Go to Fiona’s for the sandwiches but definitely not the egg cream sodas

When having a conversation about things we miss from the New York City area, someone who claimed they too originated from NYC, overheard our conversation and said that a place in Fort Collins had “the best egg cream sodas in Colorado.” They told us that Fiona’s was a great deli that served up a great old-fashioned egg cream.

That’s all I had to hear…a great egg cream is definitely worth a road trip.

The person who made the best egg cream in history was my dad. My grandparents owned a candy store and luncheonette in Borough Park in Brooklyn…thought to be the birthplace of the egg cream. My dad as a child worked behind the counter, when not throwing slugs into the pinball machines and mastering them, and mastered the art of making banana splits, malteds (shakes are not malteds but malteds can be shakes), and the ever popular egg cream.

Now what IS an egg cream? Well…let’s make it clear that there is no egg and there is no cream. And because of those words in the name, Melissa won’t even try it. And she doesn’t realize what she is missing.

An egg cream…a REAL egg cream…is made with just the right combination of seltzer, milk, and chocolate syrup. And that syrup had better be U-bet chocolate syrup, another Brooklyn staple. No egg, no cream, no ice. The right combination of the seltzer, milk, syrup and stirring would whip it up and cause what appeared to be a bit of foam at the top, enough to give you that little mustache when drinking it.

I may be prejudiced, but Dad did it perfectly.

Fiona’s was the destination because of the egg cream. But we were also in need of lunch. And there was a GREAT menu of items from deli meats, smoked salmon, and vegetarian options.

The sandwiches were absolutely great.

I had a #12 Such As It Is which is spinach and hummus with tomato, thinly sliced carrots, cucumbers, onions, and cheese on pumpernickel bread with a balsamic spread. It comes with two cheeses but I eliminated those.

Melissa had a #5 Joanne’s Private Club which is grilled chicken breast, sliced smoked bacon, muenster cheese, lettuce, tomato, and red pepper mayo on grilled sour dough.

There were so many options to choose from and definitely ones that are worth going back to try the next time. It took a while for the sandwiches to be made, nearly 20 minutes, but it was worth the wait. And whatever you don’t finish…just bring it right back up and they will wrap it for you to go.

Fiona’s is a great place for lunch or dinner, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Seating is tight so there is no guarantee of getting a spot during the busy times.

There was also a nice selection of sweets and baked goods for dessert. But my dessert was something else that I was yearning for.

I waited for after lunch to order the egg cream which was done at the same register as the deli items. However, there is a bar toward the rear of the restaurant where you can get a drink, and that is where the egg cream was formulated.

The bartender made my “drink.” And, according to her, and this is what she said to another patron, “This is popular with the grandmas and grandpas.”

Hmmmm. Well…I am sure that it WOULD be an older crowd that would find it popular and appreciate it and know what it actually is. But, apparently, the young bartender did NOT know what it is and certainly didn’t know how to make it.

It had milk. It had some chocolate syrup. It had some FLAT soda. And it had ICE! OBVIOUSLY this person had something snarky to say about it but certainly wasn’t up on how to make a good old-fashioned egg cream.

It didn’t LOOK like an egg cream. It didn’t FEEL like an egg cream. It didn’t TASTE like an egg cream.

It was awful. It was the WORST egg cream I have ever tasted. If you can even CALL it an egg cream. I took two (2) sips and tossed it.

Fiona’s is a great place…for sandwiches…thanks for the recommendation…but you were WAY OFF on the egg cream.

God I miss my dad…and a great old-fashioned Brooklyn egg cream.