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The Ten Most Recent Comments By Craig

From Serious Eats: New York

Why Are Egg Creams Always So Disappointing?

After work today, while waiting for some Korean fried chicken at Bonbon, I stopped by Soda Shop for an egg cream. The soda girl grabbed a cup and disappeared off into the back and returned, having filled it half-way with milk. Three pumps of vanilla syrup later, I thought we were off to a pretty good start. Then she hit the seltzer tap- which dripped out a pathetic stream of barely fizzy soda water. I didn't say anything. There was a bit of froth at the top, and she seemed to be satisfied with her creation, so I figured this must be how they make them here. I took a sip and my tongue confirmed what was visually obvious, the egg cream just wasn't fizzy enough. The flavor was good- not too sweet, and full of vanilla goodness. I missed the beautiful head of cream that can be found in the little plastic cup egg creams served at that newspaper stand on Avenue A, reported in Ed's orginal book, New York Eats. Very disappointing. By the way, the fried chicken at Bonbon is NOTHING to go out of your way for. The "spicy" sauce chicken strips tasted more like Frank's Red Hot sauce than anything remotely Asian. The batter was light and crispy, but I was hoping for a more interesting flavor- very boring indeed.

eleCraig at 8:53PM on 07/24/07

Responses to Comments by Craig

From Serious Eats: New York

Why Are Egg Creams Always So Disappointing?

Gem Spa's egg creams were still good as of a year ago, although I agree that drinking it from a take-away cup somehow detracts from the experience. Although they're not the very best I've ever had, they're good enough that I'm always sure to stop for one if I happen to be in the neighborhood.

I got an egg cream at Eisenberg's once and didn't like it--but I love that place otherwise and I'm willing to give 'em the benefit of the doubt and try again next time I'm there. I'll have to try one at Sarge's sometime, too.

I've been making egg creams at home for some time now and I actually prefer mine to any I've been able to buy in recent years. A soda siphon is essential, you can't get it frothy enough using store-bought seltzer. In a 16-oz. glass, I use about 4 oz. of milk and roughly 3 TBL of Kosher-for-Passover U-Bet. (Vary amounts depending on your taste). I add the milk, then the spoon, spritz in the seltzer forcefully till the foam almost reaches the top of the glass, add syrup, follow with one more quick spritz of seltzer, then stir with an up-down paddling motion (keeping the spoon at the bottom of the glass).

Honestly, I think part of the reason most egg creams seem like a letdown (to a greater or lesser extent) is because it's more than just a soft drink, it's a totem of a New York that doesn't really exist anymore. Maybe the disappointment we feel is something more than what seltzer, syrup and milk can fix.

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NewYorkDave at 12:34PM on 10/03/07