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| - This French macaron boutique is one of our regular stops whenever we are in the area. The relaxed, pink-white interior includes an overhead menu, a few small tables here and there, and a glass counter filled with macarons, pastries, and chocolates of all colors, shapes, and sizes.
Each macaron costs $2.75. So far, my gold standard for macaron encompasses the characteristics of a delicate shell, a subtle secondary chew, and a rich, refined ganache to complicate the overall flavors to result in a robust, aromatic bite. Consistent with these descriptors, their macarons are light, delicate, and easy to crumble. However, from our experiences, the shell sometimes had noticeable dry spots, with gaping air pockets under the shells. Moreover, the secondary chew can vary by flavor, with some that simply crumbled in a single bite and others that give the little sticky creamy subtleties with textures and flavors that popped.
Given these inconsistencies, the flavors that I recommend are the Chocolate Praline, Belgian Chocolate, Black Currant, Lavender White Chocolate, Pistachio, and Rose. With the latter three as my top flavors, these macarons are remarkably distinctive in the taste of each shell and the embedded ganache, where the fruit jam or almond center renders a contrasting bright, rising sweetness to the anchoring chocolate, floral, fruity, or nutty flavor in the backdrop. These particular flavors are also more aromatic than the others. At times, the distinctive flavors can be hits of sugar instead of a persistent, long enduring natural wow factor with the ones I had from Bouchon, Café Breizh, 'Lette, among others.
The Colombian Coffee macaron can be quite flavorful too, but I find the endnote to fall flat due to the missing almond flavor to brighten the profile for it to elaborate and linger. The Vanilla and Lemon Cream macarons are delicately sweet, but also one-dimensional, lacking depth in the chew and profile. Earl Grey Lavender Tea can be a viable option, but I prefer the Lavender White Chocolate for the straight-forward flavor. The Salted Caramel is a sensible possibility for those who wish to play it safe.
My least favorite macarons are the Passion Fruit Dark Chocolate, and White Basil Chocolate. Do not get the Key Lime Strawberry, the one I got was hard, dry, too sweet, and the skimpy fruit jam was a failure. The balance and combination of these flavors need further refinement. It was difficult to grasp the concepts underlying these flavors. Just try a Pistachio macaron next to any of these flavors and you will see the difference in quality and taste.
Overall, above average, falling short of being outright amazing. Service-wise, I find the young woman from Mexico City the most enthusiastic, helpful, and informative. With others, I was underwhelmed, and expected an equally refined experience with a little more explanation of the ideas that went into each flavor. I encourage prospective customers to make decisions based on flavors, and not on the colors of these macarons, something that we tend to do with our sensory. All the highlights and limitations accounted for, I still find their product worthwhile and rudimentary to the core concepts of French macarons. 3.5 stars for the overall experience.
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