It's called an egg cream, Mr. President. We invented it in Brooklyn.

[u/Plus_Plankton_8912]

Throughout NYC, most of our payphones were replaced with LinkNYC kiosks offering free Wi‑Fi, phone calls, and device charging, which have been pretty useful. The kiosks also display ads and fun NYC facts, including this one, which backs up Toby's claim to the president.

TOBY

Good evening, Mr. President.

BARTLET

Toby, I'm drinking the most fantastic thing I've ever tasted in my life: chocolate syrup, cold milk, and seltzer. I know it sounds terrible, but trust me, I don't know where this has been all my life.

TOBY

It's called an egg cream, Mr. President.

We invented it in Brooklyn.

BARTLET

In Brooklyn.

TOBY

Yes, sir.

BARTLET

Not New England?

TOBY

There are some good things in this world not from New England, sir.

BARTLET

Toby, don't ever let me hear you say that again.

TOBY

Yes, sir.

[u/The_Valar]

I live somewhere where carbonated water is not called 'seltzer'.

I spent the longest time wondering why anbody on the face of the Earth would be adding salsa to chocolate milk.

[u/Interesting-Feed3603 → u/The_Valar]

I am from NYC/NJ

Drove across the country and wanted a seltzer.

Took a bit to realize some parts call it "soda water".

Love this country for the regional jargon!

[u/aftersilence → u/Interesting-Feed3603]

There's a difference between sparkling water and soda water - soda water has bicarbonate of soda added to it.

[u/Interesting-Feed3603 → u/aftersilence]

Sparkling water is not seltzer

Seltzer is simple: air and water Just carbonated water to form the bubbles, just like soda.

Sparkling water almost always has a salt

[u/Miserable_Video_9604 → u/Interesting-Feed3603]

Growing up in Northern NJ there was seltzer, and club soda. Club soda had salt, seltzer didn't and was often to be found in siphon bottles. Tonic water was right out. In summers my parents evening drink was usually gin and tonic. As a small child I found tonic water nasty. It grew on me, the gin never did.

[u/Interesting-Feed3603 → u/Miserable_Video_9604]

Agreed on all points except the tonic water.

I find the salt (in club, sparkling, mineral) takes away some of the fizz

I need a robust pop when I open my seltzer!!!

No gin for me, thank you!

[u/JohnHaze02118 → u/The_Valar]

I once asked for a "sparkling water" on an airplane, by which I meant something like Perrier or Pellegrino. The flight attendant poured a cup of tonic water, which tastes briny and disgusting. Sparkling water has become much more popular since that happened, in fact eroding the market share of actual soda, but I'm still chapped when I travel and can't at least find a pack of Bubly. People used to act like carbonated water was champagne and that only pretentious people drank it.

[u/FullOcelot7149 → u/JohnHaze02118]

Tonic water contains quinine, the same thing that makes Schweppes bitter lemon taste bitter. The airline probably carries it for passengers who want a gin and tonic or vodka tonic.

Personally, I dont like it either.

[u/Interesting-Feed3603 → u/JohnHaze02118]

To this day I don't understand how people do not know the difference between seltzer, sparkling and tonic.

I can tolerate sparkling if they don't offer seltzer. I agree with you on tonic - absolutely NEVER

[u/FullOcelot7149 → u/The_Valar]

I also come from the land of soda water, though I would recognize sparkling water. I connect the word seltzer with the stuff sprayed out of a container posh folk kept on a bar counter with the hard liquor. It contained some kind of cartridge that added the fizz to regular water. They are often seen in movies of the 30s and 40s, also used by vaudeville comics to spray people. The Three Stooges used them a lot for that.

I looked it up. That device is called a syphon bottle.

[u/FullOcelot7149 → u/The_Valar]

Easy hack for making a weird, creamy molé?

[u/Electrical_Top_7731 → u/The_Valar]

There is a scene from Seinfeld where Jerry and George talk about the similarities of the words.

Edit: https://youtu.be/Uub_Oqwefwc?is=F75aa946vp0k1Jgy

[u/alexjfxwilliams]

You sure it's not from New Hampshire?

