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Macaron Cafe Brings a Bit of Paris to Midtown
The Garment District is quickly becoming my favorite little corner of Midtown Lunch’ing. And while I admit that most of the places I love might be considered “weird” (or gross) to the average lunch crowd (strange chinese food, Spanish food in a freight elevator), the newly opened Macaron Cafe might change all of that. A few weeks ago my friend Nosher from www.nycnosh.com told me about the little French cafe on 36th btw. B’way+7th, and yesterday we headed over to check out their nice selection of sandwiches and amazing macarons (the little French cookies that look like mini colored hamburgers- not be confused with macaroons).
Some French porn, and a link to Nosher’s extensive review, after the jump…
Macaron Cafe has 7 sandwiches on the menu, ranging in price from $5.50 to $6.50, and they are all a pretty amazing deal when you consider the quality of the ingredients. We opted for the Norvegian (Smoked Salmon, Capers, Lettuce, Lemon Juice, Cream Cheese, Scallion, Persil and Black Pepper Sauce on Pane D’Filone; $6.50)
and the Capri (Goat Cheese, Apple, Raisins, Mustard, Light homemade mayo, and organic honey on a baguette; $5.50)
And of course a few Macarons for dessert, which I have to say, put the Bouchon Bakery macarons to shame (despite their hefty price tag of an understandable $1.75 each). The one downside, the place is tiny and the only seating is a couch in the back- so you pretty much have to take the food to go, and at peak lunch times they can get pretty backed up.
I ain’t good with the words, so for a comprehensive review of the place, check out Nosher’s write up that was posted this morning…
Posted: April 10th, 2008 under 36th btw. B'way+7th, Macaron Cafe, Sandwiches, Sweets.
Comments: 16
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Comments
Comment from Shauna
Time: April 10, 2008, 8:39 am
ohhh that meringue looks incredible… were the sandwiches filling?
Comment from Hungry Already
Time: April 10, 2008, 9:12 am
i work in the building where the Macaron shop is…. the real gem on that corner is Bellizzi’s, the Italian spot across the street. 5 homemade Italian dishes each day that are about 8 bucks a pop
Comment from Pie Hole
Time: April 10, 2008, 10:00 am
As per NYCNosh (and just lookin’ at the dern stuff), that is NOT brie — it’s goat cheese.
Comment from Swan
Time: April 10, 2008, 10:06 am
it’s funny that the garment district’s becoming your favorite lunch spot, i always end up going over to the east side. i hate the crowds here. damn tourists! i will have to check out this place. the macarons look delicious!
Comment from Zach@MidtownLunch
Time: April 10, 2008, 10:21 am
@ pie hole - and that’s why I linked to NYCNosh for the real review. i’m retarded. sorry, it was a total typo (i must have been reading about the other sandwich with brie while I was typing). fixed.
Comment from Rudy McBagel
Time: April 10, 2008, 10:34 am
No,Zach, he’s being perdantic.
That capri butty looks damn good too, for veggie.
Comment from Danny
Time: April 10, 2008, 10:40 am
I thought $1.75 was an okay price? Granted they are small, and for that money one could get a cupcake or something. It takes more skill for macaroons than for cupcakes? But yea.. so tiny.
The mocha and espresso macaroons are yum.
Comment from Swan
Time: April 10, 2008, 1:33 pm
the matcha and pina colada ones are yummy too. price is a little steep for the size. better than bouchon.
Comment from E
Time: April 10, 2008, 4:55 pm
hey, great great suggestion!
Comment from paris221966
Time: April 13, 2008, 7:30 pm
Mmm, sandwiches and macarons look delish-ious :-)
Next time in Manhattan, I’ll check this place out
Comment from athena
Time: April 15, 2008, 1:02 pm
i’m new to midtown lunch, and i have to say thank you so much for this! i work at one penn plaza and appreciate the lunch suggestions over this way. i went to cafe macaron today and got the capri. it was fabulous! i also tried a violet macaron. wow! :-)
Comment from SMDNY
Time: April 16, 2008, 1:39 pm
I went over here today around 12:45 - the line was out the door. The sandwiches coming out looked great and they had a sandwich special that featured crab. I only got dessert - an iced coffee (made with fresh brewed espresso!!!!!!) and some macarons (lemon & pistachio). This is my first time trying macarons, so I wasn’t sure they’d meet the hype, but they really did. They hit all the senses - the colors are fanciful, they are wonderfully fragrant, and have a thin crispy shell that gives in an almost spongey cookie inside. The lemon is a real explosion of lemon flavor, while the pistachio was more subtle. I’m absolutely in love with these cookies.
Comment from looloo
Time: April 23, 2008, 12:00 am
I went over and tried a chocolate macaron - it just didn’t do it for me. The ones at La Maison du Chocolat are the same price (2 bucks for the small one) and are of a much higher quality.
Comment from Katie
Time: May 13, 2008, 3:06 pm
Had lunch here today - the Venezia salad was lovely, and when I sat at one of the couches they brought me a little water jug, a glass of ice, and some bread while i waited. Then there was the orange-blossom macaron for the walk back to work…. my first thought when I bit into it was, I have to get the guy who’s making my wedding cake to taste this! Midtown Lunch, you are the temp’s hero. :-)
Comment from Mandisa
Time: September 15, 2008, 2:32 pm
Oh my goodness. I have been eating the macarons here for a while, but after a friend’s suggestion, I went for a sandwich. I have just had maybe the best lunch I have ever eaten at my desk. The special today was a Duck sandwich with French cornichons and I finished it off with a Creme Brulee macaron, aka the best flavor ever. The Duck was a pate-like consistency, I forget the technical name, but it was so rich and flavorful I can still taste it. I think I’m love with lunch…
Comment from Christian Cerna
Time: November 27, 2008, 1:42 pm
The Macaroons are amazing! They are just as good if not better than La Duree in Paris. They were the hit of our Thanksgiving Party! They are fantastic, and trust…we gays are very hard to please!
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