When you go to Paris, there are a few things you must immediately do.
1)You must look incredibly bored and sophisticated (as many Parisians do)
2)You must find some way to become tipsy before 5 PM and then sustain that buzz throughout the night (as many Parisians do)
And…MOST importantly
3)You must head to Rue de Cambon, a tiny alley behind the famous Ritz Hotel, for a few of the best bites in the city.
Pierre Herme crafts the best macarons in Paris. This is in no way an opinion – merely stating a fact. Macarons, which are as Parisian as Oreos are American, are almond and meringue cooies, crunchy and sweet, filled with rich ganache. Many places make macarons, but few do them as well as Pierre. His cookies are impeccably light, crunchy but not crumbly, and airy but infused with intense flavor. His fillings are always rich, never subdued, smooth and decadent.
And the flavors. He is famous for his wacky and wonderful flavors. Green Tea, Black Licorice and Violet, Rose and Olive Oil and Vanilla flavors have all graced his counter. I like some of the more traditional ones, such as:
Salted Caramel
Smooth, sweet but leaning towards bitter at the end of the taste, with enough salt to make the caramel flavor stand out. The lightness of the cookie contrasted with the depth of the taste.
Coffee
No cafe au lait here – this is pure coffee taste. Earthy, deep, a bit savory and complex with hints of chocolate, nuts and even salt. The ganache had only a hint of cream, and was mostly that round coffee flavor. This could have been my favorite if it where not for…
Chocolate Passion Fruit(Mogodar).
The tart and bright fruit blended with almonds and sugar for an incredibly sweet cookie. Layered with chocolate ganache so rich that it was somewhere between a melted Cadbury bar and a mocha made out of pure cream, it was the best dessert I had in Paris.
It was also the smallest. And one of the most expensive. But, if you come to Paris, you are going to be spendingmoney anyway. So why spend it on good macarons when you can get one truly GREAT macaron. Do yourself a favor. Buy the macaron.
And then you will be well on your way to becoming Parisian.
I want those asap!!!!! Yummy little babies.