Yesterday, we visited with Bert's oldest brother and his family in Aliso Viejo. The original plan was to hang out at the beach and shops in San Clemente, but if you may recall, the weather was a bit chilly and glooomy. Therefore, those plans were shelved and Bert, his bro and the kids went to these posh facilities to swim while my sis in law and I went on what I called "a dessert adventure".
Thank goodness she was willing to go along with my nefarious plans!
First up on my list was a place that she actually knew of...
and it was only a few minutes away from their house!
So off we went for the first stop of our sugar filled day...
I actually looked up different macaron places in the OC literally the minute before we left the house. This place, ROCQ Cafe was one of them (that article listed at the end of this post). It's a small French cafe located in a not so picturesque business/office complex. It's pretty cozy inside and it's decorated with fake grass (turf on the walls and hanging grass balls).
Cafe owner and Chef Eddy Rocq is also quite in demand with his macarons being sold at local Whole Foods stores. He recently opened up a commercial kitchen to boost the production of his macarons which my SIL raves about.
The chef and his wife own this charming cafe which offers classic French bistro food as you can see by the following menu boards.
However, we were not there to eat brunch or lunch. We had our eyes set on one thing only....
Yes, macarons, the pampered rock stars of the pastry world!
They have so many different flavors to choose from. It was so difficult to decide that I ended up getting one dozen!
I also got a couple for us to share while we were there, the hazelnut and the pistachio, which was heart shaped AND dipped in chocolate! Wow!
The macarons are $1.60 each. That pretty pink box? Gulp - I didn't realize it was $2 until I checked my receipt! But in looking back, it was better for them to be encased in that box than dumped into a bag or tumbled en masse in a plastic clamshell container.
I liked that this one was heart shaped! The dark chocolate dipped half was also quite nice!
My SIL's hazelnut which had bits of the real thing on the delicate shells...
The gal working the counter pointed out a larger macaron that had fresh raspberries surrounding the circumference. It looked so pretty, but we weren't in the mood to eat a large macaron, as pretty as it looked. You can see those macarons in the background of this "list photo". I had to write down which flavors I wanted to make it easier for the girl.
The $2 box. Yikes.
I liked how the tray slides out...
These were taken today, the macaron photoshoot!
We will probably eat these tomorrow - at least half of them.
Black Currant:
Peach Mango:
Chestnut - Bert and I had this today. I wanted to eat the chocolate dipped ones because they were "messing up" the inside of the box.This was really good. Very delicate with a light crackle when you bite and a delicious soft center.
Green Tea:
Peanut Butter:
Pineapple - I'm not sure what the little black specks are though. I'll find out soon enough.
Pistachio - Since I already had one yesterday, this was mainly for Bert. He really liked the thick dark chocolate coating as well as the crushed pistachios on each half.
Passionfruit - this was so pretty. I wonder if they airbrush the colors on?
Praline - This is one of my SIL's favorites. I like the praline bits on the outer edges. That's a nice touch.
Blood Orange:
Banana:
Green Apple:
Here's a few last looks at the dirty dozen...
We'll have to make a return visit to try their food in the near future!
It turns out that I selected their limited edition "summer flavors" which included pineapple, banana, blood orange, and green apple. I didn't know this until after I looked up some information online.
They also had a lavender and grey shelled macaron but I didn't get it because it was lavender flavor. Ugh, I really dislike floral tasting dessert.
ROCQ Cafe
22722 Lambert St., Suite 1702
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 916-0722
www.rocqcatering.com
www.rocqmacarons.com
Reviews:
that four lettered site plus tripadvisor
Articles:
"Rocq Cafe is on a lunchtime roll" - OC Register (April 12, 2012)
"Rocq's macarons rock with customers and retailers" - OC Register (August 23, 2012)
"French cookies spur expansion" - OC Register (March 23, 2013)
"Rocq Cafe: The home of matchless macarons" - The Washington Times Communities (April 11, 2013)
"OC Macaron Tour - Best Macarons in Orange County" - Cake & Couture (April 20, 2013)
"Rocq Cafe brings the best of Parisian Casual cafes..." - Examiner.com (July 8, 2013)
Our next stop would be one of my favorite macaron places in nearby Irvine. Although I'd been there a few times already, my SIL hadn't and of course, that was a good excuse to make a return trip!
4 comments:
OMG - i loved your post! Those pics were awesome - I don't love macaroons as much so I'd never have the chance to try out all those flavors so it's nice to see your descriptions of 'em.
But yeah - $2/box - dang man.
Thanks Faye. I'm looking forward to trying these as well.
One thing, they are called "macarons" (with one "o") and are pronounced differently as well. The macaroons are the coconut sweets.
Oh my goodness, look at those babies! I love the color on the blood orange one. They have some interesting summer flavors, this sounds like a place I'd like to try just for the macarons, too! What's with having to pay for boxes, sheesh. I can see that it's worth it, but still.... ugh. Is this some kind of OC thing? haha
hi mary - i didn't realize the box was $2 until after i checked my receipt. in the future, i will bring my own tupperware here, dammit, ha ha.
yeah, those oc folks. first the hipster doughnut place (sidecar), now this place. fk that man.
the flavors were interesting. of the four places i went that day (te 4th one hasn't been posted yet), i liked these the best!
i didn't think apple would be a 'summer' flavor though.
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