Egg creams are a beverage steeped in history and mystery. An iconic New York City drink, egg creams reached peak popularity in the early 1900s, particularly in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where soda fountains and candy shops dotted the streets, serving sodas, sundaes, and, of course, egg creams.
The origin of the name “egg cream” is murkier than its timeline. Some say it was inspired by the foam at the top of the drink, which looks like whipped egg whites. Others claim that a man who had recently returned from France, where he enjoyed a drink called “chocolat et crème,” ordered one at a New York soda fountain. He explained the recipe to the soda jerk working behind the counter, who misheard the name of the drink as “chocolate egg cream.”…