Maison Laduree has finally opened!

[kosmose7]

It opened at like 9:20am this morning.
Contrary to some reports, they had no tea salon, only take-out counters.
Selections are also somewhat limited, but who cares!
I can have Laduree macaron everyday from now on! :)
They also said there will be limited edition flavors soon (grape, cinnamon if I remember correctly) that will become available only in New York!

For some photos, please refer to:
http://blog.naver.com/kosmose7/901220...

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Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[Monica]

I had macarons from a restaurant called Millsime in NYC once and i thought they were delicious...not too sweet but with lots of good flavor and texture. I wish I knew their source. The waiter said they were imported from France but didn't know anything more.

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Millesime
92 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

[ellenost]

This afternoon's wait was much worse than Tuesday. Took 2 hours from the time I got in line until I left with my goodies. Credit card machines weren't working so it was cash only. Line was polite. The good news is that the macarons taste even better than on Tuesday. The meringues are even lighter and crisper than Tuesday. (No, I'm not just making this up to justify the wait). Made friends with a lovely woman standing behind me in line who also loves the macarons from Bisous Ciao. Told her that I want to do a taste test comparing Laduree with Bisous Ciao. Unfortunately the taste test will have to wait until the wait at Laduree becomes no longer than 15 minutes. Guess that might not happen for a few months. Today's flavors that I bought are: caramel, coffee, lemon, vanilla and rose. Tried the coffee, and it's great. Coffee was the only new flavor that I bought since they had sold out of it early on Tuesday. BTW, they had plenty of inventory.

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Bisous Ciao
101 Stanton St, New York, NY 10002

Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[Will4Food]

Waited in line for one hour on Friday to try these much heralded macarons. Although good, there are a handful of NYC bakeries that produce equivalent or better morsels: Bouchon, The Macaron shop on West 23rd Street, Cannelle in Queens--even the mini-chain, Financier, can turn out a fine macaron. You certainly don't need to buy into the upper eastside frenzy for a tasty cookie

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Macaron Cafe
625 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022

[ellenost]

Not a fan of Bouchon's macarons. Hate the stuff they sell at Macaron Cafe. My favorite in NYC has been Bisous Ciao. Didn't much mind the wait. Had nice conversation with the people with me in line. Probably wouldn't wait that long again, but was rewarded with 20 perfect macarons as I would expect from Laduree. Much less expensive and time consuming than flying to Paris.

[RCC]

Never found being in Paris time consuming, ever.
But, also, never a fan of Laduree's (Paris) macaron. Now, the palmier ... it's a different story.

[ellenost]

Love Paris, but I can't get there and back in 2 hours.

[cubanat]

WHAT!! NO petit st. honore? no palmier? how about cannele at least?

[kosmose7]

No palmier, no cannele, no langue de chat, no religieuse, no kouign amann...
Hopefully the second shop they plan to open in SOHO in April may have some of those, as it sounds like a much larger shop with an adjoining tea salon.

[Nancy S.]

I imagine that since the products are shipped from Paris, only those that survive the days long journey will be available. I read that there is a plan to start baking in New York in the future. At that point, perhaps the variety of products will increase.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Speaking of kouign amann, are there any anywhere ?

[ellenost]

EMP had a fantastic version when they had their lunch dessert trolley. I would love to know where to buy it too.

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Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010

[kathryn]

Brooklyn?

http://brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/4...

[ellenost]

Thanks Kathryn!

[Delucacheesemonger]

While l have very few 'people l am reading' on this site, this is the reason you are one of them Kathryn, your depth of knowledge is scary.

[kathryn]

Google gets a lot of the credit, too!

[elegantfaker]

Doesn't say who makes the kouign amann in that article, though. Does anyone know if it's always available at Foodshed, or if that vendor is still there? I'm DYING to try some.

