AHHH...the EGG CREAM SODA!

I was recently watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" on tv. Anthony was in Manhattan, enjoying the slowly disappearing culinary experiences in that part of NYC ... ah, progress...out with the old (regrettably), in with the new...but I digress...the point of this is the Egg Cream Soda...a staple of the whole NY experience.

I started enjoying my own freshly whipped up egg creams this summer, they being a really great thirst quencher! It seemed whenever we'd find ourselves in Vegas (Rods job took us there often those years of 2006 - 2008), I'd make it a point to visit NY NY Hotel and Casino just for this delectable little beverage alone! Altho a stacked pastrami on rye would always magically find its way onto my tray as well. One can find it in the "re-created" streets of Manhatten just off the Casino area, in a little deli cafe that serves them both...they aren't bad either, considering you are basically in an artificial environment LOL. AND get this, contrary to what one would think, there IS no egg in this concoction. But it is simply the most delicious and thirst quenching of beverages.

A bit of history ~ the old-time New York thirst-quencher is sweet and full of fizz. In the beginning, it was a soda produced almost exclusively in New York (particularly Brooklyn). The basic ingredients are milk, seltzer, and chocolate syrup. It is traditionally made in a small Coke-style glass.
True New Yorkers insist that it is not a classic egg cream without Fox's U-Bet Chocolate Syrup (I have to use Hersheys, but still, pretty darned good!). It is perfectly proper to gulp down an egg cream. In fact, egg cream will lose its head and become flat if it is not enjoyed immediately. I often whip one up in my own little kitchen, and savor the frothy beverage when the temperatures climb. Try one! You start by putting about an inch of milk into a glass. Then add a little seltzer. Now pour in some chocolate syrup. Make it heavy or cheap, its your drink. After stirring this mixture with a spoon until all the chocolate is well blended add seltzer to the mix to make up about ¾ the glasses volume...the foam will quickly fill the glass...make sure your seltzer is fresh for the desired effect, the coveted foam! ENJOY!