A Little Bit of Brooklyn

Recently I had one of my childhood bff's swing by for a brief visit before Thanksgiving. He always seems to visit during the shoulder season when not a whole lot is going on and I can never figure out what to do with him, not that it really matters because no matter what, there is always laughter.

This time was no exception. After meeting for lunch in Lake Placid we headed back to my house and I showed him the two additions to our home in the last year, saloon doors and the Soda Stream. Many of my friends own a Soda Stream and share the love of the seltzer, but if like Phil you have been hiding under a rock, you must watch this:

He immediately wanted a demonstration and after his first few sips he suggested we make egg creams. I had never tasted an egg cream before and he informed me that it contains neither eggs or cream. All we needed was the Soda Stream to make our soda water, milk, and chocolate syrup to create the fizzy beverage.

Although the fountain drink is highly associated with Brooklyn, you can make it anywhere, even along the Au Sable. His father was from the Bronx and that never stopped him from treating his kids to an old fashioned egg cream.

Phil was in charge of mixing the drink for us and used the following recipe: equal parts milk and seltzer (about 1/2 cup each) and three big squeezes of chocolate syrup. He tested it out before serving it.

When I asked him what the verdict was, he said, "It's not the best thing in the world." Drew said, "sure, sure." After a couple more gulps it turned into, "yeah, good." Always an optimist and not wanting to hurt Sal the Soda Stream's feelings, I thought it was okay but it would probably have been better if we weren't using 1% milk and tap water. Or maybe, just maybe we needed to follow a previously tested recipe? Phil admitted that he remembers feeling obligated as a kid to liking egg creams because it was considered a treat.

Bad egg cream or good, it's always a treat to see my pal Phil.