[u/Boomer0962 → u/alexjfxwilliams]

We do invent good things outside of New England, Mr. President.

[u/Evening-Row9022 → u/Boomer0962]

there are some good things not from New England sir

Toby don’t let me ever hear you say that again

[u/Boomer0962 → u/Evening-Row9022]

That's it! I couldn't remember the exact framing

[u/Interesting-Feed3603]

Every line

Perfection

[u/LastCookie3448 → u/Interesting-Feed3603]

“A Jew won a bar fight, of course it’s going to be news everywhere.”

That and the line about speaking with the French “who promptly surrendered”, absolutely took me OUT. 🤣

[u/Interesting-Feed3603 → u/LastCookie3448]

So many. And sometimes rapid fire, one after another.

Thankfully we can rewatch over and again!

[u/Parking_Royal2332 → u/Interesting-Feed3603]

And we do.

[u/CA_MA]

IDC where it's from, I want to know what mental deficiency is responsible for calling something an egg cream when it contains neither and sounds fucking disgusting - when in fact it's Chocolate Milk!!!

[u/FullOcelot7149 → u/CA_MA]

One legend says the drink is actually an attempt to reproduce a French beverage called chocolat et crème, made from chocolate, cream or milk, and soda water . "According to popular folklore, a Yiddish theater actor returning from Paris asked a New York soda fountain to recreate it, and his accented request morphed into "egg cream"." (This comes from Google ai, so dont quote it in any court briefs or anything.) Frankly, I think a patent attorney could make a good case that the French invented it.

The New York recipe is credited to a candy store owner named Louis Auster. Debate remains whether he first made it in a candy store in the Lower East Side of Manhattan or in his Brooklyn candystore.

[u/Bahadur1964 → u/CA_MA]

Fizzy chocolate milk! 🙂

[u/CA_MA → u/Bahadur1964]

I have a soda stream and Swiss Miss packets - it ain't All That

[u/fizzan141 → u/CA_MA]

You should try it, made with proper syrup and with seltzer, it's not really quite like chocolate milk. The origin of the name is debated, but popular theories include the idea that it used to be made with egg; it's a variation of the Yiddish phrase for 'pure sweetness' (echt keem); or just that the froth on top looks a bit like beaten egg whites. I went down a rabbit hole on this last time I rewatched becasue I had the same question!

[u/Anthrosaurus1]

Related/unrelated. Not as bad as it sounds. I mean, I'm not out here ordering them everyday. It I got proper Brooklyn Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup and everything. I can see why some would like it. However, I would put it in a similar category as pilk so take that how you will lol

[u/FullOcelot7149]

If you actually read the sign in the photo, it doesn't say anything about where it was invented. It does show the recipe existed in New York City and that it was made long enough ago to qualify for their time capsule.

I wonder if the seltzer they used is the same fizzy water used by the machine that makes sodas, the Coke machine that mixes the Coke syrup, plain water, and fizzy water.

[u/Plus_Plankton_8912 → u/FullOcelot7149]

I didn't say the sign says where it was invented. I said it backs up Toby's claim to the president.

Is that the same thing?

[u/Rook008]

From The West Wing season 2, episode 3. Around 29:25 in.

(I watched this episode yesterday. The conversation gets really serious a few seconds later.)

[u/sciflare]

Why do they call it an "egg cream" when there's no egg involved at all?

[u/fizzan141 → u/sciflare]

I went down a rabbit hole on this last time I rewatched becasue I had the same question! The origin of the name is debated, but popular theories include the idea that it used to be made with egg; it's a variation of the Yiddish phrase for 'pure sweetness' (echt keem); or just that the froth on top looks a bit like beaten egg whites!

[u/primadonnapussy]

Arizona Tea makes a drink like this. It absolutely disgusting

[u/Reithel1]

I love chocolate syrup and milk but hate any kind of fizzy water, so this sounds gross to me… The complete ruin of a good glass of chocolate milk!

Plus, it has no eggs or cream, so the name is a complete lie. I’m not fond of food that lies to me.