[cubanat]

let's hope! thanks for the head's up

[Pookipichu]

Hype. A dixie cup of ice cream for $8.50 and $2.70 macarons that have been sitting around. They are completely disorganized, ran out of spoons on their first day, jellies are completely mundane flavors, no place to sit, no pastries, and their violet flavor tastes like cassis. Not to mention cutting small macarons in half as samples... and inevitably crushing the tiny things. There's no French finesse that I was expecting. It's a shadow of the original. It's a half-assed Laduree KIOSK and an embarrassment and an insult to New Yorkers that someone at Laduree thought this would pass muster. Maybe in Los Angeles, but not here.

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Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[cubanat]

love this post...

[alexvb]

Anybody have an opinion as to how they compare to macarons from Mad Mac? I love those. Chocolate especially.

[jester99]

i am guessing since they are straight up importing everythign from Paris is the cause for the higher price tags. Given that you arent picking these up on the daily with your morning coffee run, although steep I can understand the price.

Checking it out saturday in the AM. they only have the macarons, not things like the mini st. honore cakes and other things correct?

[chocokitty]

Indeed. It's just macarons, financiers, madelines, a loaf cake (I forgot its name), prepacked (in cups) ice cream and sorbets, jams, some candies and prepacked chocolates.

Tina
http://thewanderingeater.com

[RCC]

What? No palmier?

[rifkind81]

How big are these things? When I think macaron I think quarter - half-dollar size cookies. If they are that size, $2.70 each seems somewhat steep.

[H Manning]

Also, how do these compare to the macarons at La Maison du Chocolat, which are also imported? I love the caramel macaron at La Maison du Chocolat but haven't tried Laduree yet.

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La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020

Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[Monica]

Thing I hate about macarons from La Maison du chocolat is they use chocolate ganache for the filling(it wasn't like that before...), i hate that..i feel like heavy chocolate filling kills the delicate taste and texture of the surrounding cookies.

Anyway, my all time favorite macaron is pistachio macarons from Paul in France..(which is a chain like Au Bon Pain in US) Crispy and chewy cookies with great filling that's not too sweet....though sometimes they tend to be a bit too dense.

[RCC]

Paul? As in Boulangeries Paul that has branches all over Paris (including in a couple of terminals at CDG)?

Other than coffee, only if it was the nearest one around, plus some cut-up baguettes, we never thought about trying the macarons. Will look to trying the pistachio macaron next time.

[Monica]

Yes, they are everywhere including Opera metro station and at rest stops on highways.
Their breads and other pastries are passable but I really liked their macarons.

[kosmose7]

PAUL is indeed, owned by the same family that owns Laduree. The Groupe Holder family, that is. :)

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Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[kathryn]

The only USA Paul bakery is in DC, I believe. Fabulous brioche doughnut and chocolate-almond croissant. We didn't try the huge looking macarons though.

[Monica]

Wow, they have a location in US? That's good to know. I am going to ask my friend in DC to bring some up next time she visits me.
i wonder if the baking is done here or they are shipped from france....

[kathryn]

I think we need a macaron-off between:
Bosie Tea Parlor
Mille-Feuille
Laduree
La Maison du Chocolate

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La Maison du Chocolat
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020

Bosie Tea Parlor
10 Morton St, New York, NY 10014

Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

Mille-feuille
552 LaGuardia Pl, New York, NY 10012

[ellenost]

I'm planning a macaron taste test between Bisous Ciao and Laduree.

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Bisous Ciao
101 Stanton St, New York, NY 10002

Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[Vindy]

The Bosie and Laduree macaron-off should be interesting as the chef at Bosie is ex-Laduree and ex-Pierre Herme, but makes the macarons on site at Bosie.

And I hear Pierre Herme is also planning on opening in NY next year!

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Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[H Manning]

The line wasn't too bad yesterday at around 10:45 am. I was in and out in 20 minutes. The chocolate and caramel macarons were good but I prefer the versions at La Maison du Chcolat. Rose, raspberry, and coconut were wonderful. Pistachio was fine but tasted mostly of almonds.

[whitneybee]

I'd also add Macaron Cafe to that list, but I admittedly have only tried la Maison du Chocolate from your list above...I need to start working on that!

