Is bisous ciao French for delicious macaron?

Is bisous ciao French for delicious macaron? No, it's not. But it is an amazingly adorable little macaron shop in the West Village in NYC.  

On Macaron Day (March 20th) in New York City several participants get into the spring spirit and offer free samples of their delicious macarons from 12-5pm.  On this day, I followed behind a crowd of people through the falling snow, yes I said snow on the first day of spring, to wait in line for my sample at bisous ciao.  But when I arrived at 3pm, all of the samples were gone! I think this was typical of most shops due to the tremendous turn out this year.  However, they had “buy two get one free” between 3pm-6pm which I was very happy to take advantage of.  I was glad to find that even with all of the crowds and slushy weather, the staff was still very friendly.  

Feeling the line of Macaron Day customers growing behind me, I asked for a recommendation for one and then happily picked two of my personal favorite flavors to try. All cookies were wonderful! I found them to have a perfect softness and very delicate shells. This patisserie is a must try for classic flavors.

Salted Peanut Butter and Jelly: This had a beautiful purple circle within the top of the cookie.  It had a soft shell with fluffy peanut butter cream inside. The almost secret grape was hiding inside the macaron cookie. Just when you think there isn't anything inside, the flavor sneaks up on you and it's delightful! I love peanut butter so I enjoyed it all.

Raspberry: This cookie had a seeded tart raspberry jam. It was completely full of jam, again with a soft cookie that had taken in some of the moistness of the jam. There was a slight crunch to the shell.  It tasted natural, fresh and very delicious.  I enjoyed how much filling it had!  It was a nice filling to cookie ratio.

Lemon: The lemon cream is so light and fluffy. It had this tangy-ness I enjoy in a lemon macaron with the smoothness of the cream. Definitely enjoyable!

Who should go here: A first time macaron eater would be safe here. It's also perfect for anyone who loves the classics.  You will not be disappointed.

I'll definitely be stopping back to try: I would love to try one of their seasonal flavors such as Yuzu or the Coconut Dipped (this one is dipped in dark chocolate-Hello!)

bisous ciao. Macarons -West village
235 Bleecker Street New York, NY 10014
www.bisousciao.com

Chantilly Patisserie & Epicerie Boulud- Just a Peek!

There were two more notable bakeries who were selling French macarons for Bastille Day that I was able to try: Chantilly Patisserie and Epicerie Boulud.  For them, this was just a small sampling of what they have to offer and I definitely have to head to the bakery to try some again.

Chantilly Patisserie 

Chantilly sold three very mini macarons sold in a bag.  Even though they a small bite they pack a punch with flavor. They had smooth shells, were soft on the inside and were overall plump. The flavors were vanilla, pistachio, and caramel.  Each had a nice almond flavor while the vanilla, with a strong flavor, and pistachio, just soft and delicious, were the highlights for me.

I can't wait to try the bigger ones!

Chantilly Patisserie 

135 Parkway Road, Bronxville, NY 

Twitter: @ChantillyPastry

http://www.chantillybronxville.com/

Epicerie Boulud 

This vanilla marshmallow macaron was festive and beautiful for Bastille Day in its red, white and blue. It was a great preview of what's in store for me at the bakery: soft, fresh and delicious macarons! I loved how the marshmallow and vanilla were in perfect harmony. I tasted both flavors equally. I'm looking forward to trying some of their seasonal macarons in the future!

Epicerie Boulud 

1900 Broadway at 64th Street, New York, NY

Twitter: @EpicerieBoulud

http://www.epicerieboulud.com/

Provence en Boite & Bastille Day!

On an incredibly hot day, I still could not resist the temptation to drop into Provence en Boite, a French Patisserie & Bistro.  I was greeted with friendly smiles and was delighted to see that they were carrying macarons in their bakery display.  Let me note that this is not a macaron shop, but a bistro and bakery with deliciously fresh croissants and other baked goods. They also sell macarons. The server, Mike, was incredibly nice and truly made my day with his friendliness. 

The regular size macarons are $2 there- affordable!  He mentioned that they sell large macarons for $3.50 but they were sold out.  They also sell minis for $1.

Flavors sampled worth mentioning: strawberry, orange and pistachio. They each had nice filling, although I would have enjoyed the cookies with a bit more of it. 

Additionally, if you are free Sunday you should head down and check out their Bastille Day celebration. They are closing off the whole block. There will be food, drinks and live music!!

**Bastille Day 2014 at Smith St. and Degraw St., Brooklyn NY July 13th starting at 11am.

Who is this good for: Great place for someone who wants to enjoy either French food or croissants and would also like to grab a macaron with an espresso.  Just ask if they are fresh.

The ambiance and service made the trip enjoyable and worth the visit.  It's in a great location and everyone was very friendly. When I return, I hope to finally sit down to enjoy some of the food and try the larger size macaron!

Provence en Boite

263 Smith Street

Brooklyn, NY 11231

http://www.provenceenboite.com/