I visited Hinsch’s in Bay Ridge, partly because I heard it was a classic vintage Brooklyn soda fountain with a lot of charm, and because it was time for me to try my first egg cream. The setting was right. Hinsch’s is a timeless neighborhood institution with a long diner counter and anchored spinning stools followed by rows of small booths. They’ve made their own ice cream, chocolates and soda fountain classics for many decades. Burgers, sandwiches, waffles and ice cream are their specialties, and I opted for a tuna melt and chocolate egg cream. Containing neither egg nor cream, I knew that the egg cream belied its gross name. I also knew the egg cream would be nothing like the thick chocolate chip milkshake I wanted it to be. Still, if not at Hinsch’s where?

To make a classic chocolate egg cream, chocolate syrup is mixed with cold milk. The only sanctioned chocolate syrup for this purpose is called Fox’s U-Bet, made in Brownsville since about 1920. Then seltzer is spritzed into the glass until there’s a white, foamy head at least half an inch tall. When my egg cream arrived, it was a brownish-grey color with a white head in an old-fashioned soda glass with a straw. I didn’t hate it. It was thin, a little fizzy, a little chocolatey and a tiny bit refreshing in an “I-just-made-up-this-drink-myself-what-do-you-think” kind of way. It was actually a good foil for the tuna melt, and it felt like the right thing to have at the time. Still, I put it in the same mental undesirable drink category as Yoohoo, Dr. Pepper, Mr. Pibb, Manhattan Special and Vanilla Coke.

For me, Hinsch’s is not really about the food or drinks. The food is pretty no-frills. I like how old and young locals say hello across the booths and seem accustomed to running into eachother there on a regular basis. The veteran waitstaff trade volleys with customers and know many of their orders by heart. Service is swift and reliable. Newcomers are treated like at a midwestern truckstop - with genuine acceptance and a little snap.

While a lot of chain establishments like Starbucks and McDonalds have opened up in Bay Ridge over the last few years, there is still a thriving local restaurant scene of old favorites like Hinsch’s as well as plenty of newcomers. Unlike other longtime Brooklyn restaurants who’ve adapted their menu and decor with the times, Hinsch’s seems to remain much as it was, almost making it a point *not* to change. I’m happy to see it stay that way.

On a recent Chowhound discussion of egg creams, one brilliant commenter dug up a stanza from the Brooklyn-born Lou Reed song, “Egg Cream,” the first track on his 1996 album Set the Twilight Reeling. I’m not sure I agree with Reed’s sentiments, but it’s still a cute song.

When I was a young man, no bigger than this
A chocolate egg cream was not to be missed
Some u bets chocolate syrup, seltzer water mixed with milk
You stir it up into a heady fro, tasted just like silk

You scream, I steam, we all want egg cream
You scream, I steam, we all want egg cream

Now that I’ve addressed my egg cream issue, I’ll be heading back to Hinsch’s for those waffles and a milkshake.

Hinsch’s
8518 Fifth Avenue

Originally published on Until Monday: Brooklyn.