San Francisco Food Blog

T. Palmer

​If like us, you grew up here and are of a certain age, at some point in your life you've probably wondered what the heck an egg cream is . These days, you don't have to go all the way to New York to get a good answer to the question, only as far as Miller's East Coast Deli (1725 Polk at Washington).

An egg cream typically contains no more than whole milk, seltzer water, and chocolate syrup, but the blend produces a sweet foamy head that disappears fairly fast. The ones at Miller's come in a pint glass, but that usually doesn't stop us from ordering two, in our minds a necessity to soak up the hearty deli fare.

Incidentally, Wikipedia lists a regional variation called a "San Francisco egg cream," which calls for the addition of hazelnut syrup. The Menupages Find-a-Food feature lists only three places in San Francisco to get an egg cream (Miller's, Home Plate, and Toy Boat Dessert Cafe), so where did this supposed S.F. version originate?