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Macaron Cafe
625 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022

[ellenost]

Macaron Cafe's macarons are horrid! Definitely don't add them to the list of shops selling quality macarons. I've tried the macarons at Macaron Cafe twice, and they range from stale to inedible!

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Macaron Cafe
625 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10022

[Monica]

agreed...never went back.

[Monica]

They are bigger than quarter but not much bigger....

[ellenost]

I actually measured my macarons. Definitely much bigger than a quarter. They're 1 1/2 inches in diameter and taste wonderful today. Not gummy at all. Kept them in the refrigerator. Left them out for about 1/2 hour to get them to room temperature. My favorites: caramel (actual caramel filling, not caramel cream), lemon, vanilla, chocolate, and (to my surprise) rose. Not a fan of the orange blossom, and hated the strawberry mint. Looking forward to trying the coffee macaron.

Passed by the shop tonight on the bus going home from work, and at 5:45, there was a fairly long line of people outside the shop.

[visciole]

Yeah, and it's $8.50 for a 4-ounce cup of ice cream. Steep is the word for it! But hey, it's a French place on Madison Ave so what did we expect?

[ChefJune]

<$8.50 for a 4-ounce cup of ice cream> ?????????

What's in that ice cream? Gold leaf? No ice cream on the planet is worth that much.

[visciole]

I'd pay that much if I could be magically transported to Rome while I ate it.... ;)

[kathryn]

The ice cream/sorbet comes with a macaron doesn't it? One of the $2.70 ones?

[kosmose7]

Yes, although only half shell without filling. ;)

[orthorunner]

And to think that such a fuss was made when GROM first came into town with their gelato prices....

[Nancy S.]

With the current exchange rate, a Laduree macaron would cost you about $2.45 in Paris.

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Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[visciole]

I'm happy to pay extra when Paris surrounds the macaron.

[Miss Needle]

I'm really never in that area, but I'll try to make a visit just for this. Does anybody know if the baking is done on premises or are the macarons shipped from overseas?

Now, if only Pierre Herme opens up a branch in NYC ...

[Monica]

They are shipped daily(I hope) from France...i bet ya they wouldn't taste the same if they were made here.

Personally, I find Laduree's macarons way too sweet but I still can't wait until I try them soon.yummm...

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Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[lanadai]

I tried 12 different flavors, way too sweet and too soft, not chewy enough... They were a little lumpy and the heights were all different. The salted caramel didn't taste like there was any salt in there at all. I've only had Laduree in London and it was way better there... I'm disappointed :(

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Laduree
864 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10021

[coasts]

you're right that the salted caramel didn't taste of salt and that several were way too sweet (cassis, specifically), but others were right on the mark. Vanilla was a surprise standout, as was the strawberry. Ms. Coasts said that the rose petal flavor gave her goosebumps on her brain. i took it to be a good thing, as she's already planning her return visit.

[Nancy S.]

The salted caramel is also disappointing in Paris (too sweet without the expected counter of fleur de sel), but the vanilla is excellent there. My favorites are dark chocolate and raspberry, so I look forward to the comparison.

[lanadai]

I didn't like the rose petal as it reminded me of eating lipstick. It's very floral. The orange blossom tasted strange. I liked the raspberry and coffee. The pistachio tasted a little artificial and like almond extract.

[Monica]

thanks for the update!
cinamon raisin...

[ellenost]

Great photos and great news! I'm planning to take a walk during lunch to see if they have any macarons left in stock; I'm sure they'll be sold out soon.

[ellenost]

Waited in line for 1/2 hour (most of the time outside the shop). Great variety of flavors. I bought 24 to share with my sister (maybe if she'll visit me). At 2:00 they had already sold out of the coffee macarons :-(. Bought caramel, lemon, vanilla, orange, strawberry/mint, chocolate, green apple and rose. So far I've tried the caramel and lemon, and both are terrific! I wanted to try the caramel ice cream, but they didn't have any (don't know whether they had already sold out of it, or hadn't gotten it in). So happy they opened up not too far from either my apartment or my office. They're open only until 6 so I will probably make return visits at lunch.