Review: La Maison du Macaron

Place: La Maison du Macaron
132 W 23rd St
New York, NY 10011
(212) 243-2757

Items ordered:
Vanilla macaron ($2.50), pistachio madeleine ($1.25), and a pistachio truffle (95 cents).

Rating out of five:





(Yes, that's a picture of a picture taken on my phone- trust me when I say it was my only workable option)

I know, I know. As so often happens, I just don't agree with the masses. La Maison is a place many consider to be ~the~ macaron spot. From what I saw on my visit I really can't see why.

But I'm not damning them to the list of avoidables just yet. The reason being that their menu clearly states that the macarons should be served at room temperature and the ones I received were ice cold. I know first hand that environment can alter a pastry quite a bit, so I'm willing to give this place another shot in the future.

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, this was my first macaron. Take from that what you will.

I'm a person who looooves her sugar. If something has a good flavor, there is no limit to the level of sweetness I can handle. I found these "too sweet" because their sweetness wasn't balanced out by a strong or interesting vanilla flavor. It turned me off from trying others, especially at $2.50 a pop. Who do these macarons think they are- cupcakes? I was expecting something sophisticated but also just plain good. This left me disappointed.

I was also disappointed that they didn't have any pistachio macarons, so I ordered the two pistachio things they did have- the truffle and the madeleine. Neither tasted much like pistachio at all. The truffle I didn't even finish, it tasted like white chocolate (not a fan). The madeleine was weak and dry, I finished it on principle, hoping it would maybe win me over. It did not.