Macarons - where to find them?

I have been reading about these french cookies on blogs recently. It seems like everyone is talking about and reviewing them lately. Anyways, is there a place in Chicago to get them?

C

I've seen them at Vanille, but I've never tried 'em.

Vanille Patisserie
www.vanillepatisserie.com
2229 N Clybourn Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 868-4574

I've had them at Vanille, and they're as good as any I've had in France or Montreal.

If you want to take the chance of getting some by mail, I've been meaning to try Mad Mac's version, which were reviewed last month in the New York Times.

You can special order them from Fox & Obel's bakery. They are delicious!
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Fox & Obel
401 E. Illinois
312-379-0108 (Bakery Direct #)
www.fox-obel.com

I'm pretty certain that I've seen the meringue macaroons at Bittersweet. I would imagine they would be average, or better.

Bennison's has 'em. They're a buck each, but very tasty.

1000 Davis
Evanston, IL 60201
847 328 9434

gleam wrote:I've seen them at Vanille, but I've never tried 'em.

I've tried them, light, airy, ethereal, in a word, heavenly.

First, to describe what they are - they're usually called "French macaroons" and they're two thin, almond-paste macaroons (NO coconut) sandwiched around a thin layer of buttercream. I wouldn't describe them as meringue, although almond macaroons are basically almond paste and egg whites, which is similar, but they have the consistency of a light almond paste, rather than that of (often stiff) meringue. And yes, they are heavenly. Ideally - to my taste, anyway - they have a strong almond flavor (sometimes the almond flavor isn't as strong).

I've had them at all three places mentioned so far. Fox and Obel used to have them all the time, but more recently, as emmi notes, they're only by special order. It's only recently that they started carrying them at Bennison's. Vanille's are tiny (not that size matters, since you can just eat more).

Another place that has them is the Gourmet Frog in Highwood, across the street from the train station. The Gourmet Frog is the carry-out adjunct of Froggy's French restaurant. Gourmet Frog also has meringue cookies, if that's of interest (as well as French pastries in whole and by the slice, wonderful sugar cookies dipped in chocolate, excellent quiches and soups, etc).

All of the above except Fox and Obel carry them in multiple flavors (flavor, e.g. chocolate, raspberry, etc. added in addition to the almond paste base).

Any tips on who makes the best macaroons in the city (sorry suburbs)?

thanks

Unfortunately I haven't tried any macaroons from actual bakeries...but in the past I have purchased some pretty killer macaroons from Whole Foods and Fox & Obel. Both versions were moist & soft & delicious. The Whole Foods ones were a bit smaller, more bite-sized, while the Fox & Obel ones, if I recall correctly, were a tad larger, "two-bite-sized", if you will.

Which kind of macaroon/macaron?

The french macaron:

(image by roboppy)

Or the macaroon:

(image by foodistablog)

Whole foods has some good ones....traditional and chocolate. They are nice and moist. They are not the French kind though.

once in a while my adoring spouse brings home wonderful almond macaroons from Lake Forest. I believe they are from Gerhard's?

viewtopic.php?p=132609#p132609

I'm pretty sure Vanille Patisserie prides themselves on their macaroons. The french kind, of course.

2229 N Clybourn Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
773.868.4574

I know where NOT to get French macarons: Bennison's Bakery in Evanston, and Sarah's Pastries on the Mag Mile. Both places do certain things well, but they both sell awful macarons.

GNR Winner Maria's/Il Muino Bakery in Highwood makes decent (but not great) macaroons (the non-French kind).

The recently opened Pastel, of course! This is nothing like your typical Mexican bakery. It actually looks like it would fit right in on the North side. They have the most exquisite macaroons. They're baby sized and taste light and fluffier than most macaroons. A couple days after their best, they have a pleasant outer crunch and are still fabulous.

Also try their strawberry cake and mini flan.

Pastel
4814 S. Pulaski
(773) 523-5595

If you're looking for a denser, stickier, monster macaroon, check out Au Bon Pain - they have cranberries inside and chocolate on the bottom - not a bad concoction.

(But I would go for Pastel. Theirs is the best ever.)

It's been awhile, but I thought their macaroons were delicious. Better call ahead. I'm not sure they have them all the time.

Bonjour Bakery and Cafe
1550-52 E. 55th St.
Chicago, IL 60615
HYDE PARK
(773) 241-5300

Delightful Pastries has good French-type macaroons...and a lot of other good stuff. Near Austin/Lawrence.

