Culinary Sundry | NYT subway ad

"There's ONLY one review THEY HUNGER FOR." --The New York Times

I saw this new NYT Dining & Wine section ad on the subway not too long ago. Thought it was very clever, so I decided to share!

Dessert | Madeleine Patisserie

Marcus and I were in the Flat Iron District in search of a desk for his new apartment when I suddenly saw Madeleine Patisserie out of the corner of my eye. My eyes widened. All I said to him was that we needed to go in there, and then proceeded to take his hand, pulling him inside before he could ask any questions. I don't recall where I had heard about Madeleine Patisserie, but it was definitely on my eventually-go-to list in the back of my mind. I don't frequent that area much, but I probably should now that macarons are involved!

As we went in, my eyes didn't look away from the rows and rows of multi-pastel-colored cookies. There were soo many flavors of macarons! Marcus appeared to be having the same reaction, considering he said to me something along the lines of: "Stefie, I want all of them. I want to line them up all in a row and eat them as if I were a tractor."

Dessert selection at Madeleine Patisserie (along with the many flavors of macaron!)

We spent about 20 minutes contemplating which flavors to order. I think Marcus was a little disappointed to realize that we could only have so many in one day--unfortunately, the downside of having delicious macarons is that they can add up very quickly, $ wise!

There were some framed press articles regarding the bakery, and I briefly read that one recommended the raspberry macaron, so that was already decided. Since I love anything pistachio flavored, and being one of my favorite cocktails is the kir royale (lovely mixture of champagne and crème de cassis--black currant-flavored liquer), I decided on the pistachio cookie and cassis filling macaron. Marcus chose pink champagne and mango (I'll have to ask him how he decided on those, haha).

(clockwise from top left): raspberry, pistachio / cassis, pink champagne, and mango!

The girl at the counter put together our macaron order told us that macarons are recommended to be eaten at room temperature. I thanked her, and we sat down on the bench inside the bakery. I obviously wanted to wait to eat them at the recommended temperature, but Marcus, being as impatient as he is, went right for them. He was right, though. They looked too delicious not to eat! I followed suit.

Findings: Madeleine Patisserie's combination of texture and flavor is very well balanced, making for an amazing macaron. Not too batter-y and not too sweet. I'm more biased toward tart-flavored things, so this is definitely a winner for me. I'm sure if we let them sit out for a little bit, they would've been even more delicious! I can't really decide which one flavor was my favorite, but I will give them creativity for the pink champagne and the combination of pistachio-cassis. All in all, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. We're already talking about going back this weekend!

Price point: 4 macarons for $10.

P. S. I'd like to thank my best friend, Erin, for introducing me to macarons (I bought her a box of 9 macarons that very day)! Merci beaucoup, I am now an addict.

--August 7, 2010

Madeleine Patisserie
132 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
http://www.madeleinepatisserie.com

Bucket List | as of 8.20.2010

Just wanted to make some cross-outs (my favorite part of making a list, in my opinion) and updates to the token "places-I-need-to-eat-before-I-croak" list:

1. El Bulli (still a longshot to try to get there before its imminent closing in 2012, but it's still on my list, nevertheless)
2. The French Laundry (definitely will try for this during Fall 2011--well, that's my plan for now, at least)
3. The Fat Duck (a long-weekend visit to London will be a possibility Spring 2011; if not, there's always the 2012 Summer Olympics!)
4. per se (even though I keep hearing talk of this Manhattan Keller-phenomenon being "overrated," I still want to taste it for myself, haha)
5. Alinea (RESERVATIONS WILL BE MADE FOR COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND THIS FALL DURING MY VISIT TO CHICAGO--I will not let anything keep me away from Grant Achatz and his gastronomic ingenuity!)
6. Gramercy Tavern (definitely moving this as the next contender on my to-dine list for Manhattan)
7. A Voce, Columbus (definitely would love to visit this soon--moving to my 2010 to-dine list for Manhattan)
8. Tomoe Sushi (went with Marcus a couple months back; will post photos and entry soon, but definitely by far the freshest--and most affordable--sashimi I've had in all of Manhattan--definitely on the "hidden gem" list in my book!)
9. Babbo (not sure when I'll make it here--I'm thinking about removing it from the list all together and replacing it with another contender, especially with the wage scandals in recent food news)
10. Le Bernardin (definitely would love to visit this soon, also--gotta see if Eric Ripert has lived up to my expectations of perfectly cooked seafood)

