{"id":12504,"date":"2018-08-09T10:00:27","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T14:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=12504"},"modified":"2018-08-14T12:41:49","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T16:41:49","slug":"mac-moon-brings-vegan-macarons-to-new-orleans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2018\/08\/09\/mac-moon-brings-vegan-macarons-to-new-orleans\/","title":{"rendered":"Mac &#038; Moon Brings Vegan Macarons to New Orleans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mac-moon-stand.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mac-moon-stand-300x208.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mac-moon-stand-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mac-moon-stand.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nBy Keryl Cryer<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve watched enough baking competition shows to know that it\u2019s hard to perfect French macarons \u2013 those round, meringue-like, and often brightly colored sandwich cookies served at bridal showers and tea parties. Now, imagine what it must take to develop comparable vegan and gluten-free versions. Not only has Mac &#038; Moon conquered this remarkable culinary feat, but its \u2018karmacarons\u2019 are gaining momentum in notoriously decadent but historically vegan-inhospitable New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p>On a recent trip home, I visited the upscale Auction House Market food court and made my way to Mac &#038; Moon\u2019s counter against the far wall. Within a glass display case, I discovered a pastel confectionary rainbow, with salmon-hued Strawberry Cheesecake, golden Champagne, viridescent Matcha, and delicate Lavender. Not surprisingly, it was difficult to limit my selection to the half a dozen that packed my purple takeout box.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mac-moon-shelves.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mac-moon-shelves-300x138.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12506\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mac-moon-shelves-300x138.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mac-moon-shelves.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nMy favorite varieties were the Mojito, with its vibrant lime filling, and the Cherry Pie, which had a prominent fruit flavor and a drizzle of white icing on top for a finishing touch. Still, there was not a bad variety in the bunch. The Tangerine Dream delivered a refreshing citrus burst, while white nonpareils and a festive blue filling livened up the Birthday Cake. The Cookies &#038; Cream was notable for its prominent vanilla flavor and cookie-flecked filling. Even the pale blue Plain Jane was patently delicious. Maybe the next time I\u2019m in town, I can sample other recipes featured on Mac &#038; Moon\u2019s Instagram, such as Red Velvet Cake, Lemon Blueberry Basil, Hibiscus, and the recently added Chocolate Caramel Pretzel.<\/p>\n<p>A word of caution for those with nut allergies. Like many other macarons, all of Mac &#038; Moon\u2019s varieties are made with almond meal. That doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t indulge there, though! Mac &#038; Moon offers ample nut-free options, all of which are vegan and gluten-free. If you need to cool off from that infamous NOLA humidity, you can choose among milkshakes, frozen teas and lemonades, and jasmine rose bubble tea. Mac &#038; Moon has also embraced crazes like rolled ice cream and bubble waffles, both of which contribute to endless combinations of sweet possibilities.<\/p>\n<p>Mac &#038; Moon\u2019s home, the Auction House Market, is conveniently located on the corner of Magazine and Julia Streets in the Arts District (formerly the Warehouse District). It is mere blocks of the National WW II Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Louisiana Children\u2019s Museum. (It\u2019s also only one block from my favorite vegan-friendly Big Easy eatery, Carmo.) In addition, it is only a short streetcar or taxi ride from the Superdome, the French Quarter, and many downtown hotels.<\/p>\n<p>While the Auction House Market is open from breakfast to late night, Mac &#038; Moon\u2019s hours are more limited. You may want to contact Mac &#038; Moon\u2019s owner, Kristina Ostrom, at 504-323-9727 or <a href=\"mailto:macandmoonnola@gmail.com\">macandmoonnola@gmail.com<\/a> about that day\u2019s hours, as well as questions about wholesale orders and catering.<br \/>\nAlso see: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/macandmoon\/\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/macandmoon\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Keryl Cryer I\u2019ve watched enough baking competition shows to know that it\u2019s hard to perfect French macarons \u2013 those round, meringue-like, and often brightly colored sandwich cookies served at bridal showers and tea parties. Now, imagine what it must take to develop comparable vegan and gluten-free versions. Not only has Mac &#038; Moon conquered [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12504"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12530,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12504\/revisions\/12530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}