Macaron Day

Yesterday was one of my favorite holidays- Macaron Day! In my opinion, every day should be Macaron Day. New York City celebrates this glorious holiday by mapping out bakeries across the boroughs that give away free macarons in limited quantities between 10 am and 5 pm. At many locations, a portion of the day's macaron sales are donated to City Harvest, a NYC-based food rescue organization that feeds nearly two million New Yorkers each year.

My friend Jo and I raced out of work yesterday afternoon to hit up several of the bakeries on the Macaron Map in the West Village. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived they were all out of the free macarons. Of course, that didn't stop me from buying some! I tried several flavors at Mille-Feuille Bakery Cafe and loved them all. I had never been to that bakery before, so I considered it a successful trip even if we missed their free salted caramel treats!

I am counting down the days until I get to sample macarons across Paris this summer with my mom. I can't wait!

Macaron ice cream sandwiches? Dream come true.

If you know me, you know that macarons and ice cream are two of my favorite things. So it was a dream come true when I discovered that Francois Payard put them together to make the most delicious ice cream sandwich! My friend Sahba and I visited his bakery on West Houston Street and indulged in two of the sandwiches. Sahba tried the chocolate on chocolate and I tried the raspberry-pistachio. The macaron cookies held their texture well and my marbled raspberry sorbet and pistachio ice cream was tasty and refreshing! I can't wait to treat myself to another macaron ice cream sandwich soon!

Macarons make me smile.

It's no secret that I have a serious sweet tooth. My love affair with cupcakes, cookies, donuts, and other confectionaries has reached new heights since I moved to New York ten years ago, and I love trying out bakeries around the city.

For years, I was on a quest for the perfect cupcake. Magnolia Bakery was my first favorite back in 2003 when they only had a little corner shop on Bleeker Street. But once I tried the cakes at Sugar Sweet Sunshine in the Lower East Side, Magnolia was out of the running. Last year I moved on from cupcakes to macarons. I discovered several bakeries around the city that have perfected their macarons- delicate yet crunchy, brightly colored, and filled with amazing creams and fresh fruits. I treated myself to a plate full of cookies this week at La Maison du Macaron, and loved every single bite. I especially enjoyed the pear and port wine macaron and the banana macaron with Nutella filling. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!

Scenes from the weekend.

Indian food with my mom and Brian in Jackson Heights. 

SoHo street style. 

Changing colors downtown. 

Breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien. 

Urban Space Market- Meatpacking District.  

SoBar- So many delicious drinks to choose from. 

Pear, rosemary, and black pepper all-natural soda. 

Highline views from the market. 

Roberta's margarita pizza. 

Spooky decorations in Chelsea Market. 

Picking out our favorite snack cakes from Empire Cake. 

Stocking up on Sabon products in the Bryant Park Holiday Market. 

Grace on Broadway- amazing!

Con Ed preparing for the hurricane in Union Square. Hundreds of trucks were lined up by Sunday afternoon!

Breakfast at Friend of a Farmer. 

A new cat to keep me company from Madewell (Ski Teal You Drop nail color by OPI). 

Upper East Side. 

My first trip to Laduree. 

Decisions, decisions... 

It seems that whenever my mom comes to visit Halloween weekend, crazy weather always comes with her. Last year, it snowed for the first time in October in New York City since the Civil War. This year, Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast with a vengeance. We are hunkered down in Astoria with plenty of food, water, and flashlights, and hoping that we will not be hit as hard as predicted. My mom's flight has been cancelled and rescheduled several times, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that by Wednesday she can safely return to Minnesota before jetting off to Austin to visit my brother and sister-in-law.

Before the storm arrived, we had a wonderful weekend together walking around, shopping, and eating the most delicious foods around the city. While most New Yorkers were stocking up on bread, batteries, and candles Sunday afternoon, we shopped up and down Fifth Avenue and stocked up on macarons at Laduree (with no line!). The sidewalks and stores were eerily quiet all day, a rare sight in a city of millions.

Stay safe East Coasters! Good luck to everyone riding out the storm.