For years I’ve been wanting to visit Jean-Marc Chatellier’s bakery in Millvale, but it has always seemed so far out of the way. Under no circumstances in ordinary day-to-day life do I pass anywhere near Millvale. As a result, I’ve come to believe that certain other bakeries have “passable” macarons. I’ve patronized these other bakeries, yearning for the days when I could just jump on the métro and pop into Ladurée. As the years have passed and Paris has gotten further and further away from me, I’ve come to forget how amazing a proper macaron can be.
Memory = jogged.
I’m going to be finding a lot more excuses to go to Millvale, because these macarons… wow. I can no longer pretend that what the other bakeries are serving are real macarons. They might look like the real thing, but now I know better. So far in my quest for a piece of Paris in Pittsburgh, I can say that Jean-Marc Chatellier’s is the only place to get an authentic macaron (though to be fair, I’ve heard that Paris 66 has some amazing ones as well).
But don’t just take my word for it – I’ve tried to get my mom to love the macarons at the other bakeries, but she’s never taken the bait. She’s tried several variations, but historically she just hasn’t been a fan. I met her at Ross Park Mall today and sent her home with one of the salted caramel macarons from Jean-Marc’s. After she got home, she called me and wouldn’t stop gushing about how amazing the salted caramel was. My mom, the macaron skeptic, is now a believer. And now all future trips to my parents’ house are going to be re-routed so I have to go through Millvale, at my mom’s request.
I’m so glad I took the time and effort to go out of my way – it was definitely worth it! 
Yay yay!! I’m so glad you finally tried them. So amazing and definitely comparable to Paris. My favs are the salted caramel and nutella. I personally think they have the best croissants. Ohhh, now you got me craving them!
I got 2 salted caramels (1 was given to my mom), 1 chocolate, 1 nutella, 1 raspberry, and 1 peanut butter & jelly. I’ve taken bites of all of them and so far the chocolate and the salted caramel are my faves. The nutella might be a fave too, but I took that bite after I tasted the raspberry (not the best order of things). Tomorrow I’ll take another bite and see how it goes. All 5 flavors are outstanding, though – not a bad one in the bunch!
PS: Come back and get some and we can grab margaritas again!