Iconic Food #4: Brooklyn Seltzer Boys Old Fashioned Seltzer
It was, at least in memory's eye, a gentler time. Doors were often left unlocked and children played freeze tag on city streets. Moms were typically stay-at-homers and milk, eggs and cream were delivered door-to-door. So was a fizzy drink.
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The Legendary Seltzer Man
More years ago than most of us can count, big, brawny, sweaty guys would hoist heavy, wooden crates filled with thick glass seltzer bottles up to the door, ringing the doorbell and bestowing a weekly delivery of refreshing, bubbly bliss to those inside. The image of the neighborhood seltzer man, biceps bulging, is an iconic one filled with memories for some, and an "I can still taste it" longing for others. Labor intensive as well as a labor of love, most think the era of the seltzer man and his distinctly zesty product is long gone, but that is not the case. The legions of those hard-working regular guys may have diminished in number, but a few stalwart souls still heed the call.
Of Course They're From Brooklyn, Where Else?
They call themselves the newest, old business around. The Brooklyn Seltzer Boys, Kenny Gomberg, Irving Resnick and Alex Gomberg, are third and fourth generation seltzer nerds. They know everything about their product and the machinery needed to make it. Along with their affiliate company, Gomberg Seltzer Works, the Boys keep tradition alive and fizzing.
Started by grandpa Mo in 1953, Gomberg Seltzer Works is now the last shop in the city that bottles seltzer. They start with plain old New York City tap water and turn it into what was once affectionately called Jewish champagne. Gomberg's grandson Kenny, along with brother-in-law Irving Resnick, started managing the Brooklyn-based business back in the early 1980s but stuck to filling instead of delivery. All that changed when Gomberg's son Alex joined the family business. Bright-eyed with a good head on his shoulders, Alex, like his dad, decided to use his hard-earned master's degree to increase sales and the business' reach by bringing delivery back and adding a new type of client base that was ready for his "Everything old is new again" niche product.
What Makes It So Good?
A trip to any supermarket yields a multitude of seltzers on the shelf, many with exotic flavors like mango cherry or coconut limeade crush. Typically sold in plastic, disposable liter bottles, these seltzer wannabe's are pale, distant cousins to the robust, powerful elixir shot into decades old, siphon-topped bottles and sealed with massive amounts of pressure. Supermarket seltzer has its place but loses its "umph" with every twist of the cap. Seltzer bottle seltzer is high-test, never losing its punch, and as Kenny likes to say, "Hurting just a bit when it hits the back of the throat."
Those in the know find the difference significant. Seltzer delivery is enjoying a renaissance, gracing the tables of tony cafes and artisanal craft beer bars throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. Of course, seltzer is more than just the new sensation du jour tickling the taste buds of millennials from bridge to shining bridge. It is also the absolute must-have base for the perfect Brooklyn egg cream. Once served in old-school candy stores found on almost every block, egg creams are now typically made at home. If you think there are eggs in egg creams, you have not yet lived. This is how they made them in the good old days:
Old Fashioned Brooklyn Egg Cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 tablespoons U-Bet chocolate syrup
- Seltzer to taste
Pour the milk into an ice cold, bell shaped glass that is wider on top than on the bottom to accommodate the egg cream's rising foam. Gently spoon in the chocolate syrup. Slowly squirt the seltzer in, tipping the glass on its side directly from a seltzer bottle. Stir with a long-handled spoon.
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Corey Whelan is a freelance writer in New York. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
