Stop two on Angel and my chocolate quest was Maison Kayser -- the first NYC outpost of a major Paris chain. We should have just come here -- it was great. Unfortunately, I was pretty full from the previous mediocre experience, so I probably didn't get a full appreciation of all that Maison Kayser had to offer. But it should be noted that not only do they have a great selection of chocolatey and other baked wares, but they also have an appealing regular food menu.
We ordered a chocolate mousse, a chocolate madeleine, and a cake with a very complicated name that shed little light as to what it was like.
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| This cake had a name. |
That cake was a highlight. For some reason we assumed it would come out hot, but it was cold. No matter. Very chocolatey, very delicious.
Next up was the mousse. I liked it, but Angel liked it more, noting the high quality and feeling it compared well to other mousses in the city. I think the chocolatey thingies on top had more appeal to her. To me they just sort of interfered with the texture and didn't add much chocolate flavor.
I feel like that paragraph came out a bit too negative on my part. The mousse was very good. Really.
Finally, we had a chocolate madeleine. But we did not get a picture of it, because Angel's camera died. I should probably point out that I might not be qualified to review this madeleine, as I'm not sure I've ever had a madeleine before. In any case, I immediately declared that it was not chocolatey enough. "What are you talking about??" demanded Angel. "This is almost like a brownie!!" "But then," I responded, "why did we not just get a brownie?" So there you have it: very chocolatey for a madeleine, but maybe you should just get a brownie.
Bottom Line: I can see why this is a successful chain in Paris. It is a successful chain in Paris, because it is really good at various different things.
