The Definitive Las Vegas Macaron Collection

 The first time I saw a French Macaron was this scene, and I thought "WTF is she eating?"  It looked like...Play-doh candy.

As the years went on, it seemed like macarons were only for the upper class.  There was some snooty teenager I followed on tumblr that would post at least one box of macarons per week from some NYC bakery in a designer box.  I started associating them with annoying people without ever having tried one.

Then I heard people I actually respect say they liked them.  I started seeing more pictures.  When I was in Manhattan Beach, I spotted some.

My sister and I decided it was time to try them out.  We bought a Strawberry, Raspberry, Passion Fruit, Chocolate, Lemon, and Pistachio from Manhattan Beach Creamery.  The were perfectly sized for a delicate two bites, and they were nothing like I was expecting.  We also had a salted caramel ice cream there that was to die for, if you ever get to MBC.

I was sold at that moment on macarons.  They were moist and chewy and oh so delicious.  I decided to continue on my search for the perfect macaron in Las Vegas.  We have plenty of amazing places to eat, surely we had a wide variety of dessert places.

Stop #1: Bonjour Bakery

So, I fell in love with Bonjour Bakery the moment we walked in, because it was completely unpretentious.  When the lady answered the phone, she pronounced "Bonjour" with a flat American accent, and I couldn't contain my laughter.  We got this box for around $20 and I liked almost all the flavors.  Lemon was my absolute favorite, but everything else was great too.  I was enamored with these little candy hamburgers.  Maybe there was one out there better.

Stop 2. Patisserie Manon

After a lunch at Cantina Laredo inside Tivoli Village (A whole 'nother blog post), we headed over to Patisserie Manon.  A little more snooty, the place was bigger than it looked on the outside.  The macarons are much bigger, like Hamburgler's Jewish mother made it.  Although I don't know a Jewish mother who uses that much sugar.  They did have mint chocolate chip, which is my absolute favorite.  However, they tasted like mint extract and cavities.  I think I might have slipped into a tiny diabetic coma right after eating them.  And I'm not diabetic. When we left there were a few panhandlers that asked us for change.  Was I becoming the 1%?

Stop 3. Peridot Sweets

Peridot is in a tiny little strip mall, and aesthetically it is really cute.  The guy behind the counter was very friendly, and said that macaron making was actually very difficult.  His looked almost perfect, but sadly I didn't really end up liking their flavor.  I would try them again though, his customer service goes a long way.

Stop 4. Payard Patisserie

Final Stop!  I saved this one for last because it is the most snooty of all the French Bakeries.  This the same place that serves $100 cakes and was in an episode of Sex and the City, so I expected to feel completely overwhelmed.  Although it was a little more subtle with the flavors, it did come in a close second.  However, it was $20 for these 6, and look how many we got for the same amount at Bonjour. 

I think that in the end, Bonjour was my favorite.  However, I think macarons are kind of like sex and pizza; even when they are bad, they are good.

Bonus Stop: Bouchon Bakery

Sadly I don't have any pictures, as I had wrapped this blog post up and had it ready to post when we happened to be inside The Venetian for something else and happened across their tiny little spot outside of the theatre.  I tried a caramel and a rose flavored, and it was very yummy, but very expensive.  About $10 for four.