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Okay, so, I think that we determined that we weren't going to find that perfect macaroon. But, as mentioned before, we can make them. A family friend, who lives in Paris, sent us this book by a British woman named Jill Colonna, all about how to make French macaroons! It is called Mad about Macarons (note, they spell it "macarons" not "macaroons". Although we haven't gotten to try any of the recipes yet. they look intriguing, such as beet root and horseradish. FYI, it's all in metric units.
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re: shalom9
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re: carly819
Sugar 'N Spice Patisserie offers them as well. www.sugarnspicepatisserie.com
You have to special order them but its worth it! -
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My daughter in Chicago has a friend, an architect, who makes macaroons that were named the best in Chicago. They are very much like, if not exactly like, the kind of macaroons that we purchased in Bordeaux. If you are still looking for them (macaroons) and want contact information let me know and I will get it for you. I thought they were quite good but I am no macaroon expert.
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La Boite on South Lamar has macarons. I thought the salted caramel was waaay too salty and flavor overpowering. I think their macarons are OK, but not that tender. I also think that the fillings are way too buttery-- a creamier filling would improve them a lot. I liked the Fredericksburg Peach and the Pistachio w/ chocolate ganache. You can get 3 of them for $5 + tax.
There is also a new French Bakery out by The Hill country Galleria that "will have Macarons at the end of August"- per the owner. The pics on their site show cakes with macarons on them. Might be worth a try.
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re: carly819
bookgrrl72
Aug 22, 2010 06:13 PM
I liked the salted caramel a lot, but the winner for me is the vanilla cardamom.
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Artisan Bistro in Lakeway make these fresh. The owners are from Paris. They opened this bistro just 3 months ago and already got a really good review from the Austin Chronicle. The Maracons are wonderful..flaky on the outside and chewy inside with a lot of flavors. They also serve lunch and dinner. Honestly, this is the best French restaurant in Austin. Take a drive to Lake Travis. It's a beautiful area. Check it out. www.artisanbistroaustin.com
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re: glaust2004
NWLarry
Jun 25, 2012 09:24 AM
I went to Artisan Bistro this weekend, as they have more or less climbed into Fearless Critic's top 20 or so Austin restaurants, thus continuing an ongoing tendency of FC to slightly overrate out of the way and obscure restaurants. This is known as the Snow's effect.
In any rate, I enjoyed a pleasant enough French dinner (escargot, duck confit), but at the end they brought over some of their fresh macaroons, and I literally got up immediately and walked over to the bakery and bought more. Amazing.
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Local baker, Luxe Sweets makes macarons and they are sold in the store, extraordinaire on 5th and Lamar. They deliver fresh on Wednesday. I went in and had one on a Saturday and they were super crispy, but I am sure if they are fresh they would be good. $3 ea. You can also special order from Luxe and pick up at her kitchen in East Austin. My husband ordered me a variety box last month and they were quite good.
I made my own macarons recently and they actually turned out great. I have tried before and have failed miserably. Definitely age the egg whites- 2-3 days. Google "Tartelette" for great instructions and recipes. Bakerella also has really good visual instructions on her site.
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bookgrrl72
Jan 30, 2010 09:13 AM
We made a detour on our errands this morning to check out the macarons at La Boite. We got the Salted Caramel, Pistachio, and Orange Chocolate flavors, saving the Pistachio Chocolate for another time.
The salted caramel one was DELICIOUS. The cookie itself was almond and pleasant enough, but the caramel was what did me in. SO YUM. My husband enjoyed his pistachio; he said that it had a pleasant flavor and it was nice and light. The orange chocolate was not a hit. I took one bite and that was enough for me -- the orange flavor was too strong (my husband said it tasted like the St. Joseph's chewable aspirin with dark chocolate) and the chocolate ganache was too rich.
The macarons are quite large, nearly twice the size of the ones you find in Paris. They're not as perfect-looking as the Parisian ones, either, but that didn't really bother me. They cost $1.75 each, but considering how large they were, it seemed like a fair price.
The owners, Victoria and Dan (?), were very friendly, and we look forward to seeing them again next weekend for the Tasty Touring food cart tour.
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La Boite
1700 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704 -
This is kind of late, but the Enoteca macaroons are delicious. I've had a few of their flavors, but my favorite so far is the truffle honey.
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re: chrischris
Walton's on 6th St. usually has house-made "macaroons" that are actually macarons. I have had pecan with chocolate ganache, orange, and lemon. Most of them are great. The pecan one has been occasionally inappropriately crunchy on the outside, a little cement-like, but not every time I've tried them. The orange was my favorite. They are largish, and they sell for $1.00 each, IIRC.
