No one could ever accuse Garment District newcomer Macaron Café of inauthenticity; on our first visit to the tiny, brightly lighted shop, we were offered a bowl of the day’s ‘oignon soup’. Then a few days later, the be-ascotted owner asked us if we wanted ‘milk or sucre in our café’. And then yesterday, as Midtown Lunch Zach and I convened for a midday snack, we learned that the day’s special was a healthy eight-grain crêpe with plenty of ‘laitue.’ Yet, this is not a bad thing: When the restaurant’s eponymous pastry is as tricky to get right as is the macaron, the guttural ‘r’ sounds of a sirop-thick French accent are precisely what you want to hear from the staff.

After nibbling our way through more than ten flavors of the shop’s signature item, we’ll go out on a limb and just say it: These are the best and certainly freshest macarons in town right now. Every variety we have tasted possesses its own distinct charms, but our favorites feature flavors that highlight unexpected aromas and sensations, like the rose litchee macaron, a brilliant, iridescent pink meringue disk (pictured in foreground, above) so subtly floral that it elevates and amplifies fundamental flavors of butter and salt in the ganache. Or the cinnamon macaron, with an aromatic zip that makes the crunchy top and bottom layers of the treat postively crackle when it is chewed. At $1.75 for each half-dollar-sized macaron, these are not inexpensive treats, but with dozens of nuanced varieties and hues–enough to make Pantone jealous–they are undoubtedly worth the splurge.

At the same time, the little café, with its range of exquisite $5.50-$6.50 sandwiches is the site of one of Midtown Manhattan’s best lunch bargains. Prepared fresh at the back of the shop, Macaron Café’s French-Italian sandwiches are all made on artisan bread from venerable Hunt’s Point wholesaler, Il Forno, and are big and chunky–some even large enough to share. Seated at the rear of the restaurant, at the tall leatherette bench, Midtown Lunch Zach and I did precisely that, splitting a Capri (pictured right, $5.50) and a Norvegien (pictured below, $6.50) between us. The Capri sandwich, filled with thick rounds of fresh goat cheese, apples, raisins, and toasted pine nuts, was sweet and tangy, with just enough fat from the homemade mayonnaise to bring all the flavors together–this was a sandwich that reminded me of something I might make to take along to a picnic, the kind of lunch that could be carried in a basket for hours and still emerge with a little crunch, hours later. In a more urban context, it is the ideal sandwich to buy and store in your desk until that interminable noontime meeting finally finishes.

The Norvegien, on the other hand, a sultry, smoked salmon and capers sandwich on thick slices of Pugliese-style bread, was the sort of lunch that demanded immediate consumption. We were glad to oblige. While ours was slathered a bit too generously with the pepper and ‘persil’ sauce (parsley–not to be confused with actual Persil), the Norvegien still managed to be the highlight of my day–after all, I am a little bit of a sucker for any sort of savory treat that is served with a big jug of water and a glass of ice. As Zach and I watched the late-lunchtime droves snap up everything, down to the last crumbs of bread, from the shop, we discussed the café’s growing crowds–up at least 50% since my first visit last month–and the imminent changes that will come when the café gets the attention it deserves. And as much as we would both like to keep the place a secret, it is far too good for that. We both suspect the layout of the shop will change to maximize interior space and prices may climb a bit, but as long as the sandwiches remain stellar and the macarons top-notch, I will be perfectly happy to stand in line with the crowds for my déjeuner.

Macaron Café, 161 West 36th Street (near Seventh Avenue), 646-573-5048.