Chocolate Bar Opens in the Village -Classic Egg Creams, too!

Ask someone from outside the Big Apple what an "egg cream" is and you're likely to get a glazed and confused expression. Bit asl any bona-fide New Yorker what an "egg cream" is and s/he will immediately get a happy, glazed look of rememberance.

Egg Creams are one of those things New Yorkers feel define them, liking calling fire hydrants "pumps" and ordering their dogs "one with.." An egg cream is a classic beverage consisting of chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer (soda water), probably dating from the late 19th century. Interestingly, it has neither eggs nor cream in it.

The New York connections? it's associated with Brooklyn, home of its alleged inventor, candy store owner Louis Auster. The traditional flavors for egg creams are vanilla and chocolate, although my personal favorite is coffee, and it can also be made with strawberry or other flavored syrups.

Which brings me to one of the main reasons for this post. It's SO hot, and an egg cream seems like the perfect drink. If you don't know how to re-create this fountain drink at home, "how-to," courtesy of Alison Nelson’s Chocolate, follow.

Alison Nelson's Chocolate Bar is an adult candy/coffee/treat shop featuring sophisticated "sweets and savories" in a relaxed setting. Nelson also has locations in the Fifth Avenue's Henry Bendel (I attended a launch party for this one) and on Long Beach Island. Recently, Alison Nelson's Chocolate Bar celebrated the Grand Opening of its new East Village location at 127 East 7th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A . Yes, egg creams ARE on the menu. If you're hot and tired from too much shopping at Bendel's, too much sun on Long Beach, or simply need a break from the hustle and bustle of City life in the Village, an egg cream is the perfect restorative! If you're sitting at home reading this and you happen to have the ingredients for an egg cream on hand (and you simply can't work up the energy to go to the Chocolate Bar), here's the basic recipe plus one for an espresso egg cream. Normally coffee egg creams use coffee syrup, but this version is more interesting. *note: a real seltzer bottle or seltzer machine will give the best results....the wimpy stuff called "seltzer" in bottles isn't fizzy enough to froth your egg cream properly---it's not the same as the real thing!

Chocolate Bar's Chocolate Egg Cream (16 oz) * yummy photo at the top of post

Squeeze about 2 oz of Fox's U-Bet Chocolate Syrup into a cup
Pour about 6 oz cold whole milk on top of the chocolate
Stir until the chocolate and milk are well mixed
Using a seltzer bottle, shoot 8 oz very cold, very fizzy seltzer water into cup, shooting the last ounce (approx) over the back of a spoon to achieve the classic, foamy white froth on the top of the drink


Chocolate Bar's Espresso Egg Cream

Prepare a chocolate egg cream, as above, except before shooting the last ounce of seltzer over the back of the spoon, add a freshly pulled shot of espresso (ideally a triple ristretto shot of Gimme! Coffee's Leftist Blend).
Shoot some seltzer over the back of the spoon to create the foam layer