Shake Shack + Macarons

It's no big surprise to anyone who knows me, or follows me on Instagram, that I've basically been eating my way from bakery to bagel shop to pizza place in the month I've been in New York. I know I should eat healthier but there's a lot in my life that's unsettled and overwhelming right now, and trying to overhaul my eating habits while living in someone else's apartment just seems like a losing battle.

Also, there are so many delicious treats I want to try and there isn't much for me to do after work, in the cold and the dark, so I've been spending my time seeking out tasty bites (I'm well aware this is a one-way-ticket to Diabetiss-ville). Generally, I'll decide on a destination — last night it was the Key Bank on 22nd street, which, is the only Key Bank in all of Manhattan (I had checks to deposit) — and then search nearby restaurants and bakeries to make a night of it.

I decided on Shake Shack after noticing that there was barely a line (which is rare), and ordered a single Shack Burger. I had been there once before and waited in an enormous line only to find that I still preferred Swenson's, but I wanted to give it another chance. I'm glad I did, because this time my burger was absolutely delicious. It was melty and gooey and just really, really good. I'm not ready to declare it better than Swenson's, but I'd be willing to say they're currently neck and neck. Incidentally, both are still light years ahead of the stale, almost inedible abomination that was my first In-N-Out experience back in June.

After inhaling my burger (partly because it was that good, partly because I was eating outside and getting cold), I walked down 23rd street to La Maison du Macaron (warning: their site plays music, ugh). I'd never had a macaron before, but after seeing them mentioned and raved about on nearly every single blog I've ever read, I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about.

I got a box of eight ($20!) — (l-r) pistachio, dulce de leche, lemon, chocolate, dark chocolate w/coffee beans, Tahitian vanilla, salted caramel and strawberry— and waited until I was back home to try one. The pistachio was the first one I tried and oh my. Macarons were always a mystery to me and I had no idea what to expect or what they tasted like. After the first bite, I understood the hype completely. It was crispy and fluffy and creamy and unlike anything I'd ever had before. I also ate the chocolate and it was equally as heavenly.

I'm trying to save the last six for the next few days, but there's no guarantees I won't break down and eat them all real soon. The shop was really cute and they had a ton of other, more exotic, flavors that I was too scared to try but I definitely have to go back and be more adventurous in my ordering. I also found out that you need to keep them refrigerated and let them sit for 15 minutes at room temperature before eating them, which was helpful.

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Now, of course, I have to try Ladurée on the Upper East Side to see how they compare. I hear they're more expensive and more crowded than La Maison, but they're as authentic and Parisian as you can get in the US, so it's definitely on my list. I can't believe it's taken me 27 years to try a real macaron, but even now that I have, one mystery remains.

How exactly do you pronounce the word macaron?

Luckily I didn't have to say it in the shop, I just said "I'd like a box of eight" but I'm not even sure how to say it in my head when I read it — mack-a-ron, mack-a-roon, mack-a-rone or something totally different? Even if I knew, I'd probably still always feel like an idiotic American when ordering, especially with all of the fancy, French-sounding flavors to mispronounce.

Taking bets on how long you think I can go before devouring the last six — well, five. I ate the lemon while I was writing this post.