When World of Warcraft first opened its doors, most of the recipes were kind of gross. There were a couple of decent dishes, like Beer Basted Boar Ribs and Herb Baked Eggs. However, most of them were more along the lines of Kaldorei Spider Kabobs or contained that staple of industrial cafeterias, Mystery Meat. From Burning Crusade through Cataclysm, other than a couple outliers — Salted Eye, I’m looking at you while you’re looking at me — the food was mostly just ho-hum. As a coffee addict, the addition of Starfire Espresso was absolutely necessary, but other than that, the food was mostly just there. It was a necessary thing to pay attention to in order to get whatever specific buffs I wanted for raiding, but that was about it.
Then came Pandaria. I could almost smell the spice of the Black Pepper Ribs and Shrimp, hear the sizzle of Valley Stir Fry. Every dish in Pandaria, from simple Sliced Peaches to the most complicated Great Banquet, seemed so real I could practically taste it … and sometimes later, I would. Every time my character slurped down a dainty bowl from a Noodle Cart my grocery list expanded. Sesame noodles have long been a comfort food favorite of mine, and thanks to Pandaria the past two summers were jam-packed with cold, salty soba noodles and crunchy julienned vegetables.
Now that we’re in Draenor, the food is back to ho-hum. The Blackrock Ham looks okay, and I guess the Gorgrond Chowder, which appears to be in a bread bowl, might be passable. Sugar Pear Cider does sound phenomenal, but while writing this topic and thinking about Pandaren cuisine, I realized all I’m missing to make some Vietnamese summer rolls are rice noodles and avocados, so that’s happening.
As a somewhat literal Breakfast Topic, have you ever wanted a taste of what your character was eating? Is there any video game food you wish you could try? Have you ever made a dish in real life inspired by your Warcraft plate? To go one further, have you ever been inspired to change up your menu for the day after a particularly yummy-sounding Queue comment?
