What to buy at Miette?
Is there anything yummy at Miette? What would you buy there with a gift certificate?
Received a gift certificate for $25 for Miette. Looking at past posts, I'm thinking I'll be avoiding the cupcakes and cakes, and maybe trying the macaroons. The macaroon review was two years ago, though, so don't know if those are still made well.
Anyone tried ANYTHING yummy there recently?
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I've not tried any of their baked goods, but it is one of the very few places I've found that (on occasion) carries Caffarel 1865 giandujas at something resembling a decent price. Be sure to buy them in bulk -- the boxes are overpriced. They sometimes have some other interesting chocolates as well (including other wonderful Caffarel products).
Note that I've mainly been to the Hayes Valley location.
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pastryqueen
Feb 26, 2008 02:45 PM
I am sure the gift certificate has been well spent. . .but wanted to comment on how disappointed I always am with Miette baked goods. I don't understand how they consistently make such dry cakes. They must know the general consensus but pay no mind. Ah, well.
That being said, the macaroons are worthy of their reputation. The confiserie is adorable and they have some interesting items but nothing that knocks my socks off. I bought some Mirabelle Caramels that were the worst candy I have ever purchased - I wanted to take them back but never got around to it. . .at least the tin was cute.
The caramels were divine but somewhat inconsistent in texture - sometimes soft and gooey, sometimes grainy and chalky. Too bad because the flavor was pure buttery goodness.
So. . . yeah. . in the end, I would say I just don't get Miette. .. just not my cup of tea.
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re: pastryqueen
their cakes are baked, then frozen until needed, then thawed out and decorated. some cakes fare well/are unaffected by time spent in the freezer. some (ahem) are not.
i will say, i enjoy their graham crackers, but be careful when picking out a box to find ones that are not too dark and not broken!
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Yesterday at the Hayes Valley store I picked up a bag of their homemade "cracker jacks" for the second time. Completely irresistable and addictive. Brown sugar, butter, just the right amount of salt and peanuts.
As points of reference, I love their macarons, but find their cupcakes to be dry and not very tasty. I haven't tasted the shortbreads, but after reading these posts I'll check them out next time.
Has anyone tried the cotton candy?
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Wow, Miette was such a disappointment for me. Avoid the chocolate buttercream frosting (tastes like unsweetened crisco). The rose geranium macaroon was between fair and tasty.
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muimi07
Mar 15, 2007 03:16 PM
Your best bet is the macaroons. Those are little bites of heaven. As others have said, stay away from the cakes. Their prettiness is inversely proportional to their taste. And they are so very, very pretty.
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re: muimi07
Once again, I am appreciative of Hound recs...
We were in the area this weekend [finally made it to Ferry Plaza to spend the Miette gift certificate], and bought 16 macaroons- $24 dollars of the $25 gift certificate, worth, to be exact. The pistachio go down so easily -- and the rose ones were divine. Not so big on the chocolate ones, though. Two days later, and there are only 3 macaroons left -- dangerous stuff! :) Thanks again.
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re: muimi07
calieskimo
May 29, 2008 01:15 PM
Someone already said this but Yes, the Pistachio Macarons are the best of the bunch.. then a further second, Hazelnut. The Choc. Lavender is also good and the Choc. is standard. Still, I prefer the macarons at Boulangerie -- bigger, chewier, airier, richer almond taste and overall all of the different flavors are great.
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re: Pistou
Ruth Lafler
Jul 15, 2008 04:20 PM
I have to disagree. I bought three macarons today at Miette: one pistachio, one apricot and one rose geranium. The rose geranium was the only one that had any flavor, and I thought it was really strong, with a harsh, herbaceous note. I have to agree with calieskimo that they weren't nearly as good as the ones at Bay Breads/Boulange. They were soft yet gritty without any chewiness. The texture and tooth-aching sweetness of the fillings reminded me of the frosting on a cheap supermarket cake. Not recommended!
On the otherhand, I had some of their shortbread at a party the other day and it was quite good.
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re: Ruth Lafler
Most of the macarons that I've had at Miette are chewier than Bay Bread's. As Ruth mentioned, the flavors are very subtle and barely discernible, probably except for the chocolate-based ones. I'm neither a fan of the buttercream fillings since they're more oily than creamy, leaving a greasy film on the lips.
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re: dreamsicle
Ruth Lafler
Jul 21, 2008 02:43 PM
The chewiness is probably a factor, at least somewhat, of how fresh they are.
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Went to Hog Island happy hour last night and stopped at Miette to buy some salt caramels. They're gone! No more salt caramels. The counterperson told me that the person who Miette buys them from couldn't make enough so they stopped buying them. So sad. I got some strange licorice caramels that I don't recommend and a vanilla caramel which was pretty good.
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Emily Hope
Mar 8, 2007 07:21 PM
I've never tried any of the pastries at the Ferry Plaza shop (based on negative reviews here and a general indifference to sweets) but I am in love with their walnut shortbread, available at the Blue Bottle kiosk in Hayes Valley and I'm assuming in the Ferry Plaza, too. Buttery, browned well, and with plenty of salt on it--yum! The perfect little treat to go with a latte. The peanut butter cookies, not so much.
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re: Emily Hope
emily
Feb 7, 2008 12:24 PM
I love the walnut shortbread, too. I only got one bag last month while in SF and the shortbread was SO GOOD. Great balance of sweet and salty. I'm seriously thinking of paying the ridiculous $15 shipping fee and having some sent to me. I've avoided Miette in the past because of all the negative reviews, but I might try a few more things next time, like the gingerbread cupcake.
