Working my way through this list of places to get macarons in L.A., I finally made it to Boule. I only purchased three flavors here, after having purchased a whole box at Paulette; I realized that it was a risk to buy macarons at a new place, and at $2 per cookie, I felt it prudent to spend less than $10. Yes, prudence applied to a decadent purchase!
I feel that I was wise to choose just these three; I enjoyed the fresh flavors of the rose, caramel, and pistachio, and the colors were much more natural than Paulette. The rose is topped with a sugared piece of rose petal, the caramel was an interesting burnt sugar flavor, and the pistachio was nice.
The delicate macaron texture, however, was lacking. I'm afraid I'll sound picky and pretentious, but these were disappointing. Not as bad as the super chewy ones I had at Paulette, just a little too stiff. I wish I had taken a picture of one after I had taken a bite of it, because a profile shot would show what exactly was disappointing about it: once bitten, the outer layer of cookie remained firm in shape while the inner portion of the cookie sort of collapsed around the filling - imagine a pocket of air under a thin shell on the outside. I can't help but contrast these to those I purchased at Pierre Hermé; PH's macarons were so tender and delicate that they got crushed just a bit when I carried them in a bag for about 10 minutes, while Boule's were in a bag for even longer but didn't have a single dent in them (see above). To me, that is a sign of an overly stiff macaron. What is the point of buying the most delicate cookie in existence if it's not delicate?
So, my favorite L.A. macaron remains that from Europane, with the macaron ice cream sandwiches at Milk a close second. Then again, I'm no expert, so try it yourself and tell me what you think!
Boule
408 La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
310.289.9977
(alternate location in Beverly Hills)
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