Have you ever had those moments where you wake up well rested a little ahead of schedule and you get a few extra minutes in a steamy shower? For me, those mornings are few and far between, so when it happened this morning it made a world of a difference. I knew it was going to be a great day the moment I found myself drawing smiley faces on the fogged over mirror with my finger. Taking a few sips from my cup of coffee and pondering over what I would be blogging about, I looked outside unto a gray sky with rain drops bouncing off the deck as they hit. It was cool and I thought to myself many may think of it as being a gloomy sort of day, but not me, not today anyways. Between the weather and quite possibly the French Vanilla creamer I had put in my coffee, I was inspired…… PARIS baby!
My dear friend Bootsie was always telling me about a terrific little Parisian Bakery in Downtown Columbus, OH. Not being well versed in his pastry and dessert names, he simply would say “They have some really colorful cookies that are to die for!” To find out he was told by a friend who was told by a friend who had been to Paris several times and they said “they” were awesome and just like the ones in Paris. Impressed that Bootsie had even been to this place, I wanted to try it myself for quite some time. In my French state of mind, today was the day and I grabbed my beret and set off to Columbus, Ohio.
Pistacia Vera the dessert boutique is located in gorgeous German Village- Columbus. They make all of the yummy goodness on sight, by hand and offer what is considered to be the best coffee & espresso in the town according to their website and happy consumers. So what are “they” you ask? Based off of Bootsie’s description, I should have guessed; "they" are in fact Parisian Macarons!
Anyone, whom is anyone that knows something about macarons, knows that an authentic macaron is:
A.) Spelled Macaron not Macaroon
B.) Very difficult to bake/ difficult to make aesthetically pleasing/ difficult to achieve the correct texture
C.) Tend to be pricey due to a variety of quality ingredients
However even if you aren’t somebody that knows something about macarons, your mouth will know a good one form a bad one, trust me I’m a chef....(chuckling at my own joke)
Pistacia Vera offers 12 signature flavors, and in true Chef FeFe spirit I can’t make the trip without sampling the fare.. all the fare. In my defense I am blogging for the people ;) All are quite tasty in their own way but my faves are the vanilla bean, lemon matcha, key lime and rose water (not a signature). The vanilla bean is very traditional and is a common macaron flavor; my borrowed philosophy: if it’s not broke don’t fix it. Having a love for citrus flavored desserts and dishes the lemon matcha is a natural like for me; It’s refreshing and delicious. A key lime macaron plays with my mind and makes me feel as if I caught some rays in the keys and grabbed a flight at Marathon Airport and flew to Paris.. Oh the life I live (in my mind). Lastly the rosewater macaron (which I don’t believe is always available), is quite lovely. If I was ever asked the random question: Fe, if you were a pastry what would you be and why?” (‘Cause that happens in real life ;) ) I would say I would be a rosewater macaron because we are both beautiful contradictions of ourselves. To even the most qualified individuals we can be incredibly difficult and complex with an airy and crunchy exterior with a delightfully simple infused flavor soft interior.. hence the beautiful contradiction.
Pistacia Vera has a beautiful store front, café style tables with marble tops are scattered inside the small showroom. The smell of quality café au lait and espresso filled the air and my eyes were tantalized by the glass case displays. The staff was kind and smiling and I got a real sense of baker's satisfaction. When I purchased my yummy delightfullness they packaged it in a gorgeous ribboned box and placed it in a bag. Another of my favorite things about the bakery is that there are several places the you can see the bakers at work; one being while positioned at the register (on your vist be sure to buy something that takes a while to package ;)) as well as outside on the left side of the building.... you can peek through windows. I recommend if you are ever in the Columbus area stop by and visit this fantastic German Village jewel. Otherwise you can order off the company’s website:
So, the story continues- I tried them and now I am telling you “they” ARE amazing macarons, but not just any macaron’s the best macaron’s I have ever tried stateside. So much so that My Parisian Palate says: “Je voudrais avoir un peu plus s'il vous plaît.”
Pistacia Vera receives 5 out of 5 Knives and Forks:
0 comments:
Post a Comment