Kicked-Up Egg Cream

Author Notes

Growing up on Long Island, in the middle of suburbia, the closest thing that came to a soda fountain was the local Howard Johnsons. I remember three things about the place
(four if you count the orange roof): first, they had all-you-could-eat fried clams on Monday nights; second, they served their hot dogs in top-split rolls, and third, they made a GREAT chocolate egg cream. I had no idea until I was older that the egg cream was a strictly New York thing. Years later, we stopped at a Denny's somewhere in North Carolina while driving to Florida and I asked for one along with my burger plattert. The waitress stared at me and said, "An egg WHAT?" "A choc-o-late egg cream," I replied, making sure I wasn't talking in my usual Manhattan express voice. She looked at me as if I had asked for a fried ostrich sandwich. After some back-and-forthing, I eventually wound up showing the guy behind the counter how to make one. I like to think I left that place a little richer. I still love egg creams, and here's one recent version. - wssmom —wssmom

Test Kitchen Notes

Wssmom's Kicked-Up Egg Cream is an adult version of a classic. The homemade chocolate syrup is not too sweet and the sea salt is a wonderful accompaniment. But, this egg cream also has a little extra something -- chocolate liquor! Velvety and rich, it adds the right amount of kick to a soda fountain favorite. - jvcooks —jvcooks