A little rest from the gastro-bistros for now.
The holidays are also macaron season in France. They're usually given as gifts, and a few bakers have managed to reach cult status for their macarons. Until this trip, I'd only tasted the famed products from Laduree. This time, we happened to be staying near Pierre Herme's latest boutique.
On Christmas day, Pierre Herme had set up a tent on a nearby square to help cope with the demand for his macarons. The line was at least 150 persons long. I wanted to try them, but every time we walked by the store, the line seemed to be getting longer.
Thankfully, when we were chillin' at the retirement home one day with our grandparents, my grandma received a package from her sister, who lives in the South of France. The package was cold, contained a plastic bag-type thing with a futuristic freezing contraption, and a case of thirty macarons of various flavors.
Over the next few days, my brother and I dug in, sampling flavors such as three different varieties of rare Mexican chocolates, coffee and caramel, and even rosewater (gross). On my last day, I bought seven macarons to give to Lauren, including combinations like foie gras-fig and foie gras-chocolate.
Herme's macarons, aside from being beautiful to look at, are an almost perfect expression of the treat. The meringue is just chewy enough while retaining lightness, and the ganaches are smooth, not too sweet, and perfectly balanced. After eating one, you realize why Pierre Herme's store looks like a jewelery store. The foie gras macarons, in particular, are outrageously decadent. While I enjoy the macarons at Miette in San Francisco, Herme's are close to perfect, and actually worth the price.
The inside of the foie gras and chocolate macaron.
5 comments:
So what's the price tag on a single macaron?
Hey Pig man,
Did Herme by chance when I was in Paris a few years ago, as a matter of fact I hit all the famous Patisseries, some by chance and luck. By the way I really like your site a lot and thanks for linking mine on yours!
Jeremy
Gastronomer - Strangely, they sell them by weight. Those seven macarons were around 12 euros.
Jeremy - likewise!
I'm glad that these lived up to the hype and were worth every Euro! Hype oftentimes diminishes tastiness ;-)
But do you really prefer Herme macaroons over Ladurée? I can’t believe that anything could be better.
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