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re: angusb
chispa_c
Oct 5, 2009 11:35 AM
Tried the macaroons at Walton's on Saturday. They looked like they would be perfect so i bought 6. Once I got them home and tried them, they exploded in to little bits when i took a bite. They were indeed, dry and crunchy. I wonder if it's difficult to get them to be chewy like the ones i had in San Francisco - because of the humidity. Whatever the case...Walton's macaroons didn't satisfy the craving. Dang.
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re: chispa_c
Walton's seem to be hit-or-miss in terms of the freshness. They also raised the price to $2 per macaroon. The ones at WH I have never tried because in the packaging they already are crumbling and appear to be quiet stale. The best macaroon I have had stateside was in Miami at Paul Bakery. I would love to find a macaroon that was actually chewy and hearty. The ones in Austin seem to be small and unfortunately, usually stale. CM Vanilla, though tiny was good, but I think they stopped making them b/c I haven't seen them there in months.
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re: carly819
chispa_c
Oct 26, 2009 09:42 AM
I agree Carly. I had some fantastic macaroons in San Francisco and I really don't want to have to mail order them. It may be difficult to make these here due to the humidity.
In any case, I'm going to keep looking and hopefully someone will be able to point me in the right direction.
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re: brentwood
I agree. I make them and I've never had an issue. I studied a lot to learn how to make them. I read everything I could get my hands on and then made them for the first time. The trick seems to be to let the egg whites sit on the counter for a couple of days. Seriously, sounds gross, but I've never made one that wasn't nearly perfect. I'm thinking commercial bakers in the US probably can't do that without violating some sort of code!
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I just got an email that www.fusionaustin.com is selling these macarons! This is a chef from Paris who recently relocated to the area. I've tried one of them and they are heavenly. Unfortunately I deleted the email before looking at the price, but it's probably on the website.
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If you feel like paying a hefty price and even more for shipping, Dean & Deluca carries François Payard's macaroons -
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I found the Luxe Sweets macarons at the Whole Foods by The Container Store. I got pistachio flavored ones, and they were decent.
I also tried the giant chocolate one at Enoteca about a month ago. I like this one much better. The two cookies had perfect texture. The filling was a little too creamy and a bit overwhelming, but it might have been because it was so big.
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EXACTLY what you want:
http://www.mydreambakery.biz/persian.htm
They have a couple of varieties, and the macaroons are VERY good. East of 183 on Anderson Mill on North side of the road.
Hours:
Monday- Friday 7AM - 6PM
Saturday 8AM - 6PM
Sunday ClosedPhone / Fax:
512.219.1235
512.250.83299422 Anderson Mill Road Suite B. Austin Texas 78729
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re: buxom7657
Thanks, buxom7657, but I am sorry to report that the macaroons are NOT exactly what we were talking about. If you'll look at the photo again in the first post, it shows two cookies sandwiched together with a filling. The macaroons available at Dream Bakery are indeed like the cookie portion of those in the photo, but they are just that--a little cookie. No filling, no sandwiching, just the cookie portion.
That said, they are at least half the way there. The "parisian macaroons" that Dream Bakery sells are tasty, if a little dry. They are also not uniform in size or shape, and they have no added color or flavor. I suppose it wouldn't be too much trouble for somebody to buy the cookies, make a little ganache or filling, and assemble the macarons themselves. Also, the proprietor was very friendly and eager to help, so perhaps she would make them by special order--I know they do special order cakes.
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re: angusb
Okay, so I answered my own questions. I stopped by the CM on N. Lamar a little while ago. I searched for a while, but I finally found the macarons in the refrigerated case in the back where they sell cakes, creme brulee, etc. They were tiny--much smaller than I expected. They were even smaller than the tiny macarons that they call "Luxembergerli" in Zurich: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lu... . I would say that they were 1/2 ounce each or thereabouts (slightly larger around than a quarter, and 3/4 inch or less thick) . There was also only a tiny amount of filling in each one. They offered chocolate and vanilla, and both were priced at $1.29 each. The tag does read macaroons. I bought one of each.
The chocolate was boring, very flat tasting, and the filling was perhaps too runny, because the texture was inappropriately gooey/slimy inside. Further evidence of this is that the two halves were basically sandwiched directly together, without even 1/16 inch separating them to accomodate the filling. The vanilla was better in both flavor and texture. Unfortunately, on top of the flavor of both was the distinct flavor of the refrigerator in which they are stored. They are uncovered on a tray in the refrigerated display, and they have suffered from such treatment. I asked the guy behind the counter where they are from and he went to ask, but nobody knew the answer--he could only tell me that they were imported from France. Maybe if you catch them the day they arrive from France, the quality would be better.
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re: angusb
Angus, I tried the vanilla and the chocolate from the south CM today and I think I had a better experience. I should have asked where they came from, but I have a feeling no one would have known.
The cookies tasted fresh, and they were cooked well. There was no air between the shell and the cookie, and the filling on the chocolate was really fudgy, which I liked. The vanilla was a bit runny, but the amount of filling was good. Sounds like our fillings were just the opposite of each other :)
I was pretty dismayed at $1.29 for a macaron that was a tiny as those. Still, I didn't hate them, and they are much better than the offerings at Oakville Grocery.
I'm off to WFM later this evening and hope to pick one up there as well. I'll be making maple/bacon filled next week for my mom when she visits. I made them for a bacon party last week and they were a big hit.
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purple goddess
Feb 20, 2008 06:59 PM
if you DO decide to make them, check this out:
http://www.syrupandtang.com/200712/la...
Duncan does a three part tutorial on how to make La Macaronicité!
And I've tasted his offerings..
tres delish!!
He even has a recipe about what to do with macarons that don't turn out (maca-wrongs)
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I know this is an old post, but I saw French macaroons at Whole Foods this past weekend. They were from an Austin company called Luxe Sweets and located in the bakery section on one of those display islands. I can't remember all of the favors (pistachio, white chocolate orange...), but they were perfectly formed and beautifully packaged. I think they were $10 for around seven macaroons.
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re: angusb
MPH
Feb 27, 2008 10:10 AM
I'm not sure if you've checked these out yet, angusb, but there are pictures of the Luxe Sweet macarons in today's Statesman. Here's a link to the story:
http://www.austin360.com/food_drink/content/food_drink/stories/2008/02/0227kitchenspace.html
The owners of Kitchen Space, a new commercial kitchen for rent by the hour that's the focus of the article, are also the team behind Luxe Sweets. Thus, it's no accident that their products are featured in the photo spread. Click on "Photos: Kitchen Space" on the left to pull up the images. Two of the nine photos are of the LS product.
A quick Google search also brought up their website:
Disclaimer: I haven't personally sampled any of Luxe Sweet's baked goods. I just thought this information might prove useful to those of you on the hunt for macarons. I'm looking forward to reading reports from any chowhound who tastes them.
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I finally made it up to Oakville to try the macarons. I have to say, I wasn't too impressed. The texture was too lumpy on all of them, and I didn't think the flavor was good with any of them except the pistachio. I want my macaron to be a bit more delicate than I thought these were. The look of them is just important as the taste to me.
I'm giving it a try again making them myself. I've got my egg whites sitting out, just like Piere Hermé does!
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Hi there,
I also love this type of macaroon, and they have a chocolate flavored one at Enotecca on South Congress. They call it a "meringue", and its pretty big. I've had two in the past week.›2 Replies -
Oakville Grocery in the Domain carries French macarons. They have three flavors: pistachio, raspberry, and pecan. They don't look nearly as nice as the ones you see in pictures from Laduree or Pierre Herme.
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re: verily
i've had the ones at oakville grocery. they look god awful but are quite good. they are made by a local company that supplies local catering businesses and coffee shops with pastries, desserts, wedding cakes called Sweet Tempered
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re: yimay
bookgrrl72
Sep 9, 2007 06:31 AM
I picked up a few of them yesterday and they're a bit dear at $1.49 each, and they are indeed small and ugly. But damned if I didn't eat all three of them yesterday. I think I like the Texas Pecan best.
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re: karen2006
Sadly, our Whole Foods do not have them, believe me, I've checked.
If you decide to make them, make sure you do lots and lots of research. The recipe I link to in my blog is from another blog. The comments on that recipe had a TON of great tips that I followed. I was really happy with the results I got my first time. In fact, I might have to make them again this weekend. This time I want to do a fleur de sel/caramel combo. I'd also like to do a pistachio version.
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Chispa, I know exactly what you're looking for, and I too was on the same quest. Unfortunately, I found nothing except...a recipe! I actually gave them a try and they came out nicely.
A month or so ago, I saw them frozen at Spec's, but I actually looked for them yesterday and it seems they have stopped carrying them.
At any rate, here's a link to my blog post with the recipe. It wasn't hard to do at all, and I brought them to work and made people swoon.
http://thefoodieblog.blogspot.com/200...›2 Replies
