Macarons in OC, Good enough to transcend faddism... SOME of 'em

[Priscilla]

French macarons, the meringue-shell sandwich cookie, are all but inescapable in recent times. This is OK, and is even a good thing, WHEN the product in question is good. But macarons are a harsh mistress, and are often, well, ungood.

That said, there are OC macarons that are definitely worth eating, IF you like that sort of sugary, meringuey, slightly sticky sort of thing. And plenty of people seem to, God knows.

Among the ones available in OC, only one has even come close to the Platonic ideal, the macaron at macaron ground zero, the pre-multiple locations, pre-Pierre Hermes (though he came along soon after, and expanded the flavor range) Ladur?e in Paris. The original Ladur?e on Rue Royale, to some (a some that includes me and Ivan) the ONLY, is where this most Parisian of confections originated.

(A side effect of the macaron craze is the overshadowment of the lots of other good things Ladur?e has to offer, savory as well as sweet?a story for another time.)

I featured three OC macaron makers on the Nibbles & Bits food page of Orange Coast Magazine back in June 2011, and one of them is the aforementioned Ladur?e-esque quality. (Instructions for purchasing a digi copy of that issue of the mag, for those so inclined, are included in a link at the bottom of that page.)

Read on for details on the three.

And please, add your own OC macaron sources and stories. I wonder if there are some I didn't turn up, or some that have popped up (a little meringue humor) since.

[Priscilla]

Well, let's start at the top. In this case, the veryveryveryvery tippy-top, not to say towering over the also-rans.

Yes, the macarons from Le Bon Go?ter in Irvine I found in the course of research are that much better than anything else available in OC. You might already agree, if you've had macarons from any of the many fine food purveyors that sell the products of this fine wholesale p?tissier, a list that includes pretty much ALL the biggest names in OC.

All natural, down to the colors (chef-owner Edouard Vicqueneau brings in the food coloring from France himself), something that is unusual enough in the world of macarons, but of course the proof's in the pud and the quality is there. One of the few, OK only, macarons you'll taste, no matter which flavor you choose, that actual fruit and food products have been use to flavor. And wow but does that show.

If you are macaron consumers like we are, which is to say, desultory and non-fanatical, you'll want to hold out for Le Bon Go?ter rather than waste calories on a lesser-quality indulgence.

[Priscilla]

A great little neighborhood bakery in Irvine, Layer Cake Bakery appears to make most of its business on the cakes of its eponymous name, but has lots of other stuff as well.

But it was macaron research that turned them up for me, for the Three's a Trend in Orange Coast.

Layer Cake's macarons, in myriad colors and flavors, are very good-looking, if a little taller and more "hamburgery" looking than the classic. The flavor range is startlingly large, and many are in the lurid colors that unfortunately typify many modern macarons. We've found them a little too unsubstantial, meringue-wise, but the fillings are often very good, ganache and preserves in various matching or complementary flavors.

[Priscilla]

And now for a mild elegy.

Caf? Blanc, another of the three from my June 2011 Three's a Trend, has closed.

A Franco-Japanese bakery with precise, pretty things in the case, Caf? Blanc's macarons were actually very good. Not tooth-achingly sweet, and with a real burst of flavor. I especially like the green tea macaron, but then my tea fanaticism makes me predisposed to the whole family of Japanese matcha-flavored this & that. The texture was also good, though, not hamburgerishly tall, but thin, crisp, elegant.

Hope that clearly talented baker landed somewhere worthy.

[Priscilla]

Any others? I know I have a couple more up my sleeve (a little macaron humor, again) that I didn't put in the June mag.

[Priscilla]

Thinking on macarons reminded me to start a topic about Louise Chien's Sweet Lilikoi Patisserie.

Her macarons are lovely and delicious, available at the Saturday Old Towne Orange Farmers Market and some restaurants and coffee houses around town.

But there remain yet other OC macarons!

[Priscilla]

Macaron contender has surfaced. About which more later.

[Priscilla]

The very best kind of twofer?a French-chef owned caf? with fantastic macarons. (And right in Lake Forest!) These are the macarons Williams-Sonoma chose for its own?IMAGINE how many macarons they tasted and tested before settling on one?! A LOT! And after you taste chef Rocq's you'll understand why... they are SO GOOD, even if macarons aren't your fave treat. So flavorful, and with none of the tooth-aching sugaryness afflicting lesser macarons.

I wrote up Rocq Caf? in Taste of Orange County?and it's not ALL about macarons... the food's great, too.

Rocq Caf? in Lake Forest?Casual, Fresh, French... All That, and Macarons, Too