In May, word went round that Maison Ladurée, the 149-year-old Parisian bakery famous for its macarons, would someday soon open a shop on the Upper East Side. And much to the presumed relief of Francophile pastry addicts, that day is almost here.
LX World reports that Ladurée is scheduled to open its boutique at 864 Madison Avenue on August 22. In addition to its signature macarons and assorted confections and chocolates, it will appeal to its clientele’s rarefied nostrils with scented candles and fragrances.
The boutique will, naturally, be decorated like a private French home, and feature neoclassical gewgaws like plaster medallions and fussy bronze lamps, as well as a room full of expensively upholstered furniture. Its owners eventually plan to open an adjacent tearoom, effectively making the boutique a sort of American Girl Place for the over-12 set.
Macaron proponents will likely insist Ladurée’s opening is further evidence that the delicate sandwich cookies are finally set to displace cupcakes from their saccharin throne. But given that it takes considerably more time, skill , and expense to make an acceptable macaron than a run-of-the-mill cupcake, it’s difficult to imagine macarons attaining supremacy. Still, if anything has a chance at overtaking the cupcake, we’d rather it be macarons than fonuts or früute. [Via Grub Street]