Maison Ladurée Visited

Maison Ladurée storefront display

As expected, I paid a visit to Maison Ladurée during my trip to NYC.  This was the one place that I was most looking forward to visiting.  I must say that Ladurée exceeded my expectations.  Well, at least the macarons excelled.  The store is set up like a boutique with macarons prominently displayed along the counter, while other Ladurée products (teas and perfumes) were displayed in a separate nook and along the walls.  The decor of the store was very posh and the employees seemed be cutouts made for the upscale environment.  Personally, it seemed like the employees were not truly interested in assisting their patrons.  Not once did I see one of them greet a customer or offer assistance.  Instead, they hid behind the counter, waiting for customers to come to them.  I've heard that this is part of the French culture, so maybe that's what they're going for??  I've even heard stories about how some of the employees use fake French accents, too.  I'm guessing that this may be a ploy to try to give people the experience of visiting a true French boutique...the Parisian experience!  They should be careful, though.  They are within close proximity of Québec and Montréal...

 



Macarons for my friend

Back to the main attraction: macarons!  Rumor has it that the macs sold at Ladurée are flown over from Paris every night.  True, or not, they're well worth the wait (lines can get long) and the price.  At $2.70 a piece, they are slightly more expensive than most macs.  However, in my opinion and based on all the other macs I've tasted, Ladurée makes the best macarons!  The meringue cookie shells have a great, smooth texture with even coloring.  There's an ever so slight crunch as you bite down, but that quickly transitions into the chewy center of the cookies.  Unlike many other macarons that I've tasted, Ladurée's held together after each bite.  No crumbs to catch or shattered meringues here!  Best of all, the fillings provide a perfect balance to the cookies so that you get a great flavor without extreme sweetness.

The macaron flavors that I tasted were orange passion, rose, pistachio, raisin-cinnamon, coconut, and caramel with salted butter.  My favorite was the rose.  In reading reviews, I've found that people either love it, or hate it.  I think for those that did not take a liking to the rose macarons had the general consensus that it was too floral and reminded them of soap or perfume.  I, on the other hand, thought it was the best (and most unique) macaron flavor I've tasted yet!  I found both the rose flavor and the sweetness to be quite light...it was like getting brief wafts of sweet roses with each bite.  Return visits are definitely in the future!