Bouchon Bakery's Macarons

If you haven’t been to Bouchon Bakery before, you must stop by next time you’re nearby.  They have 5 locations in the United States: two in California (Yountville and Beverly Hills), two in New York City, and one in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Although Bouchon Bakery is known for their breads, pastries, and confections they also have a full espresso bar as well as a café menu with sandwiches, salads, and quiche to make lunch on-the-go easy. 

One of my favorite confections from Bouchon Bakery is their macarons.  Macarons are soft, chewy meringue cookies made with ground almonds and sandwiched together with rich, velvety Swiss meringue buttercream.  The last time I visited, I bought one of each of their espresso, raspberry, and vanilla macarons as well as their seasonal flavor, which at the time was a malted chocolate macaron. 

I also tried their version of the San Francisco born classic: the ho-ho.  This Bouchon version of the ho-ho was composed of a chocolate cake rolled with Chantilly cream and covered in a rich chocolate shell.  Their ho-ho was delicious, but it’s a dessert that you definitely want with some milk. 

Dessert at Hawks Restaurant: The Hawks Bar

If you’re ever in Northern California, try Hawks Restaurant in Granite Bay.  Hawks is an upscale restaurant that has menus that vary with the season.  I recommend that you make a reservation though, as they can get booked completely.  When I ate there for lunch over the winter, I had their rich, creamy puree of wild mushroom soup with sherry gastrique and fried shallots.  For the main course, I shared their buttermilk fried chicken, which was nice and crispy without being greasy, along with house-made macaroni and cheese.  Both courses were delicious! 

At Hawks Restaurant, their dessert menu changes seasonally as well.  However, one constant dessert is this Hawks Bar.    The Hawks bar starts with a rich chocolate brownie base.  Next is a chewy caramel layer and above that is a crisp caramelized rice crispy layer.  Pastry cream is piped on top and resting gently on the pastry cream is a thin layer of dark chocolate.  Served alongside the Hawks bar is house-made Valrhona cocoa nib gelato.  This was probably one of the best desserts I’ve ever had!  And don’t forget to accompany this with their café au lait!

Dessert at Bardessono: S'mores

If you’re ever in the Napa Valley, try Lucy Restaurant & Bar at Bardessono, a luxury hotel and spa in Yountville, California.  While I was there, I tried their dessert, which was a twist on the classic S'mores.  The S’mores plate presentation is simple, yet elegant.  Rich chocolate sauce is drizzled across the plate.  The base of the S’mores is a rich chocolate torte (tasting almost like a flourless chocolate cake) topped with marshmallow gelato that was gently torched before serving.  Resting against the toasted marshmallow gelato is a house-made graham cracker (and probably one of the best graham crackers I’ve ever had).  To the left is Lucy Restaurant’s peanut butter powder.  The peanut butter powder melted in your mouth, leaving the soft taste of peanuts.  This dessert was perfect paired with their café latte.