Egg Creme or Egg Cream

No egg, no cream.

Thanks to my father, a native New Yorker, I have had the rare Midwestern privelege of growing up with the egg creme. I haven't seen them much around these parts. In high school, my friend Jen had ballet classes once a week in Chicago in the evening. As her friend, who was free from the shackles of any such talent, I would accompany her to the city and roam around downtown until she was finished with class. It was then I discovered that egg cremes were sold at a little place deep in the Roosevelt Metra train station. But other than that, my only experience with it has been at my own house (outside of New York).

Pour enough chocolate syrup into the glass to cover the bottom. Add about three fingers of milk, and pour in the seltzer water. Leave several inches at the top -- the foam will really come up and you'lll be striving to suck it out before it flows over the sides. Stir it up, chug it down.

The secret to a good egg creme is to buy the seltzer in small bottles or cans. If you buy the big bottle, it will lose its fizz and that lovely foam will be absent. Very refreshing, and if you're like me, nostalgic too.