Meg and Ross and the Case of the Mockaroon

Ross LOVES macaroons.  No, not the trendy french cookies that are all over the wedding blogosphere.

Fancy Macaroons

It can also be spelled macaron.  They're supposed to be heavenly, but I've never actually tried one.

The ones made of shredded coconut.

Delicious fluffy bites of yum.

There's a Christmas market that sets up around Manchester town centre during the holiday season.  There are all these cute little wooden cottage stalls that sell crafty products and food.  It's really fun and crowded and cheerful feeling.

See- crowded!

(Personal photos)

See- cheerful!  I was dancing to the music of a band playing nearby.

(Personal photo)

One of the stalls sells "The World's Best Macaroons".  They ain't lyin'!  These things are huge and warm out of the oven.  They are light and fluffy and the best thing ever.  They are probably Ross' favourite thing about the Christmas season.

At any rate, he is generally on the hunt for competition to this self-proclaimed "World's Best" of his favourite treat.  There are plenty of crappy ones out there.  Ones that are sticky and hard or too dense.  Many are discounted on sight.

When we were recently in Boston though, we were wandering around the Quincy Market and stumbled across two contenders that merited tasting.  We opted to sample one of the stalls offerings as a pre-dinner snack.  It was very nice.  VERY nice.  Ross and I deemed it a fairly close 2nd in the "Best Macaroon in the World" competition.  

We decided that after we'd eaten dinner we would return to the market and try the other one.  We got very excited about the prospect of three strong contenders in this race.  That's normal, right?  Well we walked and explored the market and then found some place for dinner along the harbour.  It was a lovely night for a stroll.  

After we'd eaten, we headed back to the market, which seemed to still be hoping.  We walked inside and what did we see?

Why would they deprive a pregnant lady of a potentially

delicious macaroon comparing experience?!!?

The second bakery stall was already closed for the night.  Harumph!  It was very upsetting as you can see.  We were forced to go back to the first bakery stall where Ross obtained another macaroon.  I opted to go for a giant oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  Mmmmm.

Well the next day, as we walked The Freedom Trail,

The Freedom Trail as it enters The North End.

(Personal Photo)

we entered Ross' own personal Mecca- The North End (aka Little Italy).  Before we left the area, Ross was planning our next trip to Boston which involves eating at every Italian restaurant in the vicinity.  We guessed it would take about a month.  We noticed lots of people with little white boxes, tied up with string.  We figured it was worth popping into this (apparently very) popular bakery.

As we looked at the offerings, what did we spy but a tray of pretty little white macaroons.  We asked for 4 macaroons and headed outside to eat them.  They felt light and fluffy... promising...  We each took a cookie and bit in.  And they were... not macaroons.  As Ross put it, "These don't taste like they've been anywhere near a coconut."  They were nice I guess.  They were sort of almond/marzipan tasting.  So disappointing!

Ross dubbed them "fake-aroons".  I (in my opinion) one-uped him by declaring that they were, in fact, MOCK-AROONS.  (Am I right?!  So much funnier... Ross still claims that "fakearoon" is better.)

Have you ever gone on a ridiculous quest for something?
Have you ever been thwarted by a baked good?
And most importantly, which is funnier "fakearoon" or "mockaroon"?