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re: emily
emily
May 28, 2008 08:20 AM
In case anyone cares... I've been trying to figure out Miette's recipe for the walnut shortbread and I think it's based on Lindsey Shere's butter cookie recipe from "Chez Panisse Desserts". I called Miette and asked for the ingredients list and it matches exactly (except for the walnuts, of course); so, I made a batch (added more salt than the recipe called for to get the salty-sweet thing going) and ended up with an almost-matching cookie (though they weren't as cute).
Oh, and I tried an old-fashioned cupcake last time I was there and it was ok. Cake was a bit dry (edit: well, maybe not dry exactly, but it had an open crumb that I didn't really like), but I did enjoy the marshmallow frosting. I've yet to see the grapefruit cake there.
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re: scenicrec
asianstamp
Feb 26, 2008 02:52 PM
I have to disagree about their gingerbread cake. It was quite dry and heavy (as in very dense). I got this for V-Day and that sucker sat in my fridge for quite awhile because it wasn't that good.
Cupcakes are good. Haven't tried the cookies but they look good too.
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I know you weren't interested in cupcakes but I think the gingerbread cupcake is perfect (chewey, moist, gingery). Their macarons are excellent as are their pot de creme. I also enjoyed the chocolate layer cake that had whipped cream in between layers and cocoa nibs in the cake.
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celeste
Mar 8, 2007 12:43 PM
I highly recommend the key lime tart. I think it's amazing. Also the chocolate sable cookies, with their hint of salt, are wonderful.
I haven't had any service attitude at either the Ferry Plaza or the candy shop, and I've been a slob most of the times I've been there.
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re: celeste
Gary Soup
Aug 21, 2007 10:27 PM
Any idea how the chocolate sables compare with those from Balthazar in New York? A friend had me haul two bags of Balthazar's sables for her around for three weeks while I was traveling (and I got them to her without one loose crumb!) It would be nice if I could just point her to Miette ;-)
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readingstand
Mar 8, 2007 12:14 PM
I second Atomica re the service at the FB--indeed, I've become a regular mostly/precisely because of how super-friendly they are; on the merits, I'd occasionally get snacks at the FB's other exciting vendors thereof, but I'd miss saying hi to the folks at M, so I rarely do. And the confiseristas have been equally friendly on my two visits--indeed, on my first-ever visit (i.e., no pro-regular bias) they wholeheartedly embraced my candy-assortment-gift-making project and were amazingly helpful. On the original topic, the macarons remain fantastic (and it's super-fun to order "macarons" rather than Americanized "macaroons"). I like the pots de creme and caramels as well. And if you get stuff as a gift, they have very cute cards and Italian(?) candy flowers. The confiserie, meanwhile, is great fun for its dizzying assortment of exotic stuff (the shope looks like Willy Wonka and Laura Ashley teamed up); particularly good that I've tried include malt balls in every color (perhaps as much for fun value as culinary excellence) and a tremendous strawberry-flavored thick licorice.
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rworange
Mar 8, 2007 09:11 AM
Ahhhh ... as usual I can't find my notes on the good things to try at Miette. IIRC, the chocolate tart is good according to some ... it's not that I don't want to give places a chance, I'm just worn out throwing good money after bad.
Can you use the gift certificate at their new candy shop, Miette Confiserie?
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/367986I'm dying to hear someone report about the rose geranium or lavender cotton candy.
The reports on yelp are hilarious. It seems the candy shop is following the Miette model. Dress up to get good service ... or so it seems from yelp reviews.
There were some interesting sounding things like the 3400 Phinney Bread & Dark Chocolate which has french bread & sea salt with chocolate. Fernet drops sound worth exploring if you are into that sort of thing. It seems the taffy should be avoided. If you read those reports I'd disregard posters with only a few posts that give the place five stars ... and sing candy songs.
Anyway it might be another option for that gift certificate ... please report back whatever you do.
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re: rworange
Atomica
Mar 8, 2007 10:39 AM
Where do you see casually dressed people complaining that they were treated poorly? The average rating of the Ferry Bldg. location on Yelp is 4 stars. The only complaints I see are by vegans (no comment). I've always had friendly service-with-a-smile there. People seem to love being insulted by the nasty folks at Lulu Petite, because you never hear a word about it on this board. Gosh, I loved it when they had their sign up that read: "Directions to restroom or Slanted Door -- $1." For a business who makes so much money off tourists to feel so put upon by said tourists . . .
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re: rworange
Ruth Lafler
Mar 8, 2007 06:48 PM
Alameda Natural Grocery has the 3400 Phinney -- I tried the bread and dark chocolate and thought it would have been interesting with more bread (it was just bread crumbs) -- kinda like marshmallows in rocky road. The salt was good, though.
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Atomica
Mar 8, 2007 09:08 AM
I do happen to like the chocolate cupcakes. My friend bought a little bag of chocolate cookies and gave me one, and I actually really liked it. I've hated their little bagged cookies in the past.
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I'm a New Yorker who visited the terminal market last week for the first time and was excited to try Miette because everything looked so cute. I should have known better. I also got there late so there wasn’t a lot to choose from. I had the Scharffen Berger cake it was just okay, if I could do over I'd go for the meringue tart instead. They also had lemon caramels that were really good but you’d get a lot of them for $25. The plates and tea towels were all really cute maybe don’t buy food at all.
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