[atlanta macarons] review: cacao, buckhead

This is a continuing series of reviews on Atlanta's macarons. You can find the other reviews here.

Located off Peachtree St. in the same shopping strip as Fellini's, Cacao's Buckhead location has the same interior care as their Virginia Highlands location. A soft blue wallpaper on the walls with white accents pretty much sums up my dream decor. I also love how the open counter plan allows customers to view all of the offerings freely. While they're known for their chocolates, my eyes went immediately to this giant display of macarons.









Price: $2.00 per macaron

The macaron breakdown:

Vanilla
one of the lightest vanillas I've ever tasted. A really well done vanilla macaron and perfect for those who don’t like the almond syrup flavoring in Laduree’s vanilla macarons.
Pistachio cherry
I hated this flavor the most. I could see where they were trying to go with the pistachio by giving it a twist with the cherry jelly, but this just didn’t work properly. The texture is offputting, and the jelly just didn’t mix well with the cookie. For some reason, I had a pretzel aftertaste.

Raspberry
Not enough sugar in the jelly, but too much sugar in the cookie.

Lavender
One of the more adventurous flavors, and a twist on the famous rose flavor. However, I don’t know if lavender is a good choice as a main flavor. It tastes good as an accent, but I have yet to see it executed well as the prominent flavor.

Tiramisu
Just when I was losing hope on Cacao’s macarons, tiramisu arrived. This flavor is SO GOOD. Something about the cookie didn’t crumble correctly (too hard), but regardless, it’s excellent. Hands down their best flavor.

Lemon
good, but nothing extraordinary.

Dark chocolate
PERFECTION. And this is coming from someone who avoids dark chocolate like carpenter jeans. I want to say that this is the best chocolate macaron I've ever had. Laduree's chocolate always felt a bit too sweet and creamy, and while they use a lighter chocolate, I definitely think that Cacao got this one right by going for a darker flavor. Smoky and understated.

Final verdict: while there were some misses, there were a few definite hits. Cacao is known for its chocolate, and all of their chocolate based macarons are superb. Forgo the other flavors and go for their chocolate and tiramisu.

Cacao Buckhead
2817 Peachtree Rd., NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
(404) 467-4670

Atlanta macarons: Alon's

Continuing from my macaron quest from 2011, I'll be adding more "gay food" to the blog agenda. Part of this stems from my genuine love of macarons, the other part is to feed the glutton in me. Just for the record, yes, I do consume all the macarons in one day. (And at 200-250 per macaron, it can get quite disgusting.)

Alon's Bakery has become an establishment in recent years. It's got an extensive gourmet condiment section, though you should definitely check out prices before doing a supermarket sweep. (The last time I was there, they were selling Illy Coffee for $21.99/can when Fresh Market had them for $13.99. I haven't seen price gouging like this since Katrina.) In addition to their olive oils and specialty mustards, they serve as one of the most popular lunch counters in the city - both locations in the Virginia Highlands and Dunwoody are packed during the weekdays and weekends. 

To be honest, I've only recently spotted their macarons. I suppose I've been skeptical that people in Atlanta could make them correctly. And although this has been my first foray into Atlanta's offerings, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Flavors: vanilla, pistachio, chocolate, raspberry, lemon, and mocha/toffee?

Verdict: My favorite was vanilla, with its slightly floral taste. It had a perfectly creamy center that mixed the right amount of sweet and tart. The biggest disappointment was pistachio, which wasn't nutty enough. The filling reminded me of creme fraiche. So forgettable. The chocolate was too sweet and tasted like cocoa powder, and I wasn't a fan of the mocha/toffee either. The lemon and raspberry were good, but nothing mindblowing. I think those are the two safest flavors to get if you're new to macarons. They tend to taste the most generic anywhere.

