Thierry
Posted by Degan on August 22nd, 2011
The time in between my macaron lesson at Stuart’s and our honeymoon in Paris was spent sampling macarons from every tea shop and patisserie in Vancouver. I hadn’t quite got around to writing them up yet (but then I haven’t even finished writing about Paris!) and then Thierry opened. Named for chocolatier and pâtissier Thierry Busset, this is the newest restaurant from the Top Table Group. I admit that I’m not the best judge of sweets and sweetshops but I do like a good macaron and I’d been anxious to try one of Thierry’s since I heard word of this opening.
On my first visit on opening day, I got a sandwich and a coffee and took a mixed box of 12 (one of every flavour they had) to go. There were lemon, lime, pistachio, chocolate pistachio, chocolate, coconut, coffee, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, vanilla, some kind of orangy gingery one and passion fruit. The flavours are interesting and perfect – which in my opinion means not too sweet. Matt and I favour pistachio for this reason and so saved them for last but it was the citrus that turned out to be the winners. Both the lemon and lime were tart and “juicy” and fragrant but even the strawberry (usually my least favorite) was subtle and balanced.
The texture on the other hand, was not entirely to my liking. The biscuit was not as crunchy as I would have liked and the filling was so soft that it “gushed” a bit when I bit into it. I thought it was maybe because they were made on opening day but I went back today and was told they were “fresh”. It seems like an odd thing to say but I was considering taking them home and aging them. In my macaron-making lesson, David warned that the cookies needed at least 36 hours for flavours to blend and the biscuit to harden. I’m not sure how long Thierry’s leaves theirs before they put them out but I thought they might do better with a day or two on the counter. Not that I’d be able to save them that long, but there you go.
The macaron flavours listed on their website include strawberry rhubarb and maple and more that I haven’t yet seen in the store so more research is certainly coming.
The shop is well designed for take-out customers, with a large walk-through area and curved dessert counter and both an indoor and outdoor seating area for diners.
I had a grilled vegetable sandwich that I enjoyed and they also have quiche if you’re going for lunch but the real appeal here is that they have a full bar and are open until midnight every evening. With all of the Glowbal Group restaurants and the Hotel Vancouver so close by, they are certain to be a popular spot for dessert and drinks.
