La version francaise est ici.Of course you all know the big stars of macaroons in Paris and worldwide, such as La Durée or Pierre Hermé. Just between us, I find the former boring and the latter too rich and too sweet. So I wanted to share with you what, in my opinion, and after careful research, is the best source for chocholate macaroons in Paris.
Grégory Renard's macaroons are wonders of balance. They are designed to be eaten fresh, not kept dried. They put flavours forward, firstly by making them intense and sharp, and secondly by smartly adapting their texture to their taste. Flavours are intense but not excessive or overwhelming, be they the various chocolate ones or, say, apple-cinnamon.
The mastering of textures is even more impressive. My personal favourite, chocolat fleur de sel (yes, salt), has a more melty filling than its black or bitter chocolate counterparts. In your mouth, this onctuous filling becomes support for the explosion of the salt, like on that chocolate tart that Conticini used to offer at Peltier (sigh). At the contact of this semi-liquid mass, the fleur de sel develops it sweet potential, tasting like some sort of dynamic sugar. Dazzling.Renard's macaroons also taste like they have little fat and sugar inside, only what is necessary for the development of flavours. Take this fourth chocolate variation, with orange. The filling is a very firm, sweet orange jam -- almost a pâte de fruit. With the orange zests on the crisp, it is actually more of a orange with chocolate macaroon than the opposite. The retro-olfaction of chocolate is totally in some light continuity of the orange -- it feels like one complex flavour, not two.
Less discretion in the bitter chocolate macaroon, form texture, all chocolate retro-olfaction, intense yet not overwhelming.Renard serves mainly hotels and restaurants, and the stock in his shop is ridiculously small. Go in the morning if you want to be able to pick your flavours, or even to have any at all. There are also wonderful chocolates and caramels and other sweets which I did not taste. Sometimes you are so perfectly happy with what you have that you are not curious anymore. My wife likes that line.
Grégory Renard, 120, rue Saint Dominique, +33 1 47 05 19 17, open Tuesday-Saturday, 10h-19h30.
2 commentaires:
Looking at the photos and reading your description of Gregory's macarons makes me want to drop everything and head right on over, which is exactly what I am going to do after I finish writing this.
I love the chocolate et sel, but the pomme et cannelle is my favorite and I don't think anyone else in town makes it. This afternoon, though, I will try the chocolate and orange which you so deliciously described.
Unfortunately, Gregory is a little off the beaten path so is relatively unknown to tourists and even to Parisians outside of the 7th. Good to know he has a nice hotel and restaraunt clientel.
Good to know.
I am initially from Paris but sadly never tried the Macarons of GR yet. Will give them a try next time I go back to Paris and see how they keep up against those of Fauchon, Hermé, Ladurée. Here in Montreal, those sweets are also becoming very trendy these days but I guess France still holds the secret of that little extra delish macaron enjoyment.
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