Happy Saint Patrick’s Day everyone!
Sure St Paddy’s is fun, but honestly I’m mostly indifferent to the holiday. I’m not Irish. Alcohol isn’t my vice. Sugar is! Which leads me to the “holiday” this week which I am insanely excited for: Thursday March 20th is Macaron Day!
You’ve never heard of it, you say? You didn’t experience Macaron Day 2013 with me last year? Well, let me tell you all about it!
MACARON DAY MEANS FREE COOKIES!! Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, I got excited. I’m like Cookie Monster about this event.
Before we get to the free cookies part, allow some exposé-
Macaron Day is a celebration of a delicious french cookie, called a macaron. A day that celebrates a cookie, how awesome is that? If you’ve never had a macaron, let me be grossly cliché and tell you it’s a little bite of heaven. Seriously, the texture is unlike anything else. The tiniest bit of crunch, a hint of chewy, light and airy, two outer cookies sandwiching sweet jam or ganache. (My mouth is watering as I type.) Made in more flavors than you can imagine. They are the pride of the french and impossible to adequately describe. You must try one for yourself .
Which is what Macaron Day is all about! Over twenty bakeries throughout New York City are giving away, that means FOR FREE, their prized macarons all day this Thursday. These cookies retail around $3 each, this is no small give-away. Today while the irish are pub crawling, I will map out my macaron crawl. Macarondaynyc.com has a map off all participating locations. They are concentrated in two areas: on 59th Street, Columbus Circle to Park Avenue and the West Village near Washington Square Park. It’s really easy to chart your route and currently Thursday’s weather looks perfect for walking: 54° and sunny.
Francois Payard brought Macaron Day to NYC in 2010, this is the 5th year of celebration! I only found out about it last year and was shocked I’d missed it for 3 years. I don’t want you to miss it, because really I had so much fun last year. Not just stuffing my face, though that was certainly enjoyable. It is so fun to visit the bakeries, they have an air of festivity, and even meet pastry chefs.
Instead of saying “Trick or Treat”, tell the bakery that you’re there for Macaron Day. That’s all it takes to get a little bite of heaven! If you buy any macarons after trying your free one, a portion of the proceeds go to City Harvest. Good deeds!
So get a couple friends and try to stop by one of the participating bakeries on Thursday! It is while supplies last, so go early if you can. That’s my plan- I’ll let you know how it goes- I’ll be live tweeting #MacaronDayNYC @NewYorkCliche. Are you as excited as I am? Maybe our paths will cross!
If you don’t live in NYC…come visit! If that’s impossible, badger your local baker to celebrate Macaron Day. Tell him all the chic kids are doing it- there are other metropolitan cities participating. If that doesn’t work, make your own! Bon appétit!
You’ve got me. You can’t go wrong with a holiday based on cookies.
There should be a least one cookie holiday a month. April can have Biscotti Day!
Love it, love macarons! Wish I could be there on Thursday too.
Warning: ‘macaron’ also refers to those round parking permits used in some French-speaking countries. Do not eat them!
What? No way! What a fun fact, thanks for sharing! And even if you can’t be hear tomorrow, if you feel the urge to eat a macaron, I hope you can eat one in celebration
and when I said “macaron” there, I did mean the cookie!
I’ll have to check to see if Dean & Deluca and Bouchon are celebrating it (since they have sister locations in NYC that I think do celebrate). I’m glad I found out what day it is this year, those delightful cookies break my bank but love on my taste buds 😛
Bouchon definitely celebrates in NYC, went last year and their macs were my #2 fave 🙂 don’t believe D&D participates here. Crossing my fingers you can enjoy Macaron Day out west, sil vous plait!
Not yet, it seems. Maybe I should write and ask 🙂 you’d think they’d do it here! 🙂