Should You Try ofKors Bakery for French macarons? Of Course!!

I am a sucker for a great “Main St.” and Sarasota delivers one full of flavor, charm, shops and, luckily for me, French macarons!  While walking through, hoping to find a place to sit for a quiet dessert, I found ofKors Bakery. Tucked in between a slew of restaurants, ofKors stood out as not only a café but a full bakery, perfect for an evening sweet.  I was delightfully surprised to find a tray of colorful macarons atop their dessert display and I was eager to learn more. What I needed to know of course was, “do you make your own macarons?”  This question was met with a confirmation that all of their goods are baked in right in their kitchen.  Just then, I knew I would need to try them.

While small, these macarons were packed with a great punch of flavor.  I would categorize these as mini macarons, but were priced fairly at only $1.60 each. The flavors I tried were lemon, raspberry and vanilla. Each of the three macarons were very fresh, soft and had a perfect crackle on the shell as I bit into them.  They also had nice, distinct feet for such a small cookie.  It is often that I find such fresh macarons in a place that doesn’t primarily sell macarons.  This was a wonderful surprise and important to note. Below is just a bit more about their individual flavors and fillings.

Lemon: This cookie had a light lemon filling.  I loved that the lemon lingered after each smooth bite.

Raspberry:  This cookie had a generous amount of filling. It was a perfect proportion of filling to shells.  This was filled with raspberry preserves that were not too sweet and provided a nice amount of flavor to carry the treat.

Vanilla:  These were clearly vanilla bean shells with the speckles of bean throughout.  It was filled with a very buttery vanilla buttercream filling with subtle flavors throughout.

Who should go here: This is a great place for organic baked goods and treats. You should pop in and add a French macaron to your order for a fresh, sweet treat. It will not disappoint!

I’ll definitely be stopping back to try: Their chocolate macaron.  I am excited to see what their filling will consist of for this one. I would love to try some of their other desserts too!

ofKors Bakery

1359 Main Street

Sarasota, FL 34236 

http://ofkorsbakery.com/

Circle Your Way to Le Macaron in St. Armands

A walk around and through St. Armands Circle is a unique experience. As you walk around the circle, you are surrounded by beach goers, tourists, locals, street performers and art galleries.  The circle itself is full of statues reminding visitors of the area’s rich culture and youthful history while you snack, shop and relax.  A short walk from Lido Beach and a short drive to now famous Siesta Key Beach, St. Armands is a popular destination in Sarasota, FL.

At the corner of one of the circle’s “quadrants” is a delightful escape into European delights: Le Macaron.  This location is one of many throughout Florida. There are even many locations in the US.  On this corner they sell gelato, truffles, and most importantly, French Macarons.  There is both indoor and outdoor seating so when you visit, take a moment to sit, enjoy the sunshine and these delicious treats. You can expect to find macarons with soft cookies and delicious fillings.

The flavors I tried on this day were Lemon Cream, Raspberry, Belgium Chocolate, Orange Chocolate Grand Marnier, Sicilian Pistachio, and Vanilla.

Lemon Cream: This soft cookie absorbed some of the cream. The delicious lemon inside was sour and sweet.  Overall, this macaron had a great texture. Considering lemon macarons are my favorite, I liked this one.

Raspberry: This treat was filled with raspberry preserves. The filling was perfectly absorbed into the soft delicious cookies. I loved the texture of the raspberry seeds. It was not too sweet and was my favorite of the trip.

Belgium Chocolate: This macaron had a very dense and chocolatey filling accompanying a chocolate cookie. This one had a nice amount of chocolate filing, enough to satisfy anyone’s chocolate cravings. I enjoyed the whole thing.

Orange Chocolate Grand Marnier: This macaron had a clear Grand Marnier taste with a hint of orange flavor and subtle chocolate flavor. It was a beautiful orange cookie with a fun orange and chocolate cream. It had a soft delicious cookie and great cookie to filling ratio.

Sicilian pistachio: With a strong pistachio smooth filling, very soft cookie, and great after taste, I found that this cookie absorbed a lot of the cream but made it soft and tasty.

Vanilla: Finally, this had a vanilla bean cookie, with a flavorful, light, fluffy, buttery cream.  A solid macaron.

Who should go here: This is a great location for first time French macaron samplers and macaron lovers. You will not have to worry about trying something fresh, as all of the cookies are soft and delicious.

