Way back in the summer, I had started an obsessive search for macarons but silly me never remembered to state for the record that Pierre Hermé is my absolute favorite place for them.
Traditionalists will always prefer Ladurée but Pierre Hermé ‘s seasonal flavors keep me coming back. In the photo above, we had, clockwise from top: passion fruit and chocolate, apricot, olive oil with vanilla, and jasmine tea.
In the past he’s made macarons flavored with truffles, matcha, foie gras and yuzu. I’m not always going to go for the most adventurous flavors (like ketchup, blech) but it keeps me curious and it’s always good to know there’s a mad scientist working the kitchen.
Pierre Hermé
72 Rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris
01 43 54 47 77
April 15, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Love this. they look amazing!!!!
April 16, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Salted caramel is my absolute favorite and I did try Hermes truffle macaron a few months ago. I gravitate towards the traditional flavors but I prefer Pierre Herme over Laduree… I hear that Herme sells macarons at Selfridges in London so I might need to go for an afternoon walk that way.
my friend who worked at Pierre Herme says they throw hundreds of macarons away – if they aren’t piped perfectly they are trash! Dumpster diving on Bonaparte perhaps?
April 18, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Bettie — They tasted amazing too!
Gastro – My friend in London just had a wasabi-strawberry macaron at the new shop which sounds SO good. And thanks for the good idea — I’d like to start a high-end freegan movement in Paris.
May 15, 2010 at 3:06 am
I’m with you – Pierre Herme are definitely my favorite. I’ll take Laduree as well – but I think for delicate and interesting flavor combos PH has them beat. However, the Laduree vanilla is quite nice. And, i just tried their latest flavor a couple of days ago: mimosa, which was good but quite intense!