Revised Bucket List:

1. El Bulli (Roses, Spain)
2. The French Laundry (Yountville, California)
3. The Fat Duck (Berkshire, England)
4. per se (Columbus Circle, New York City)
5. Alinea (Lincoln Park, Chicago)
6. Le Bernardin (Midtown East, New York City)
7. Noma (Copenhagen, Denmark)
8. moto (West Loop, Chicago)
9. Jean Georges (Upper East Side, New York City)
10. * reserved * [still contemplating this last one...open to suggestions!]

What's on your Bucket List?

Dessert | MacarOn Cafe

I made a quick visit to the MacarOn Cafe in the Garment District yesterday--mainly because I was craving macarons like MAD! And also because it's only a few blocks away from work--snack break!

MacarOn Cafe entrance

Delicious selection of macarons!

Cute gridlined mini-chalkboards!

The beautiful loot (left to right): lemon, cassis, pistachio, peanut butter, passion fruit / chocolate, and dark chocolate.

I shared these with Marcus in front of my office building. He had a really bad headache, and (I think) these cheered him up a bit! I mean, when doesn't a macaron cheer up someone's day? :D

Findings: Of the six flavors we had tasted, pistachio (they surrounded the macaron filling with crushed pistachios--genius!) was definitely my favorite (Marcus's was lemon). The flavors were very good overall, though I wasn't totally feeling the texture of the macarons. Our previous visit to Madeleine Patisserie (post to follow) certainly comes out on top here. Nevertheless, still a pretty good macaron to satisfy any craving! :]

Price point: 6 macarons at $13.

--August 19, 2010

MacarOn Cafe (Garment District)
485 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10018
http://www.macaroncafe.com/

List | 2010 To-Dine-At

The next ten (ideally speaking, that is) "dinner" spots I'd like to visit before year's end:

1. *Gramercy Tavern (I need to experience another Danny-Meyer-inspired concept of a restaurant)
2. Soba Nippon (my mom wants me to bring her here--I mean, who can say no to a soba buffet?)
3. Rai Rai Ken (going tonight with Marcus!)
4. 15 East (bringing Marcus here for his birthday in early October)
5. *Daniel (this would be my second Relais & Chateau [NYC] restaurant!)
6. Maialino (yet another Danny Meyer creation, with Linda, of course, per her recommendation--sometime this month!)
7. *La Grenouille (for the chocolate soufflé, as raved about by Lisa)
8. Marea (definitely would love to see what all the latest fuss is about!)
9. Alto (I'd like to try the sangria, especially since it was recommended by Jess)
10. Grimaldi's Pizzeria (I plan to walk the Brooklyn Bridge this fall, so that will be the perfect time to visit!)

The next five "dessert" spots I'd like to visit before year's end, mostly as part of my current work-in-progress--a four-flight intensive cupcakery crawl (more details to follow in subsequent posts):

1. Two Little Red Hens / LadyBird Bakery (Upper East Side, NYC / Park Slope, Brooklyn) [thanks for the news update, Shayna!]
2. The Best Chocolate Cake in the World (SoHo, New York City)
3. *François Chocolate Bar (Upper East Side, New York City)
4. Macaron Café (Midtown East, New York City)
5. Sweet Sugar Sunshine (Lower East Side, New York City)

The next five "brunch" spots I'd like to visit before year's end:

1. Essex (Lower East Side, New York City)
2. Calle Ocho (Upper West Side, New York City)
3. Isabella's (Upper West Side, New York City)
4. Clinton Street Baking Co. (Lower East Side, New York City)
5. Public (SoHo, New York City)

*No immediate plans yet, but there's always wishful thinking before year's end!

Wish me luck--the countdown begins now until December 31! Let's see how many I can knock out by then!