October 6, 2011 by Amy Thomas
Ladurée macarons in their sleek box (Louis Beche)
For years, everyone—especially New Yorkers—has been clamoring for the death of the cupcakes. Let those pastel-colored, frosting-slathered, sprinkled-adorned, oh-so-cute sugar bombs be over! Can we puh-leeze move on?? And it would appear, with Ladurée’s arrival on Madison Avenue, New Yorkers may finally get their wish: the macaron could soon trump the cupcake as the sweet du jour.
Ladurée’s new NYC store, and its line of fans (Amy Thomas)
Of course Parisians are well acquainted with Ladurée, the 149-year-old salon de thé that purportedly invented the macaron. But with the exception of savvy New Yorkers who used to raid the Champs-Elysées store for a box of Technicolor two-bite treats, and then proudly parade their pale green shopping bags around the Upper East Side, the French brand has remained an exotic import to New Yorkers. Which explains the two-hour queues.
To be fair, by the time I made it to Ladurée, three weeks after it opened, the line was down to a 15-minute wait. As if I were a macaron virgin, the dauntless teenager in front of me who had previously waited hours for a Ladurée hit, told me the sweets “were totally worth the wait.” Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Travel | 12 Comments »
March 7, 2011 by Adam Wayda
Adam Wayda is an American gourmand with “a bit” of a sweet tooth. Spending half of each year in Paris, he chronicles Parisian pastry and the great chefs behind it on his site, which poses the very real risk of making your computer’s monitor ooze with crème pâtissiere.
A trip to Paris without visiting a pastry shop – or 10 of them – is woefully incomplete. It’s not just the pastries that make the experience, it’s the shops themselves. From the romantic 19th century charms of Ladurée to the 23rd century design sensibilities of La Pâtisserie des Rêves , there’s never been a more varied and deliciously sucré landscape in the history of Paris. Although, if time is tight or if you’re attempting to not completely overindulge, arguably the shop not to skip is Hugo & Victor.
H&V for me, however, was the one major pâtisserie I almost missed on my last great pastry adventure. Months earlier, I’d landed at CDG with a detailed list of 20+ shops to which I’d make my rounds, bingeing daily on 3…4…5 (or more) of their goodies. As my extended vacation wound down and my pant size burgeoned 3 inches, a friend emailed me saying, “Have you checked out Hugo & Victor yet?”
Thinking I knew every pâtisserie of any significance, I barely took the time to Google them. The shocker was the photos that turned up, plus an address no more than 4 blocks from my apartment. It seems they had opened just shortly before my arrival in Paris. While I could be excused for nearly missing them, a visit was long overdue.
Walking through the sliding glass door of H&V, I felt like I’d stepped into a jewelry boutique. After all, half the pastries were individually top-lit and locked behind glass. I quickly struck up a conversation with the salesgirl and got the rundown on what makes H&V so special: Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Shopping | 4 Comments »
February 22, 2010 by Tory Hoen
paris-hotel-lautrec.com
If you’ve spent even a small amount of time in Paris, you know that the macaron is ubiquitous. And in a city of fastidious eaters, it’s significant that a single dessert has managed to win the hearts and minds of so many. But the debate rages on: who produces the best macaron of all? While Dalloyau and Lenôtre both make a commendable run at it, everyone knows that there are only two real contenders.
In one corner, we have the elegant and established Ladurée, which has been turning out sweet confections since 1862. And in the other corner, we have upstart Pierre Hermé, the enfant terrible of the dessert world who worked at Ladurée before setting out on his own. (Word on the street is that the “oppressive” traditions at Ladurée were preventing him from exploring the crazy flavor combinations for which he is now world famous). Naturally, we wanted to get in on the debate, so Sarah (another Hip Paris blogger) and I gathered some friends last week for a comprehensive taste test. Two boxes of macarons later, we reached a nearly unanimous verdict! Continue Reading »
Posted in Food | 33 Comments »
September 9, 2009 by Tory Hoen
by Sally Peabody, Your Great Days in Paris
We all know that Paris is famed for its alluring wines, rich dark chocolates, redolent cheese and buttery croissants… but fine tea? Who knew?
In fact, Paris’ numerous tea salons and tea shops offer the widest and best selection of top quality teas from growers around the world, carefully selected, served and sold with savoir-vivre. Choose from salons and shops that offer elegant second-empire style gilded decor, sleek contemporary spaces, or cozy stone-walled nooks. Tea-drinkers have their pick of memorable spots to stop and sample delicious teas from around the world. The Paris tea scene abounds with fascinating artisans who are dedicated to their chosen métier— and to offering the best-of-the-best to those who share their passion. Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Parisian Living | 5 Comments »
June 4, 2009 by Tory Hoen
photos courtesy of laduree.fr & chocolatezoom.com
There are many ways to experience Paris, but one of the more decadent ones is, simply, to follow the chocolate. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of doing just that when I tagged along on Context Tour’s “Chocolate Walk,” a chocoholic’s dream that took me to many of the Left Bank’s most delicious (and gastronomically prestigious) addresses.
We began the tour in front of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés church, where our docent, Camille Labro, pulled an actual cocoa pod (which she had recently brought from Brazil) out of her handbag and gave us a quick rundown on the plant’s important role in world history. Over the next few hours, we would learn the ins-and-outs of chocolate production and consumption, from its historical roots in South America to its modern incarnations in Paris and throughout the world. Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Parisian Living, Tours and Classes | 10 Comments »
Ladurée macarons (Yuichi Sakuraba)
