Macarons in Paris

[eks81]

In Sydney, there is a Lindt chocolate cafe and they make fantastic macarons that I have become addicted to! However, I want to try the 'real thing' on my visit to Paris from the 28th December to the 4th of January. We are staying in an apartment on Rue de l'Universite, but I would be willing to travel anywhere in Paris for the best macarons! Has anyone got any suggestions? I have heard that Laduree is great??

[mangeur]

September/October 'Cuisine et Vins de France' has an article on patissiers Hugo & Victor, 40 bd Raspail, interestingly open 7 days.

[Nancy S.]

This is a fabulous shop. The pastries I had there a few weeks ago were some of the best I have ever had at a patisserie.

[hong_kong_foodie]

Had just the macarons from Hugo & Victor recently and thought they tasted too artificial and sweet. Maybe the other stuff is better but the macarons were quite disappointing. The store itself is quite beautiful though.

[Nancy S.]

Try their pastries. I especially love the mille feuille -- in early September, I had the white peach and the caramel, both were stellar. Their triangular tarts are also great, and not at all too sweet.

[ManhattanLawyer]

I loved the macarons at Gerard Mulot. Much better than Laduree and PH in my opinion.

[parisjo]

We did the Meeting the French tour of Gerard Mulot and saw where they make the macarons. We met Patrick, the man who's been making them pretty much by hand for over 20 years and got lots of samples of the ones they were making that day. MMMMMMMMMMMMM...............

Jo

[midorimonsta]

I'm also a fan of Gerard Mulot and Pierre Herme macarons, I think they're less sweet compared to Laduree. Gerard Mulot has interesting flavors such as Passion Basilic that are seasonal and interesting. When we were paying at the counter, they had some less pretty macarons (a bit crumbled but just as good) that were free for tasting too!

[igorm]

Just got back from Paris and the macarons at Jean-Paul Hevin were heavenly. Tried various flavors and they were all good.

[tortoiseshell]

As has been discussed before on the Board, one must try the popular places and decide for one's self what is the "best". And that's half the fun. A lot has to do with personal taste. I like AOKI macarons myself and appreciate how, as in most of his pastries, there is relatively less sugar but intense flavor.

[Parigi]

Very true. Except for the inexcusably unfresh macaron that I had from Ladurée, most of the places cited here are the top macaron spots, which means you are comparing A's and A+'s. I think one should have one's own experience and enjoy the hell out of it, and not be stressed out about whether one is going to the best; that is such a pointlessly macho point.

[Glaff]

I've just tried the macarons at Dominique Saibron and they are really great ! I still have some left, but Tiramisu, Vanilla & Strawberry and Raspberry were just perfect.

[fregatte]

I recommend Carette, Place du Trocadéro, in the XVI arrondissement. Their macarons are as good as Ladurée for my tatste. I recommend to take their 5 pieces plate to discover if you prefer "caramel au beurre salé", rose, or pistacchio or cherry.. and then you can buy a box. But store the box in the fridge.

[Parigi]

Today had an excellent coffee-flavored macaron chez Valentin in the passage Jouffroy, Deluccacheesemonger's fave.

[Glaff]

There's also the new one at Places des Vosges (Carette).

[Parigi]

Had a very disappointing macaron from Ladurée (the original one at Madeleine). The outside biscuit part was exceedingly crumbly, a sure sign of lack of freshness.
Hubbty poo had a very tasty canelé though.

[alyssabrooke]

had a similiar experience at LaDuree on rue bonaparte. My very first LaDuree macaron was their caramel. The oustide completely crumbled while the filling was chewy and hard. it originally turned me off to their macarons completely. Another try, and rose this time, changed my mind. But i definately stick to the macarons with the "fluffier" fillings there now.

[Caroline72]

My personal favourite is Pierre Herme. The long queue's say it all! The best I've eaten! Last xmas I had the seasonal special "chocolate and foie gras" - amazing!

[Delucacheesemonger]

My problem with Herme is too sweet and macaron has no' chew '. Next time in try Renard.

[hong_kong_foodie]

So we just tried the macarons from Gregory Renard and think the texture is as perfect as it gets, but as a whole it's a tad too sweet--almost sweeter, if that's possible, than the ones from Pierre Herme. I do agree that the latter have absolutely no chew or bite to them anymore, as if he's completely stopped caring about that aspect of the macaron and decided to focus exclusively on the flavors (which, however, I have to admit are extremely intense and probably second to none, i.e. you have no doubt whatsoever that you're eating a citron-flavored or one with olive oil).

[Glaff]

Pierre Hermé's macarons are now made in Alsace in a manufacture... that probably explains why they're not as good as they were...

My new favorites are the ones from Carette. The flavors are classic, but they were just perfect last time I had them.

[kikisakura]

Perhaps, it might be helpful to have FAQs links to macarons, cheese, wine bars, bakeries, etc.

Anyhow, eks81, I would suggest you try as many diffrent places as you can and find your favorite since I find that people's reactions vary.

That being said, my companion who is a self-claimed macaron expert (been eating that stuff for 40 years) approves of Gregory Renard and says that his macarons are correct while others we have tried are not.

You can read more on this thread and I am sure there are many others:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6554...

[souphie]

I'm a very big Renard proponent (they're my favs by and large), but one caveat is that his macarons are only wonderful when they're fresh -- they're not the kind of macarons you can keep a few days, unlike say Ladurée's.