Macaroons in Paris and NYC

Lauduree Soho

Paris, France - Paris is remarkable on so many levels.  I love the "River that Runs Through It" - the River Seine, which divides the city up into little arrondissements each so different: artsy, quirky, posh, fashionable - and yet all of the arrondissements are delightfully French.
Twas nearly a decade ago that my college BFF Mary and I wandered around an arrondissement somewhere near the Champ Elysee and found "Lauduree".  We walked in and plopped down onto our individual purple velvet chairs, we were probably tired from an afternoon of walking on Paris's old cobble streets - its very hard on your feet.
We were told by the waiter that "Lauduree" is the most famous maker of the French Macaroon and while they have other foods to eat, we MUST try at least one macaroon.
The theory Mary and I had for ordering food in Paris: "Let us Eat Cake." We really stocked up on sweets and ignored the country's other culinary possibilities.
We had a couple of cups of tea, cafe au lait and warm croissants brought to the table. I'd never had a macaroon and neither had Mary so we ordered an entire garden of fresh French macaroons of every color, flavor and smell.
Just like the scene in Alice and Wonderland when Alice goes for one of those delightful looking cookies that say, "Eat Me", I dove in for a pink macaroon and felt the same sweet mouth watering anticipation that Alice had felt before she became bigger than a house.

Lauduree, Soho

"Delish," I thought.  It was a Rose-flavored macaroon. "Rose," I thought. "That's a flower?" But there, in Paris sitting on that purple velvet chair I learned that flowers are often used as flavoring in sweet treats as well as teas.
For me, the experience at "Lauduree" was transcending and resulted in love for floral-flavored foods. I picked up a purple macaroon, which was flavored with Lilac. Then an orange, which was orange blossom. Wow!
I was hooked.  But there was no where for me to get my fix.  The American palate wasn't ready to hear that flowers could be flavoring. Our Country had barely grown a taste for Nutella (and that's chocolate hazelnut), At the time, it was only sold in specialty stores or smuggled in by college students studying abroad in Italy.
So, I learned to live without it. Savoring the rarities when a tea house would serve "rose-flavored" tea or the time when I bought Orange Blossom scented cologne.  Of course, there were the trips back to Europe where I'd order lavender iced cream and jasmine cookies.
Then I found out that a "Lauduree" opened in NYC. I hadn't had an opportunity to visit until this past weekend.  The "Lauduree" in NYC became a popular place and it looks exactly like the one in Paris.
Its funny how NYC can be like tofu and take on the taste of other cities so easily (because all of the ingredients for NYC are International).
Little Italy, China Town and now Lauduree in Soho and up near Central Park.
It is not the River Seine that splits NYC into its different flavors - we are surrounded by water instead.  Its all of the cultures themselves that make  NYC into what it is - delightfully New York.