I’ll definitely be stopping back to try: Their newest flavors, since they frequently change and Basil White Chocolate and Salted Caramel.

Le Macaron

382 St. Armands Circle

Sarasota, FL 34236

Phone: 941-552-8872

http://lemacaron-us.com/

Sugar and Plumm: Purveyors of Yummy Macarons!

Sugar & Plumm is my exception to the rule that if you want to be guaranteed delicious macarons, you should go to a bakery that specializes in them. Sugar and Plumm is a sweet shop with many different types of desserts and sweet treats. They also make amazing macarons! This is a delightful place and dream for a sugar lover or person with a sweet tooth. 

Like most shops on Macaron Day, March 20th, at 4pm, Sugar and Plumm were all out of samples. So I thought, "go big" and bought six. On this day they had a wide variety of macarons available to buy.  They were the perfect size macaron! Not too big or too small. The thickness of the cookie was delightful and they had a good filling to cookie ratio. There was also a cute foot on each with a nice shell and soft/chewy cookie. The flavors that I tried were raspberry, strawberry poppy, pistachio, vanilla, lemon yuzu and rosewater lychee.

Raspberry: There were wonderful preserves inside. I love when you can crunch down on the seeds and really enjoy the natural flavors of the filling. Full disclosure: I ate raspberry before taking the extra pictures.  I can't help myself sometimes!

Strawberry Poppy: This was a red cookie with poppy seeds. The poppy seeds were a good compliment to the strawberry flavor cream filling.

Pistachio: Very very nutty! It's creamy and delicious. The pistachio flavor is bursting out. I love when you bite into a pistachio macaron and you see the different shades of green throughout. If you love pistachio you will love this macaron. There's no escaping the delicious nutty flavor in every single bite. This is a true competitor for my favorite pistachio macaron so far.

Vanilla: This macaron had a vanilla bean shell with a strong vanilla flavor in the smooth cream.

Lemon Yuzu: Yuzu is a citrus plant originating in East Asia. The best thing about this macaron is the aftertaste. It's as though the flavor moves from you lips, over your tongue and when it gets to be back of your throat. It is sweet, sour and delicious. It is cream filled. I like the addition of the yuzu to the classic lemon macaron.

Rosewater Lychee: If you've read the blog before you'd see I tend to steer clear of floral macarons. After a few good nights with lychee martinis, it was hard to pass up a lychee macaron. This is perfect for someone who doesn't like their macarons overly sweet.  It has a nice subtle flavoring where the lychee is not overwhelming. I definitely recommend this one for someone wanting to try something new without steering too far from the classics.

Who should go here: Everyone!  This is a great place to buy dessert for a party, or an afternoon sweet for you.  It's also a great place to try macarons or indulge if you already have fallen in love with them.  They also serve food and dessert cocktails.

I'll definitely be stopping back to try: Violet Black Current & Chocolate macarons

 

 

Sugar and Plumm

Satellite Store- West Village

257 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
p. 212-388-5757

http://www.sugarandplumm.com/

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

Mille-feuille Bakery Cafe- Blew me away!

Those who have read my previous posts will not be surprised to find that this was a purchase from the 60th Street Bastille Day celebration in NYC.  Through the hustle and bustle of the busy street fair, I managed to purchase these delectable treats on July 13th.
Unfortunately, they did not make it home safety and were smashed, but this did not deter me.  I was still very excited to try them.

I decided to order two flavors that I don't ordinarily order, once again.  I ordered raspberry and Dulce de leche.  It was very clear that they were made with the finest of ingredients because it comes through in every bite.

Raspberry- This macaron was so soft and it simply dissolved in my mouth.  It was not overly sweet for a fruit flavor and seemed to be filled with fresh fruit jam.  If not for the delicate cookie I would have forgotten that I was indeed eating a macaron and not a fresh raspberry.

Dulce de leche- Wow! This was so flavorful.  The taste just overwhelms my mouth and taste buds.  They were simply soft, fresh & amazing. I definitely recommend this one!

Who should go here: A true macaron lover looking to try some made with delicious ingredients.  This is also a good start for a first timer!!

I'll definitely be stopping by the shop to try: I'm not sure of their other flavors, but I would love to try more of the classics, definitely the fruit flavors.

Mille-feuille Bakery Cafe

552 Laguardia Pl, New York 10012
2175 Broadway, New York 10024

Twitter: @millefeuillenyc

http://www.millefeuille-nyc.com/