(c) Sara Rosso

Have you seen these little delights? Move over, cupcakes - Macarons are here! These little French pastries have been popping up all over my internet feeds for a while now and, even though I had no idea what they would taste like, I knew I had to have some.

Bakeries all over the New York City area have started serving the treats - two layers with thin, crunchy crust protecting a moist almond meringue, sandwiching a ganache,  jam, or cream center. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? YES IT DOES!

You know what makes it lovelier? It's gluten free! That's right, macarons are traditionally made with almond flour, making this trendy treat perfectly safe for our friends who stay away from gluten...including my dear boyfriend!

Poor Nickolaus was diagnosed with Celiacs Disease over 15 years ago and, even though gluten free diets are much more popular now, he still misses out on so many of the lovely things I get to eat.

And thus, the Prerna and Nickolaus Macron Crawl Extravaganza was born! With stops at Payard, Mille Feuille, Bosie Tea Parlor, and La Maison du Chocolat we got to experience the magic of macarons.

First Stop!
Francois Payard
116 W. Houston St

Nick's pick: Raspberry Lychee
My pick: Chocolate

Granted, these were our first macarons ever, but we both thought they were fantastic! A great balance of crunchy crust and chewy cookie. You could appreciate the flavor both in the cookie and in the filling. I think Nick was surprised that I didn't pick a more exotic flavor, but I'm happy to report that both of our picks were delish!

Stop Two!
Mille-Feuille
552 Laguardia Pl

Nick's pick: Cheesecake
My pick: Passion Fruit

These macarons were definitely good, although we both agreed that we liked Payard's better. Nick wasn't a fan of the Passion Fruit, but I think that has more to do with the fruit itself than the macaron. These macarons were definitely the chewiest that we tried, and while I do appreciate that quality in my sweets, I think macarons need that thin crispy crust to seal the deal.

Third Stop!
Bosie Tea Parlor
10 Morton St

Nick's pick: Eggnog
My pick: Maple Bacon

Bosie definitely had the most creative flavors. I liked the texture and taste of both of the macarons we tried, but I wasn't a fan of the fact they kept them in a refrigerated case. The temperature made them a little weird to eat and the fillings were so cold that it was actually distracting! We ended up taking a few macrons from Bosie home for my mom, and definitely liked them better at room temp.

Last Stop!
La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Plz

My pick: Pistachio
Nick's pick: Milk chocolate

I kind of felt like it was cheating because they actually fly their macarons in from France, but they were in amazing condition after surviving that trip! I don't know why I expected different from a place whose name translates to House of Chocolate, but I was thrown off by the fact that the pistachio macaron had chocolate ganache filling. Nick definitely loved them though! I think the milk chocolate was his favorite of the night.


We were only able to make it to four places to try eight macarons, mostly because we were trekking around Manhattan in the freezing cold, but it was definitely worth it. They were delicious treats, and unleashing my inner foodie was so much fun!