My Top 5 Refreshments from Fantasy and Sci-Fi

Science fiction and fantasy have some of the best foods and beverages in fiction. I’m not just talking about Star Trek’s weird obsession with root beet — which is my favorite soda, by the way — but about the array of fictional dishes and drinks. Some days, I feel like the main reason to travel to a sci-fi/fantasy world is the eating. Here are the top five edibles I like to feast my mind upon:

5. Skyrim’s Sweet Roll

The people of Skyrim take their sweet rolls very seriously. Sweet roll theft is running rampant across the land, and everybody knows when somebody’s stolen one of your sweet rolls. That kind of thing just shows on your face, you know? The sweet roll is surprisingly handy in combat situations, because it restores a decent amount of health – at least as far as Skyrim foods go. It’s also decorative, so I like to litter my Skyrim bedrooms with sweet rolls as an alternative to something slightly more romantic, like rose petals.

But my favorite thing about Skyrim’s sweet rolls is that I can imagine exactly what they taste like just by looking at them. They taste like doughnuts with frosting on them. It’s that simple. I want one for breakfast almost every day. In fact, when I’m playing Skyrim, I often like to select a sweet roll in my inventory just so I can spin it in the air and watch it floating perfectly before a terrifying landscape where I could die at any minute. There’s something comforting about sweet rolls, and I love them for it.

4. Lord of the Rings’ Lembas

Also known as Elvish waybread, this is basically a power food. It does something crazy to your system, so just one small bite gives you enough energy and sustenance for an entire day. In Lord of the Rings, this is how Frodo and Sam survive their ridiculously long journey to Mordor. Normally, I would assume this tastes disgusting – sort of like the gruel sailors used to eat, or like the boring rations people always eat in science fiction set in the future, when fruits and vegetables aren’t commonplace anymore. But apparently it’s “more pleasant than cram,” according to one of the elves, so I’m convinced it’s tasty. At least, I was almost convinced, before finding out that cram is kind of like a biscuit, and biscuits are generally gruel. Plus, Frodo and Sam seem really tired of it after a while…

3. Star Trek’s Raktajino

I had to look up how to spell this one, but the name just trips off the tongue. As a fan of caffeine every morning, the idea of ordering a Klingon coffee from the replicator in the AM is extremely appealing. If I lived on Deep Space Nine station, that’s exactly what I would do every day. Raktajino can be served steamed or iced, extra strong or extra sweet, and even with makapa bread that apparently makes a peppermint-flavored froth when dipped in the raktajino. But maybe my favorite thing about this drink is that even though it’s an alien beverage from the future, its name still manages to sound like an Italian coffee, so there’s no confusion as to what this is.

2. Firefly’s Ice-Planet

In “The Message” episode of Firefly, River Tam tries to eat a dessert that basically looks like a ball of swirly ice cream hanging from a string. Sure, it’s problematic, but it looks delicious. I am a huge fan of frozen desserts, so Ice-Planet sounds exactly like the type of food I would enjoy on a summer day or after dinner or pretty much any time. I imagine this one being something like ice pops or popsicles, but I’d be good with straight-up ice cream, too.

1. Harry Potter’s Butterbeer

If I could live inside the pages of Harry Potter for a day, I would spend at least several hours feasting – probably with Ron Weasley, because I think he’s into that, too. And to top off the meal, I would have a keg of butterbeer. The teens at Hogwarts drink it when they go on their field trips into town, but apparently it is slightly alcoholic and makes you feel all warm and tingly inside. It tastes “a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch” and can be served cold or hot. Also, it’s based somewhat on a real medieval/Renaissance drink called “buttered beer,” made from beer, sugar, eggs, butter, and nutmeg — and everything’s better with nutmeg. Mmmm.

— Ashley