On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons…
“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” James Beard
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... delectable Ladurée macarons
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... The full range of colorful, tasty macarons behind the counter
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons...The pretty window and teeming crowds inside...
In 1862, Louis Ernest Ladurée opened an exquisite bakery in Paris, aptly named Ladurée, that has become one of the top places to visit if you want the best in baked goods; especially their delicious macarons. According to the Ladurée website, their famous macarons was the brainchild of Pierre Desfontaines, second cousin of Louis Ernest Ladurée. At the turn of the 20th century, Pierre conceived the idea of taking two macaron shells and joining them with a delicious ganache filling. It became one of their most popular products and the Paris shop carries many flavors of these tasty gourmet macarons. Today, in shops around the world, Ladurée continues to whet the appetite of gourmet dessert lovers by offering an array of scrumptious desserts; especially their world famous macarons.
“When one has tasted it he knows what the angels eat.” Mark Twain
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... The Madison Avenue Ladurée shop
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... Interior of Laduree shop on Madison Avenue...
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... Laminated sheet with all current 14 Ladurée NY Flavors...
Until recently, the only way to taste a Ladurée macaron was to fly to Paris or visit one of their shops in Europe and enjoy their treats. I had mentioned Ladurée in a post I wrote last year about the luscious Macaron Parlor macarons… Who knew that almost a year later, they’d open a NYC shop. On August 30th, Ladurée opened their first NYC shop on at 864 Madison Avenue and almost caused a mob scene.
Hundreds of fans turned out to sample the 14 flavored macarons, flown in daily from Paris, and they were not disappointed. For several days in a row, the little shop sold out of many popular flavors; Vanilla, Cafe, Caramel, Pistachio… actually all of them. The lines were long and the orders flew out of the shop as people tried as many varieties as they could get. At $2.70 each, they are a well-priced treat and worth the wait…. reminding one of the Alexander McQueen lines during the exhibition’s final days at The Metropolitan Museum.
“Thus the public use of reason and freedom is nothing but a dessert, a sumptuous dessert.” Johann G. Hamann
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... All 14 Laduree macaron flavors with an extra caramel...
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... Display of more of the mouthwatering macarons...
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... boxed sample of all the flavors
Since those early heady days of the grand opening, Ladurée continues to attract dessert and gourmet treat lovers to their tiny, colorful and beautifully styled shop. It is worth a visit if you have never tasted fabulous macarons from their shop or from Pierre Hermé and Fauchon (Fauchon, by the way, make the best Madeleine). I paid them a visit yesterday and took pictures and sampled the macarons. The macarons are fresh tasting, melt-in-your-mouth heavenly bites. The ganache fillings are light, flavorful and have the real taste of vanilla, pistachio or any other flavor on their menu. The Vanilla and Cafe have always been my favorite but I added Pistachio and Caramel to my list yesterday, and honestly, all 14 flavors are delicious and chewy… Come back later for more on my visit and more pictures (UPDATED). 🙂
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... Some other Ladurée goods; teas and jams
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... Some other Ladurée goods; candles and carryall bags...
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... Some other Ladurée goods; pretty boxed goods and candles...
In addition to their macarons, Ladurée also sells tea, delectable spreads, jams, candles, carryall bags, and future plans to carry gelato/ice creams. I chose not to sample any of the additional items but the packaging looked elegant and I suspect the quality as divine as the macarons. Have you tried any of the extra items? What do you think of the packaging? More Below. 😉
“There is nothing to which men, while they have food and drink, cannot reconcile themselves.” George Santayana
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... at the register... those pretty celadon green bags...
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... The line inside...
On Food: Let Them Eat Macarons... The pretty celadon green Laduree box and its contents...
I love sweets and the more ambrosial, the better. Ladurée does not scrimp on the quality of ingredients they use for their macarons. Everything is made in fresh batches daily, and you can tell the difference when you compare them to products that are not made as well. Even though the line was relatively long, it moved quickly and efficiently. The staff was polite and helpful; the young lady who helped me was knowledgeable and friendly. I walked out with my nicely packed celadon green boxed and bagged macarons. If you want to enjoy some of the best macarons around, I would recommend you give the heavenly macarons at Ladurée a try. You won’t be disappointed. And tell them you read about it on this blog – Mirth and Motivation. TY! Ladurée, 864 Madison Avenue (71st Street), (646) 558-3157, open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6. Macarons in 14 flavors are $2.70 each. What are your thoughts? What are your favorite desserts? Do you like gourmet macarons and have you tried Ladurée? Do share! Thank you. 🙂
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: Write a review of a movie you recently saw or a product you recently used. It could be something new, or something you’ve known about for some time. Describe why you’d recommend it or not.
Positive Motivation Tip: Food is a medicinal and lifelong gift; it nurtures and uplifts us. Enjoy and celebrate the foods you love.
Related articles
- Macaron anyone? (thetravelcrew.wordpress.com)
- The Ultimate Story. (loveandmacaron.wordpress.com)
- The Road to Macaron – Part 1 (crissybakes.wordpress.com)
- Food Stuff: Ladurée Brings Its Macarons to New York – Food Stuff (nytimes.com)
- Ladurée Hits NYC (style.com)
- Let Them Eat Cake And Ice Cream (nrhatch.wordpress.com)
- Ladurée in New York: France’s Iconic Macaron Sets Out to Conquer America (dailyfinance.com)
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos via my Personal Collection. Please don’t use without full credit/linkback or my permission. TY!
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
Trackbacks
- Let Them Eat Cake . . . And Ice Cream « Spirit Lights The Way
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Arranged… | Mirth and Motivation
- Weekly Photo Challenge: Two Subjects… | Mirth and Motivation
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Looks so good. Just had my lunch but this still made me go hungry! Haha..
Hi Viviene! What a nice surprise to see you again. Hope all is well. I could readily have these for all three meals. lol! I will visit your blog shortly. TY! 🙂
They look amazing and very appetising! A really interesting post 🙂
Thanks again for keeping up with my blogs.
cheers
Lorraine
TY Lorraine… Glad you liked it. I know you’ve been busy too so thank you for stopping by. 🙂
Love the packages, I probably wouldn’t even want to open them.
I don’t normally stalk musicians, performers etc., but several years ago, I went to a concert by King Sunny Ade and had such a lovely time, I went back the second night. I even considered following him and his band to Toronto for the next concerts. The memory of that weekend came back to me so strongly tonight, I went trolling YouTube to find a video or two. Such wonderful performers!
Oh the packaging is so pretty too… TY Marcia! 😉
As per Sunny Ade, I love his music too and have seen him in concert in NY.
You’re welcome, Elizabeth!
Would have loved to see him again – he’s an awesome performer!
I know those by heart!!!! I LOVE Macarrons from Laduree!!! The best ever!!!
Ty for your comment. I love Ladurée macarons too.. I was thrilled when they came to NY… They will do well. Thanks again Giulas. 🙂
They look sooo yummy, got my sweet tastes going. If I ever go there I will tell the world. Thanks for stopping by my blogs, you are such an inspiration to all who stop here daily.
TY Jackie… ditto! They are tres bien macarons and I plan to go back sometime soon. 🙂
How did I not know about this? I think I have to arrange myself a trip to Paris in the near future!
They are excellent and you won’t be disappointed! Now I wish I could hop on a train and be somewhere in Europe. Lucky you TY! 🙂
I’ve never tasted one of their macaroons but they look yummy! Wonderful photos, Eliz. And they should be so pleased with your write-up! Hmmm, maybe you should add a line in your post for readers who do visit Laduree to mention you and you can get some free treats!
Hmmm…. I’m on it and will add that line to my post that readers who go should mention this post. No free treats offered though… just want to be clear. I will update the post if that changes… ;-)TY for your feedback and if your come to NY, give me a shout and I’ll treat you. 🙂
Yummy . I love ice creams.Sometimes I eat it too much. 🙂
I love ice cream too but only during the summer months… TY Coco for your feedback! 🙂
They look both pretty and delicious. I love this kind of thing
They are delicious… they taste even better than they look. 🙂 TY!
We eat of many types of “foods”…some we put in our mouths and digest in our stomachs…others we view with our eyes to feed our souls. These amazing photos provided the second type of food…unfortunately, I won’t be in NYC (or Paris) any time soon, so I won’t be able to partake of the first type of eating. 🙂
I think what i miss about NYC most (other than friends and family) are the bakeries…NYC has always had the best…now they have one more! Thanks, Eliz, for the wonderful visit.
Hi Viv, these are delightful treats and if you ever come to NY, I’ll happily treat you… It was a wonderful visit and I was pleased that the staff was very helpful. You are right about the great bakeries in the city. Competition is fierce so if one is not up to par, people stop going… TY for your feedback. 🙂
Wow! Talk about synchronicity ~ I scheduled my morning post BEFORE going to bed . . . more than 12 hours before seeing your post title in my in-box.
Mine’s called: Let them eat cake . . . and ice cream!
But it gets better. I included one of Oriana’s paintings (of coconut cake) and almost included her painting of (drumroll, please . . . . ) macaroons!
http://orianakacicek.blogspot.com/2011/09/macaroons.html
One mind. One muse.
WoW Nancy! That is truly amazing… talk about great minds thinking alike. 😉 Love it! I think you should add that Macaron picture from Oriana… Awesome lady and thank you. Oh yes, will add your link to my post too. 🙂 TY!
Oh Liz! If anyone was going to write a post on delectable macarons, of course it would be you! 😉 I’m glad you had a very positive experience with the food, the service etc Your pictures had me salivating!
TY Goz and I know you enjoyed reading this as you’ve tasted treats from all the mentioned patisseries in Paris… I had a great time, even though I know that rabbit food is what I’m consuming of late… TY Goz! God dey… 😉
They are absolutely gorgeous–it got my mouth watering too. Check out my friend, Boogie’s recipes and photos on macarons:
http://theboogieblog.net/2011/03/17/green-velvet-cupcakes-green-macarons/
TY Terri! I had a wonderful time taking photos and gathering information for this post… One of the downfalls of having a sweet tooth is that you find yourself gravitating towards them even when your body says no! 😆
TY for your feedback and the link. I will check it out. 🙂
Yum, this makes me hungry! 🙂
I have never tried macaroons, believe or not…this post made me want to try them! Too bad I don’t live close to New York!
Hi Sharon, if you come to NY, one is on me okay? You can actually buy them in the supermarket but not the gourmet variety. They sell the coconut and almond version that is made quite differently; hence the change in the spelling of the name… macaron; the french spelling. The french product is made with the chewy shell and ganache filling. glad you enjoyed the post. TY! 🙂
Mmmm…there you go making me hungry again talking about them! LOL
I really must try them some day! 🙂
You’d love them… melt in the mouth treats. 😉
Clearly you are a macarron fan! You’ve collected enough photos of them to convince me you would seek out macaroons where ever you are! 😆
None of this article is doing anything to assist my commitment to not each “bad stuff”, you realise!
I am a huge Macaron fan and have tried many brands and varieties and love them all… Sadly, my body is rebelling of late so I must watch it too… The good thing Robyn is that you don’t have to worry about running to Ladurée; you are in Australia – at least until they open a shop in your area! 😆
Scrumptious looking! My tummy is growling… It’s just as well they are on the other side of the country for me. 😉
Lucky you… and then maybe it’s a good thing I don’t live in the city or around the block from the shop… Phew, they are delicious. 🙂
I’m just going to sit here and drool… 😉
Oh, you are not alone… me too! Now isn’t that something? TY! 🙂
I don’t even believe I’d heard of macarons before I read this! My favorite treat is coffee ice cream. Oh, how I’d love to have some right now!
I love coffee and vanilla ice cream too. Those are my two favorites… But I’ve sworn off them for the fall… Don’t tempt me. TY! 🙂
I had to come back here to tell you that another blog I just started following is that of a young woman from California who has gone to France to teach… She posted about these macarons and I had to share it with you!!
Here is the link! Have a wonderful day, my friend! 🙂
http://bit.ly/qhO7Hx
TY Karen! I don’t know how I missed this one. 🙂
I never did go inside Laduree when I was in Paris. The long line-ups scared me off. I wish I would have tried one of the salted caramel ones!
Very pretty pictures 🙂
You should check them out when you can… quite delicious. 😉
j’adore ce blog!
Merci Natacha! 🙂
ooh lucky! i’ve always wanted to try laduree. 🙂