Price: $1.99 per macaron

Neighborhood: Garosugil #1

I've been meaning to check out Palette in Garosugil for weeks now but didn't get a chance to until yesterday. Garosugil has become my go-to area lately, which is baffling to me as it's got a lot of characteristics I despise the most in Seoul. It's rather totally charmless with an air of unnecessary pretension. 100% urban planned, it's predictable but easily navigable. It also has some of the best bakeries in Seoul.

Palette is tucked away on a perpendicular street. It's a bit of a hike, and the walk isn't that attractive. Lots of construction is happening around the area, and lots of cars roam around the street with hapless ajummas behind the wheels. That said, the cafe is a great place to take a book or catch up with a friend. Spacious with limited seating means that you're not sharing the table with couple next to you. Although they serve canneles, their main line of business is clearly macarons. Traditional flavors include vanilla, pistachio, and caramel, but they also offer seasonal flavors like cassis, black sesame, and wasabi.






L to R: Passion Choco, Earl Grey, Roseberry, Orange Choco, Cassis, Chocolate.



L to R: Black Sesame, Pistachio, Lemon, Caramel, Roseberry, Cinnamon.



Verdict: the filling in the macarons at Palette had a different texture than the other places, as you can see from the photo. Overall, I found passion choco and lemon the best flavors. The flavors I enjoyed the least were black sesame (though I can see this being popular with Korean taste buds, as the flavor is really similar to the sesame seeds - nutty and creamy) and chocolate (too sweet). The earl grey had too strong hints of chocolate. I also had an issue with the softness of the macarons. A part of me is suspicious that these weren't made the same day, as they felt a little less fresh.

Price: 24,000 for 12 pack (also sold in 6 and 15 packs)

How to get there: take line 3 to Sinsa Station (신사역) and use exit #8. Walk straight until you see the phone shop and turn onto Garosugil (가로수길). Walk straight and take a left at the 2nd Starbucks. Walk straight down this road for approx. 5 minutes. Palette will be on your left. (Next to a 7Eleven, I think.)

Neighborhood: Hongdae #4

I've decided to take on a new project. Since there is a dearth of macarons in Atlanta, I'm going to have my fill while I'm in Seoul by trying them all. By the time I leave, I will have a ranking of the best macarons in Seoul, as well as directions to the cafes and bakeries that sell them. In my research thus far, the macarons seem to be mainly concentrated south of the river, in Sinsadong, mostly. However, there are two places in Hongdae that serve them.

I stopped by Le Petit Four this afternoon on my way home. The space is small with around 8 tables. It also tends to be really crowded in the afternoons. But the macarons and desserts aren't lacking. They had a full case of macarons, and a half filled case of other desserts not photographed because I'm in the market for macarons and macarons only.

The cafe is run by chef Kim Dae Hyun who has an extensive resume that mostly takes place in Europe. After studying at the Paul Bocuse Institute, he's worked in Paris and Vienna before bringing his skills back to Seoul. And these skills are quite refined, indeed. The cafe may lack in the appealing decor that I've come to expect from Seoul cafes, but it definitely does not lack in taste.








First row: Multi-vitamin, orange creme, Boutiy (coconut cream)
Second row: Macaron Melba, pistachio creme, lemon & ginger cream
Third row: Cognac, vanilla creme, chestnut? 

Verdict: The macarons didn't crumble very easily. They were less delicate than I expected and some were a bit chewy. The flavors, however, were absolutely perfect. Not too sweet, not too strong, just light and delightful. Except for the pistachio creme. I thought that was awful, which is unfortunate, because it's the classic macaron flavor. Best flavors for me were the multi-vitamin (raspberry flavors), vanilla creme, and cognac. The cognac macaron blew me away. Alcohol flavored macarons is a well married idea.

Price: 18,100 for a pack of 9.

How to get there: take subway to Hongdae Univ. (홍대입구) on the green line. Take exit #9 (the old exit #5). Go straight for one block. Make a left at the Citi Bank. Go straight, walk up the hill, pass the Starbucks until you get to this two storied building filled with restaurants. Le Petit Four is on the 2nd floor, next to a Japanese ramun shop.