Dish No. 79: Vanilla Malted at Brooklyn Farmacy

Welcome to 100 Dishes to Eat Now, Fork in the Road’s handy list of some of our favorite dishes — old standbys and new finds alike — compiled daily.

Today’s pick: A vanilla malted milkshake ($5.10) at Brooklyn Farmacy (513 Henry Street, at Sackett Street, Brooklyn).

Walk into Brooklyn Farmacy, the newbie soda shoppe-cum-ice cream parlor on Henry Street in Cobble Hill, and be walloped by a childhood memory. See the white, flat hats on this worker, suspenders on that one, milkshakes and ice cream sodas floating by, and immediately crave one of the following: Ice cream sundae? (They’ve got it). Pie? (Yup). Chocolate egg cream? (U-bet.)

For some, the sock-hop parlor vibe means one thing only: the Malted. The vanilla malted milkshake is a staple of certain New York childhoods (according to one source, Walgreens originated the treat at its One Times Square location in 1922). By pulling up to a red leather seat at the counter, you can get your hands on one, and it is damn good. Made with hormone-free Adirondacks Creamery ice cream and Hudson Valley Fresh whole milk, with a powdering of malt sourced from the Midwest, it’s a fresher, anachronistic version of the classic, especially when you take into account that the music playing while you slurp up that last, sweet drop is the all-black ’80s no-wave band ESG. But we’ll take it: It’s creamy, and sweet, and not too malty.

The part that never changes? While sitting at that counter, leaning anxiously forward on your elbows and watching the soda jerk make your milkshake on the machine, something in you hopes like heck he brings over the whole huge silver cylinder with the extra milkshake. The time we went, it didn’t happen, but we watched a few float toward other tables with nothing less than pure, timeless envy.

Previously in the countdown:
Dish No. 100: Zaragoza Grocery’s Flor de Calabaza Quesadilla
Dish No. 99: No. 7 Sub Shop’s General Tso’s Tofu Sandwich
Dish No. 98: Nigerian Goat Stew From Baku
Dish No. 97: The Captain’s Daughter From Saltie
Dish No. 96: Bun Bo Hue From Thanh Da
Dish No. 95: The Beauty From Mile End
Dish No. 94: Potato, Egg, and Provolone on a Roll at Torrisi Italian Specialties
Dish No. 93: The Terrine Board at the Breslin Bar and Dining Room
Dish No. 92: Sausage and Egg Breakfast at La Bonbonniere
Dish No. 91: Roasted Carrots at Porchettta
Dish No. 90: Spicy Miso Ramen at Ramen Setagaya
Dish No. 89: Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie From First Prize Pies
Dish No. 88: Brown Butter, Corn, and Mushroom Linguine at Buttermilk Channel
Dish No. 87: Katsudon at Ennju
Dish No. 86: Fried Chicken With Two Sides at Soul Fixins
Dish No. 85: Fried Lamb Intestines at El Quinto Pino
Dish No. 84: Kunafa From Nablus Sweets
Dish No. 83: Potato Flatbread at Sahadi’s
Dish No. 82: Chicken-Fried Chicken Livers at Cornbread Diner
Dish No. 81: Taleggio, Broccoli Rabe, and Sausage Panini at Bocca Lupo
Dish No. 80: Hamburger at M. Wells in Long Island City