Wandering into one of my favorite local shops (Sift Cupcakery) to pick up some sweets, I was taken aback when behind the glass wall, intermingling amongst the cupcakes, was a strange yet tantalizing new treat. It was large and colorful. Like a whoopie-pie on crack. They came in an assortment of colors: pink, deep red, pale beige, deep chocolate brown, and yellow. When I asked what they were, I was shocked.
"They're macarons." the girl behind the counter said.
...as in *French macarons*?!? OMFG they have macarons the size of your head here! Hello AMERICA! Land of the free, home of the obese -where if it's worth doing...it's worth doing 10x the size of the original! :) "I'll take one!" I blurted out immediately. I chose the one that was the macaron cousin of my favorite Sift cupcake, the "Ooh La La". It's a red velvet cupcake with a simple cream cheese frosting. The macaron was delicious. It was so big it made me want to vomit when I was done. But it was still good.
A few weeks go by and I am craving macarons again. I now no longer have to go all the way to Sebastopol to Patisserie Angelica, for a Parisien (by far and away my favorite cake in all the land!). The Parisien is essentially one big macaron cake. There are three layers of almond macaron with a praline buttercream filling and it is to die for!
Or so I thought, until I returned weeks later to find their macarons had evolved even more so. They were now peitie -the size they should be. And daintily packaged in a cellophane bag, in clusters of four. Excitedly, I took home my new prize and tried the other flavors in the bag. They were...terrible. Visually they were appealing. Beautiful even. But the flavors had none of the subtlety or complexity of Masse's confections or Patisserie Angelica. The pink one, tasted like Easter candy. Bright, overpoweringly sweet, and artificial. It was an assault on the senses. The only so-so one was the chocolate flavor. The rest, including the rouge Ooh La La had to be rejected. Before the proportions had been all off...but the flavors were good. Now, the size was correct, and the macaron it's self was still palatable, however, the filling had been replaced with a cheap sugary icing, a cheap sugary icing that hadn't been mixed well...so the powdered sugar was still gristly on the tongue. ICING!!?! WTF! There is no ICING in a MF macaron! What are you doing here Sift!? I expected more from you. :p
"They're macarons." the girl behind the counter said.
...as in *French macarons*?!? OMFG they have macarons the size of your head here! Hello AMERICA! Land of the free, home of the obese -where if it's worth doing...it's worth doing 10x the size of the original! :) "I'll take one!" I blurted out immediately. I chose the one that was the macaron cousin of my favorite Sift cupcake, the "Ooh La La". It's a red velvet cupcake with a simple cream cheese frosting. The macaron was delicious. It was so big it made me want to vomit when I was done. But it was still good.
A few weeks go by and I am craving macarons again. I now no longer have to go all the way to Sebastopol to Patisserie Angelica, for a Parisien (by far and away my favorite cake in all the land!). The Parisien is essentially one big macaron cake. There are three layers of almond macaron with a praline buttercream filling and it is to die for!
I also don't have to go to Berkeley to stop by Masse's Pastries for an assortment of the best local macarons money can buy.
This place is also a culinary *must*. They are mix-masters of different world culinary styles. Incorporating unusual and divine flavors (for a macaron at least) such as the Asian Yuzu (it' a citrus fruit. Think: the lovechild of a mandarin and a grapefruit...on their sexy vacation to Paris.) Anyhoo... I don't have to go there either because now there's Sift. Making French macarons in my own backyard.
Or so I thought, until I returned weeks later to find their macarons had evolved even more so. They were now peitie -the size they should be. And daintily packaged in a cellophane bag, in clusters of four. Excitedly, I took home my new prize and tried the other flavors in the bag. They were...terrible. Visually they were appealing. Beautiful even. But the flavors had none of the subtlety or complexity of Masse's confections or Patisserie Angelica. The pink one, tasted like Easter candy. Bright, overpoweringly sweet, and artificial. It was an assault on the senses. The only so-so one was the chocolate flavor. The rest, including the rouge Ooh La La had to be rejected. Before the proportions had been all off...but the flavors were good. Now, the size was correct, and the macaron it's self was still palatable, however, the filling had been replaced with a cheap sugary icing, a cheap sugary icing that hadn't been mixed well...so the powdered sugar was still gristly on the tongue. ICING!!?! WTF! There is no ICING in a MF macaron! What are you doing here Sift!? I expected more from you. :p
I hope you told them that the macaron was nowhere near as good -- so they know that they had it right the FIRST time around.
ReplyDeleteI thought about that...but it seems like they think this evolution is a good thing. kinda like the frosting is a stylistic extension of their cupcake thing. :p -It does not taste good. But I think it's Sift's "take" on a French macaron.
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