolate macaron from Georgia's

DessertTruck Works monkey finger macaron

	Almondine Bakery ►85 Water Street, DUMBO (718) 797-5026 ►442 9th Street, Park Slope (718) 832-4607 www.almondinebakery.com
	Bisousciao. MACARONS 101 Stanton Street (212) 260-3463 www.bisousciao.com
	Bouchon Bakery 10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor (212) 823-9364 www.bouchonbakery.com
	Butterfield Market 1114 Lexington Avenue (212) 288-7800 www.butterfieldmarket.com
	Cannelle Patisserie 75-59 31st Avenue, East Elmhurst (718) 565-6200 www.cannellepatisserie.com
	COURS La REINE 50 Bond St. New York, NY 10012 917-892-2127 www.courslareine.com
	DESSERTS BY MICHAEL ALLEN 1015 Fulton Street Brooklyn , NY 11238 718-230-3360 www.MichaelAllendesserts.com
	DessertTruck Works 6 Clinton Street www.dt-works.net
	FC Chocolate Bar at The Plaza Hotel 1 West 58th Street, Concourse Level (212)986-9241 www.fcchocolatebar.com
	Francois Payard Bakery 116 West Houston Street (212)995-0888 www.fpbnyc.com
	GEORGIA’S CAFÉ & BAKERY 2418 Broadway at West 89th Street (212) 362-2000 www.georgiascafeandbakery.com
	Jacques Torres Chocolate ►350 Hudson Street (212) 414-2462► 285 Amsterdam Avenue (212) 787-3256 ► Rockefeller Center, 30 Rockefller Plaza, Concourse Level (212) 664-1804 ► Chelsea Market, 75 9th Avenue ► 66 Water Street, Brooklyn (718) 875-1269 www.mrchocolate.com
	La Maison du Chocolat ►1018 Madison Avenue at 78 Street ►30 Rockefeller Center (212) 744-7117 www.lamaisonduchocolat.com
	La Renaissance Bakery 9 Harwood Court Scarsdale, NY 10583 www.lrbakery.com
	Mad-Mac “The Authentic French Macarons” (973) 225-0930 www.madmacnyc.com
	Macaron Café ►161 West 36th Street (212) 564-3525 ► 625 Madison Avenue (212) 486-2470 www.macaroncafe.com

Bouchon Bakery Peanut Butter and Jelly Macaron

It may be freezing here in NYC but peanuts and jelly are in season at Bouchon!  That’s right, the seasonal macaron at Bouchon Bakery is PB & J.  For a mere $3.25 you can get an extra large size French Macaron filled with delicious peanut butter and house made jelly.  My photos don’t capture the magenta coloring of the cookie but don’t be fooled, the staff told me that despite it’s berry flavored color the cookie doesn’t have a flavor.  The photo also makes the macaron look a bit “crackely”–while the crust wasn’t super soft it wasn’t hard either.

Bouchon Bakery NYC Seasonal Macarons

Recommended: Seasonal PB & J macaron $3.25

Bouchon Bakery in New York City is located on the 3rd floor of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle.

Note: It terms of size and value it’s a pretty good deal considering a macaron less than half this size goes for about $2.25 at Macaron Cafe.  Tomorrow: Financier macarons.

Recent macaron articles:  Dessertbuzz’s favorite macarons: Dessert Truck Works, macarons without bricks and mortar stores: Mad Mac and Macaron Parlour.  Don’t forget Macaron Cafe which has very soft, very fresh macarons in midtown.

Full-on roundup coming soon.