My Grown-up Egg Cream

When I was a kid we would visit my mother's family in Bayonne, New Jersey, several times a month.

One of the things I looked forward to was visiting my Aunt Francie, because if I was really good, my cousin Grace would often take me across the street to the corner luncheonette for a chocolate egg cream.

I can still picture the lunch counter where we would sit on the tall metal stools with their thick padded seats, standing on our tiptoes to reach the tops of our straws.

Every few sips we might take a spin around on our stool until we were almost dizzy.

It's memories like these that make comfort food or drinks so special.

I still love egg creams in their purest forms, which is simply a little chocolate syrup, a little milk and some seltzer. But now that I'm a grown-up, I've tweaked it just a little and have created an adult version.

A word of warning: Be careful. These go down real easy.

Grown-up

Egg Cream

2-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup

Half cup almond milk (you can use regular milk if you prefer)

1 ounce Kahlua or coffee-flavored liqueur

1 cup crushed ice

Seltzer

Whipped cream

Pour chocolate syrup into a tall glass; stir in milk and Kahlua.

Add crushed ice and then slowly pour in seltzer. (If you go too fast, it will bubble over the top.)

Top with whipped cream if desired.