Brooklyn Egg Creams, Manhattan Burgers And The Cup That Says “New York”
My New York State of Mind
After writer Genevieve Jenner (GenevieveJenner) posted a picture of an egg cream on her Instagram feed a couple of weeks ago, I made one as soon as I could get my hands on some Fox’s U-Bet chocolate flavored syrup, which meant immediately.
I told Genevieve her post inspired me and she said of egg creams: “For they make me so happy.”
This Brooklyn-born beverage (I, too, am Brooklyn-born) contains no eggs or cream. No one is sure exactly how it got its name, but one popular origin story is that it was a mispronunciation of the Yiddish ‘echt keem’ or ‘pure sweetness’. There’s a great history here from A Slice Of Brooklyn on the naming and history of the drink.
A well-made egg cream is a frothy, thirst-quenching, delicious combination of chocolate flavored syrup, ice-cold whole milk and seltzer.
Egg cream purists (I am one) agree that Fox’s U-Bet syrup is a must. The label says it all: “A Brooklyn Original Since 1900.”
The syrup is available at many supermarkets and I’ve attached a link HERE where you can both order and see a list of markets where you can purchase U-Bet around the country.
I used the proportions in Ina Garten’s recipe for my egg cream. A 16-ounce glass with 3 tablespoons of syrup and a quarter cup of milk. Ina stirs with a fork till well combined and then pours the seltzer, simultaneously stirring with the fork till the glass is filled and you’ve got that creamy head at the top. You can also do the pouring-seltzer-against-the-back-of-a-long-spoon method while simultaneously stirring till you get the foamy top.
Ina is also Brooklyn-born and her recipe (attached below) includes a video on how to make the perfect egg cream. It’s delicious. Ina Garten Egg Cream:
My New York State of Mind
As my milestone birthday in July approaches, I’ve been thinking of the people and places (and food!) I love back east.
One of those people is my lifelong friend, Eileen, and one of those places is P.J.Clarke’s (PJClarke’s) which has been in business since 1884.
Eileen and I were roommates in New York, right out of college, sharing an apartment on East 55th Street just down the block from Clarke’s.
So many fun nights with friends were had on that corner of Third and 55th.
Since I’m not there, I made myself the classic “Clarke’s Burger” for lunch the other day: onion, tomato and lettuce only.
The “I’m Pretending I’m at P.J. Clarke’s” Burger
Using a heated cast-iron skillet, place a 4-6 ounce burger patty (I used ground sirloin) that has been well seasoned with salt in the pan over medium/high heat and cook for 4 minutes on each side for a medium burger. A slice of tomato, onion and some lettuce on your favorite bun and you’re all set.
If you’d like to make Clarke’s Bacon Cheeseburger, there’s a great slideshow presentation with a recipe that accompanies this article in EATER. 🍔
The Cup That Says “New York”
A couple of months ago,
, who writes the smart and sassy and very funny investigated whatever happened to the ubiquitous blue and white coffee cups that had been such a part of the city’s Greek diners, as well as the coffee carts that are all over town.Anne located the owner of NY COFFEE CUP (https://nycoffeecup.com), Michael Turback, and did a very informative and entertaining interview with him. It turns out you can still buy the cups in small or large quantities — so of course I bought some, pictured above.
I loved the coffee carts in NYC and so having these cups on hand is a sweet reminder. And I got a kick out of learning they are manufactured in — Chicago!
Anne’s piece is below if you’d like to learn more about the fascinating history of the famous cup.
Goodbye To All That
I’ve lived in Chicago for close to eight years and if you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you know how much I love it here—it’s home now.
In the past couple of weeks I’ve been reading and really enjoying a collection of essays in the revised edition of Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York edited by
. The title is taken from Joan Didion’s famous 1967 essay Goodbye to All That on her exit from New York.If you’d like to learn more about Sari’s book here is the link: HachetteBookGroup
I’m excited to be working on a personal essay about the 1970s in New York City that I’ll be sharing with you soon. Rest assured, there will be plenty of food involved!
Have a great Sunday, everyone, and thanks for being here.
Jolene
Aww how lovely, I just got back from “the city” so very much in a NY state of mind 🗽
The Clarke’s burger is my favorite, but I didn’t know it was called that until now. I’m not surprised you love Chicago. I love it too! But what’s your recipe for dealing with winter?
Thanks for mentioning Goodbye to All That. The title is probably iconic now. Didion took it from Robert Graves, whose 1929 autobiography about leaving England after WWI had the same name.
As usual, you have set my stomach growling, Jolene. Now where did I put that egg cream? Enjoyed your post!