Macarons at Whole Foods? They Rocq!

After a long morning in Brooklyn, I decided to drop into a Whole Foods on the way home to pick up a few food items for the week.  I walked through the door and I was welcomed by a beautiful dessert display.  I was going to just breeze by when I spotted them, my favorite, French macarons! These treats are easy to miss because they had more of a natural color then the bright colorful macarons I was used to seeing. 

I was greeted by the friendliest woman who was helpful, cheery and made my very first trip to that Whole Foods memorable. I asked her about a flavor that was not labeled and we were both unsure of what it was, so we sampled it!  I was delighted to find that it was Apple pie.  With that, I knew I would be making a purchase!

The macarons that this location carries are shipped in from Rocq Macarons, claiming to be the largest wholesale bakery provides French macarons.  The flavors that I tried were salted caramel, vanilla, apple pie and lemon.

Apple pie:  This was the new flavor for fall. The macarons tasted genuinely delicious. I can describe it as nothing less than a perfect ending to a fall meal or beginning to an autumn day.  It's a great seasonal flavor to try one time, especially if you are a macaron lover. The apple pie filling had a ganache texture and was both creamy and smooth. It also had a little bit of a spice to it. My favorite part was the wonderful apple after taste. 

Salted caramel:  This caramel filling was thick and generous. It had a delicate shell and tasted very fresh.  The cookie was soft and not too thick. Overall it was a wonderful compliment of textures. 

Vanilla:  Once again this macaron had a very generous amount of filling. It was filled with a vanilla cream that, like traditional macarons, was not overly sweet. This cookie was delicate and fresh! 

Lemon: This macaron had a thick lemon ganache. Different from the others it had a natural taste and was especially fresh. I may be bias since my favorite flavor is generally lemon but this one was delicious. A must try! 

Who should go here: This is a great place to try macarons! They are only $2 each and you can pick them up along with all of your other necessities.  They could easily be added to your weekly shopping list!

I'll definitely be stopping back to try: Red velvet & Chocolate macarons

Rocq Macarons

http://macarons.rocqgroup.com/

Whole Foods

214 3rd Street

Brooklyn, NY 11215

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/brooklyn

Macarons in St. Maarten- Worth the search?

During a recent trip to St. Maarten, I was staying on the Dutch side of the island.  I had read a review before heading there indicating that the French side, St. Martin, had the absolute best French macarons, second to only Paris!  You can imagine my absolute delight upon hearing this.  I was determined to stop in French bakeries along my travels on the French side.  However, with each hop out the car and each march up to the counter I was told, "We don't have them today."  WHAT??  Every single bakery I stopped in had picture of French macarons drawing me to them, but none for sale.  A few croissants and almond cookies later I had just about completely given up.  There are no French macarons in St. Martin in August.

Back on the Dutch side, only blocks from our resort, there was this modern looking bakery called The Taste Factory.  After passing it for days, I realized that its logo was in the shape of an Eiffel tower.  I was not optimistic but figured I would try one last bakery for the delectable treasures before leaving the island.  Voila!  At last I had found them!  

These were unlike any I had seen before; they were enormous! Stored in the refrigerator, they were pretty cold.  They each had a very generous amount of filling and appeared to be malted.  The cookie top was not smooth, like the macarons I have grown used to seeing.  But after the long, hard search, I knew I had to try them. The flavors I tried were vanilla, chocolate and lemon.  Overall the flavors were very good and satisfying.

Vanilla had a soft shell.  Inside it was airy and a bit chewy.  The generous filled was a butter cream vanilla filling.

Chocolate was also chewy, however it was also crunchy.  The filling was dense and very chocolaty.  While eating it, it felt like a crunchy cookie.

Lemon had crunchy thick shell with a moist inside that I found to be delicious. The lemon ganache was absolutely refreshing and a perfect way to end my sampling.

In the end, I never did get to try the French side's macarons, but the Dutch side had macarons that were worth trying for the experience.  It was nice to see so much filling while not being overly sweet.  If I ever return to St. Martin, I will continue my search, but at least I know there is at least one place I can find these treats!

The Taste Factory

120 Welfare Road, Simpson Bay

St. Maarten / St. Martin.

http://www.taste-factory.com/

Voyage Bakery & Cafe at LaGuardia Airport - Worth the Trip?

You check in, take off your shoes to pass through security and walk, what seems like endlessly, to your gate.  If you have traveled by plane, you know the drill.  Sometimes along your trek you're greeted with a welcomed surprise in the terminal.  For me that was Voyage Bakery & Cafe in LaGuardia Airport in New York.

As I approached the bakery, the rainbow of colors reflected in my eyes and I just knew macarons were straight ahead.  On this day, the iZone, or area lined with iPads and places to sit, was not especially crowded.  I found a place to sit off to the right of the cafe and browsed through the menu and added two macarons to my cart:  Nutella and lemon. When they arrived, I was informed that they were all out of lemon and I received passion fruit instead.  Excited and enjoying the experience, I agreed to the swap.  The macarons were $3 each but were actually fairly large in size, so the price was not unreasonable.

Nutella:  This macaron was filled with a nutty ganache.  It's shell was not bumpy, but the cookie part had a thickness to it.  I was so excited for these during my travels that I ate the macaron before remembering to take a picture out it! 

Passion Fruit: (pictured below) This macaron was filled with a passion fruit ganache and was actually extremely sweet.  The filling had a nice smooth texture.  Additionally, it had the right amount of filling for these larger cookies, especially because of how sweet it was.

Overall these macarons were okay.  Like many bakeries selling multiple treats, there's no guarantee that your macarons will be as fresh as you'd hope. It's a gamble but I enjoyed the novelty of the order and its convenience.  

Who should go here: This bakery is good for traveler looking to sit for a bit, charge their device and take a chance on a French treat.  Just browse the case first to make sure they have what you are ordering.  

Voyage Bakery Cafe

LGA - LaGuardia Airport

New York, NY 11371

Terminal C