It is 77 degrees in Los Angeles today, sunny with a gentle breeze. It seemed like the perfect day to indulge my latest craving–macarons. I love these little French sandwich cookies because they are simultaneously crispy, spongy, and fluffy. Macarons must be eaten delicately, and each bite must be savored because they disappear all too soon.
So I moseyed on over to Little Next Door on 3rd to sample some of their flavors. I chose Chocolate, Lavender, Blood Orange, and Hazelnut.
I found Chocolate surprisingly mild, not too chocolatey or sweet. The flavor was just okay, but the outer crust was perfectly chewy and crumbly. Lavender was extremely plant-y in taste, which I liked. But then again, it’s my favorite scent and flavor for teas, ice cream, and just about everything else. Blood Orange was by far the best. Everything about this macaron worked. The beautiful red shells and orange filling, the balance of fruity and sweet flavor, and the melt-in-your-mouth texture. YUM. Hazelnut was my least favorite. I found it way too sweet, and the orange color threw me off…like my eyes and my taste buds couldn’t reconcile which was the correct sensation. Overall, I liked these macarons but would skip Chocolate and Hazelnut next time.
After eating four of these sweet confections by my lonesome, I was high on sugar and started wandering down delicious macaron memory lane. These are my all-time favorites.
Chantilly in Lomita, California.
Photocredit: patisseriechantilly.com/cookies
Simple, quality macarons. I really loved the Matcha, which was just delicate enough without being watered down. I remember the Chocolate being good, too. It’s a cute Japanese bakery aside from the macarons as well.
Paulette in San Francisco.
Photo Credit: http://curiousmango.typepad.com/curious-mango/2009/07/paulette-macarons.html, July 30, 2009 via curiousmango.typepad.com
As you can see from the photos, this is a super cute shop that offers a decadent macaron experience. I wanted to squeal when I walked in and saw the impressive array, but the stern Paulette made that impossible. Not that she said anything. She didn’t need to. It was all in the disdainful way she looked at me when I spilled a crumb on the shop floor in my excitement to eat my Earl Grey Tea macaron. I was glad to wrap up our 12-pack to go! No flavor stood out in a bad way, but Caramel and Passion Fruit were especially to-die-for.
Okay now back to the real world where the perfect spring day in LA awaits. I hope that wherever you are and in whatever sort of weather, yummy macarons will bring you a taste of springtime, too!
Fluffy Culture Junkie 