If you are looking for Parisian macarons, we have them at Floriole Bakery: 2119 N Rockwell St. Chiago, IL
Please call ahead for flavors and availability 773-252-0095

Our macarons were written up in Departures magazine last year!

http://www.departures.com/articles/when ... -a-macaron

Sorry not to have seen this sooner. Let me back up Josephine that Bonjour Bakery in Hyde Park has dead-on Parisian macarons (made by a lady from Paris). Their croques, pan au raisin, madeleines, and other classics are delightfully reminiscent. Their American desserts, not so much, but still competent. I highly recommend it.

Bonjour Bakery
1550 East 55th St
(S Harper & S Blackstone Ave, southern courtyard off the Treasure Island)

I tried the macarons from Vanille this weekend, and though they were not flawless, they were better than others I've had in Chicago. The cookies themselves had great texture and flavor. My main criticism is that they don't flavor the ganache. You get the same sweet, white, creamy ganache whether you get a raspberry, chocolate, or a pistacchio macaron. That's a big detriment, in my book, when compared to the best macarons in Paris, which manage to get intense, distilled raspberry, chocolate or nut flavor into the ganache as well as the cookie.

I've recently fallen in love with macarons. I sampled a few different flavors from Vanille (really liked these cookies and kicked myself for only buying a few) and today I bought some from Delightful Pastries via Whole Foods. Aside from those mentioned above, does anyone have any other sources?

I'm no macaron expert, but I've enjoyed the ones at Fritz Pastry. A few weeks ago, they had a lovely apple macaron filled with apple butter.

Fritz Pastry
1408 W Diversey Pkwy.

I love Dobra's macaroons at Delightful Pastries.

Delightful Pastries
5927 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL

Ms. Ingie wrote:I love Dobra's macaroons at Delightful Pastries.

Delightful Pastries
5927 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL

I've been eating my weight in macarons lately. I visited the new Delightful Pastries in Old Town yesterday and enjoyed the marzipan, chococolate and new caramel macarons. They're denser and less delicate than other ones I've had around town but not in a bad way.

Delightful Pastries
1710 N Wells St
Chicago IL 60614
312-255-0724

With macarons, freshness makes a drastic difference in quality. A macaron made yesterday is going to be infinitely better than one made 3 days ago. Unfortunately, all of the bakeries around town sell macarons with varying levels of freshness. They usually bake one flavor at a time: e.g., chocolate on Tuesday, pistacchio on Wednesday, raspberry on Thursday, etc., etc. so the quality variance is significant from one flavor to the next. I always insist on knowing exactly when each flavor was baked, and in most cases, the well-meaning bakery workers don't know, so I either walk away or convince them to call someone who knows the answer. I am a very annoying macaron shopper.

Kennyz wrote:With macarons, freshness makes a drastic difference in quality. A macaron made yesterday is going to be infinitely better than one made 3 days ago. Unfortunately, all of the bakeries around town sell macarons with varying levels of freshness. They usually bake one flavor at a time: e.g., chocolate on Tuesday, pistacchio on Wednesday, raspberry on Thursday, etc., etc. so the quality variance is significant from one flavor to the next. I always insist on knowing exactly when each flavor was baked, and in most cases, the well-meaning bakery workers don't know, so I either walk away or convince them to call someone who knows the answer. I am a very annoying macaron shopper.

I'm less concerned with when they're baked, and more concerned with when the filling is sandwiched. When I make macarons, after letting them cool I make sure they are covered and airtight as much as possible. I find that they can be kept this way for a few days without any noticeable deterioration in the texture of the cookie portion. But once sandwiched, they should be eaten within hours to ensure the ideal texture. I've made them for parties and I've always filled them the same day they are to be eaten. I've had leftovers and the texture the following day suffers considerably, whether or not refrigerated.

In Chicago, the only flawless macarons I have encountered were at L20. The macarons at Vanille can be excellent . . . and they can also be bad - bad as in old. I know Vanille knows how to make them because like many items I've had at Vanille, when they're on they're on. I'm just not sure Vanille's Clybourn location has the foot traffic like a patisserie in Paris, and I think this results in some of their offerings being sub-par in texture when purchased.

As for Fritz and Delightful Pastries, I can't really say I enjoyed the macarons at either place (although I love many other items at Delightful and I am beginning to find some things that Fritz does real well too).

I was browsing through the December 2009 issue of Food and Wine and there was a feature on Macarons including recipes for Chocolate, Passion Fruit and Raspberry.

http://www.foodandwine.com/search/quicksearch.cfm?keyword=macarons

I've had great success with this recipe: http://dessertsmag.com/step-by-step-french-macaron.html

Went a little wild last xmas making these: