Your Favorite

"'Tain't the mincemeat filigree And it ain't the turkeyneck stew And it ain't them bruleed okra seeds Though she made them a-special for you."

- Tom Waits, "Filipino Box Spring Hog"

One character shows his knowledge of, and attentiveness to, another by providing his favorite food or drink without his needing to request it. The dish, obviously, will be somewhat unusual, but does not need to be very so—only enough that knowing it and having it on hand have to be in order to provide it for this person.

The person may not mention it, but if so, the Stock Phrase is "Your Favorite."

May overlap with Trademark Favorite Food, but can be something the person eats only occasionally, or usually is not significant. It is, in fact, often not something made a big deal of, because it does not show obvious attentiveness to pick up on it.

It can also be used in an attempt to bring a character out of a funk: "Come on, cheer up. Look, I made Your Favorite .... !" In cases like this, it overlaps with Comfort Food.

Can go wildly awry if the character gets it wrong.

When the Affably Evil villain says No, Mr. Bond, I Expect You to Dine, this may be part of it; it will add to the creepiness.

Similar to "the usual" for a Drink Order, although that usually involves something the character reasonably expects to be available.

Subtrope of Through His Stomach. Note that just good cooking goes under that trope.

Anime and Manga

 * In Fruits Basket, when they visit Tohru's mother's grave, they find it already cleaned up. Tohru realizes it must have been her grandfather, because he had brought her mother's favorite food.
 * When Ayame visits he brings first crabs, then peaches. Shigure observes they were Yuki's favorite foods when he was a child, and that he does not know what Yuki likes now.
 * In the Baccano!! OVAs, anonymously sends Chane a dress to indicate that he's serious about his marriage proposal. The gift of a dress in itself isn't very unusual, but the fact that he's sewn in knife holsters is.
 * Even more twistedly heartwarming than it sounds: she wasn't sure whether or not to accept or kill him until she found them
 * "Mint chocolate chip ice cream? I know it's your favorite!" Filler Villain Noa Kaiba, a digital ghost in a digital world, was apparently told this every day by the digital ice cream vendor in the digital park. One day he wanted to try something else, but she wasn't programmed for that and just kept repeating that line.
 * Chrono Crusade has a variation—Fiore is very pleased when enjoys the food she's cooked for her, saying "This is 's favorite food. You remind me of her."
 * In the infamous anime film Grave of the Fireflies, Seita tries to get fruit drops for his little sister as often as he can, because they're her favorite food..
 * Semi-lampshaded in Ai Yori Aoshi. The first meal that Aoi cooks for Kaoru at his apartment consists of all of his favorite foods. When he expresses surprise at this, she mentions that she'd remembered them since their childhood meeting.
 * In Ouran High School Host Club, the rest of the members know that Haruhi loves to eat fancy tuna and if they want to bribe her into doing something, they offer her it.
 * A darker variation in Loveless. Ritsuka has had to memorize all of the "original" Ritsuka's favorite foods and react accordingly, because if he doesn't, his mother will punish him for it.
 * In Sherlock Hound, a kidnapped Mrs. Hudson feels sorry for Professor Moriarty and his minions, who can't cook particularly well, so she fixes them a highly extravagant steak-and-kidney pie, which just happens to be Moriarty's favorite. She somehow figured this out in spite of never having met him before in her life. He was so touched by the gesture that after he was inevitably foiled, he swore that whatever other depths he may sink to in his efforts to best Hound, he would never, ever involve Mrs. Hudson again.
 * In a relatively early episode (and chapter) of Soul Eater, Maka and Soul are at a party, and despite Maka's protest that Soul should get his own food instead of mooching off of her, she did get fish. Which she hates. And is his favourite food. He eats after she gets dragged off screen, realizing that she got it for him in the first place.
 * This trope gets a much darker take later on in the manga. Medusa welcomes back Crona, whom they raised in such pleasant ways as starving them till they killed some rabbits, after  with a table full of pasta just they way they like it. And Crona can have as much as they want, the wonderful child.
 * In Skip Beat! Sho and Kyouko (childhood friends with a dash of hate thrown in there for good measure,) are at a hotel's continental breakfast when Sho puts all the things Kyouko likes on her plate. Needless to say, she's not amused.
 * In The Wallflower, Kyohei's favorite is strawberries, which gets significant when he's sick.
 * In a flashback in Akatsuki no Yona, Yona's father, Emperor Il, personally makes Yona chicken soup without following the recipe when she falls ill as a child. The soup tastes awful, but it's the thought that matters.

Comic Books

 * In the Power Pack comics, when the Power Pack meet Franklin Richards and go into space with him, the Fantastic Four search for Franklin. Some Avengers and Jarvis are staying at the Baxter Building; Jarvis, hoping they will find Franklin, buys some of Franklin's favorite foods to welcome him home.

Film
"Catherine: "I don't like being a foregone conclusion.""
 * In Groundhog Day there was one scene where the protagonist used his knowledge from previous replays to get his Love Interest her favorite dessert. Since from her point of view she never told him, she concludes that he's been stalking her.
 * Technically, he was.
 * Parodied in Galaxy Quest, when the Thermians serve their new crew all their favorite foods from a food synthesizer. For the most part it goes pretty well, the only issue being the Thermians not realizing that Dr. Lazarus' human actor might not enjoy blood ticks. Of course, they got all their knowledge from the TV show.
 * In UHF, George makes his roommate his favorite food, a "twinkie-weiner sandwich" to make amends. It's a twinkie cut in half, with a hot dog stuck into it and cheeze whiz sprayed over the top as garnish. Bob refuses, so George dips it in milk and eats it himself.
 * This is reportedly a favorite snack of Weird Al himself, although these days he uses tofu dogs.
 * Inverted in Blues Brothers. Jake and Elwood order breakfast in a soul food restaurant. The cook (their former band mate) recognizes the peculiar order and comes out to greet them.
 * That being "dry white toast" for Elwood and "four fried chickens" for Jake.
 * And a Coke.
 * Clue has this when the six guests are fed monkey's brains for Mrs. Peacock's benefit -- "Mmm, this is one of my favorite recipes!" "I know, madam."
 * Is that what we ate? HYUUURK..!
 * In The Jerk, Navin gets his favorite meal of tuna fish on white bread with mayonnaise, a Tab, and a couple of Twinkies on his birthday.
 * Invoked at the end of Stargate: Continuum when Sam makes Mitchell macaroons while he's in the infirmary. This is a callback to when he did the same thing for her in the series.
 * Played with in Five Hundred Days of Summer when Summer and Tom are messing around in Ikea.
 * In Iron Man II, Tony misremembers and brings Pepper strawberries...the one food she's allergic to. Then he tries to get partial credit for at least knowing there was some sort of connection.
 * A myth is that the line "Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred" was not said in the very first Bond movie, Dr. No. In reality it (well, a slight variation) was said by-- No himself. So the first time we learn about the favourite drink of James Bond is when the bad guy tells us.
 * Another Bond example occurs in The Spy Who Loved Me, where Bond and Anja show they know enough about each other by both asking the barman for the other's favourite drink.
 * The original drink order (as in, from Casino Royale, the very first book) appears in the movie of the same name, as a Shout-Out (it's essentially a more complicated version of "vodka martini, shaken, not stirred", specifying preferred brands of liquor).
 * In The Movie adaptation of The a Team, an angry/upset Baracus is always calmed/cheered by Murdock's coconut chutney with toast points.
 * Chocolat: Vianne has a gift for guessing people's favorite sweets, although she has a hard time with Roux, not figuring him out until the very end:.
 * Played somewhat disturbingly in Black Swan: Nina's beloved smother presents her with a fancy cake when she gets the Swan Queen role, trilling "It's our favorite!"
 * Subverted in Battlefield Earth, when Terl decides to find out what humans' favorite food is in order to obtain leverage over them. He observes some humans eating raw rat meat (because nothing else is available), and concludes that that's what they like.
 * Subtly done in the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. After she surprises him at a ball, Catherine goes home with Thomas and they spend the night together. The next morning, his butler brings in her customary health drink, suggesting that a) he'd researched her preferences and b) having her over wasn't entirely unexpected.

Literature

 * In Dan Abnett's Gaunt's Ghosts novel Traitor General, 's lifeward offers him a drink: "weak black cup of tea, with cinnamon". He comments that the lifeward is very attentive; he's had personal adjuntants who took less care of him. Later, as his memories return, he remembers his favorite dish, and the lifeward makes a mental note to have it served at the dinner.
 * In Sandy Mitchell's Ciaphas Cain novels, several people keep tanna tea on hand because Cain is rather fond of the drink. These include Amberley Vail, who was once persuaded to have some by Cain and pronounces the drink "distinctive."
 * To the point that in Death or Glory, when Trapped Behind Enemy Lines Cain assembles surviving units into a ragtag army, fights his way across most of a mid-sized continent and through the bulk of an Ork WAAAGH!, and kills the Warboss in charge in order to reach friendly lines, with the express goal of finding some tanna.
 * Similarly, at the end of The Caves of Ice, Cain takes the liberty of ordering dinner; Vail notices, with a smile, that he had remembered how much she liked a certain sorbet.
 * In L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Windy Poplars, Anne, arriving to work as a school's principal, is invited to dinner by every student's family. At the first dinner, she highly praises some pumpkin preserves. Thereafter, every single dinner features pumpkin preserves until she loathes it; a family that hates it had gotten some specially for her, and sent the leftovers home with her.
 * In The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce, upon the arrival of her foster brother who she hasn't seen in years, one character fixes enough of his favorites to cause one character to ask if she plans for him to roll away from the table.
 * In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Kreacher offers to bake Harry the treacle tart "to which Master is so partial".
 * In the first book of the Fire Thief trilogy this is done unintentionally when The Avenger, AKA the eagle that ate Prometheus's liver each day, enters a bar looking for the the escaped Prometheus. The Avenger was offered a bowl of soup, but declined it and would have found Prometheus just outside if the bar owner's daughter hadn't said just before he opened the door, "It's liver." The Avenger quickly changes his mind.
 * In the novel Chocolat, the protagonist Vianne Rocher has the gift of being able to tell a person's favourite chocolate just by looking at them, or even thinking of them. Also present in the film, with a lesser degree of Magic Realism.
 * In Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells, Evanelle brings Sydney strawberry Pop-tarts because she knows she ought to give them to her. Then Sydney's sister Claire shows up with her daughter Bay in tow, and Bay's favorite is strawberry Pop-tarts.
 * In The Hunger Games, Katniss comments in an interview that the thing that impressed her most about the Capitol was the lamb stew with prunes. In the arena, she receives a tin of it from sponsors.
 * In Michael Flynn's Up Jim River, Billy serves the favorite drinks from the bar, having, as a good servant, learned them on the way.
 * Locke Lamora in The Republic of Thieves temporarily adapts the role of a Cordon Bleugh Chef when he cooks for Sabetha a soup with all her favorite ingredients.

Live Action TV
"Samantha Lawrence: [to Face] It's a long way to L.A., so I brought you some sandwiches. Your favorite kind."
 * Weyoun of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, saying to Bashir, "Do you remember the first time I brought you scones?" in that magnificent voice of his, after delivering said scones on a tray (with jam and tea, just the way Bashir likes it!) to a flustered and freaked out Bashir.
 * The A-Team episode "Timber!"

"Ushek San'ko: [brings Sark wine] Chateau Patreuse, 1982... your favorite, no?"
 * Alias episode "Succession"

"Fran Sinclair: You just need to overcome your senses, and I made you your favorite dish: food."
 * Parodied twice in Dinosaurs.
 * Episode "Career Opportunities"

"Fran Sinclair: I'm so glad you're back, I made your favorite for dinner. Charlene Sinclair: You knew we were coming back tonight? Fran Sinclair: I made it every night. Earl: Yep, 80 consecutive nights of meatloaf, and nobody prayed for your safe return home more than me."
 * Episode "Charlene's Flat World"


 * Chuck where Morgan completely screws up a night between Ellie and Captain Awesome by giving Awesome all the wrong things when Awesome knew what Ellie liked all along but was tricked into paranoia and subsequently wrong-guess territory by Morgan's longstanding stalkerness about his fiance.
 * Michael Westen: tuna tahini. And yogurt.
 * Babylon 5 has Garibaldi's late father, who had the usual trouble (fictional) men have with expressing feelings, but cooked bagna cauda on his son's birthday. Now Garibaldi makes it himself as a tribute to him. The quest for ingredients is a minor B (well, C) plot in one episode.
 * On Star Trek: Enterprise, the crew go out of their way to find out Reed's favorite food, so they can make him a cake for his birthday. This is the A-plot, since the difficulty of it highlights how reclusive Reed is. Also, eh, some aliens attack at one point.
 * Happens quite often in The Prisoner, since the overlords at The Village know nearly everything about the Prisoner and can accomodate him almost immediately. They know how he takes his tea, what foods he likes, and so on, and regularly give him exactly that.
 * In one episode, they  to mess with his mind.
 * In "The Chimes of Big Ben," he refuses to tell the new Number Two whether he takes sugar with his tea, so Number Two looks it up in his file. He then puts sugar into the tea himself just to give Number Two the finger.
 * On The Office US, it is established in the pilot episode that Jim is head over heels for Pam, and that's one of the only reasons he works at Dunder Mifflin. "If I left," he explains, "what would I do with all this useless information in my head? You know? Tonnage price of manila folders? Um, Pam's favorite flavor of yogurt, which is mixed berry."
 * Supernatural: Zachariah offers Dean his favorite burgers and preferred brand of beer when he is at the mercy of the angels and supposedly about to die to destroy Lucifer.
 * Later, when  is in the exact same position, Zachariah has the same plate of burgers and beer, and remarks that   are really quite predictable.
 * Gossip Girl. When Chuck decides to stop running from his feelings and to tell Blair that he loves her, he goes around Europe buying her favorite stockings, macaroons and whatnot from her favorite places. He's also been seen to bring her her favorite champagne and her favorite flowers on occasion.
 * In one episode of The Odd Couple, Felix tries to butter up Oscar by making his favorite meal—lasagna and french fries.
 * When Frankie visits her Mother on the Mother's Day episode of The Middle she asks her Mom to make a grilled cheese sandwich like she used to—with potato chips in the middle.
 * A minor Running Gag in early episodes of Stargate Atlantis was Major Sheppard being bribed with turkey sandwiches.
 * Starsky and Hutch: In the episode "Lady Blue," which revolves around the murder of Starsky's ex-girlfriend, Hutch makes him his favorite meal as comfort food, having called Starsky's mother up to get the recipe.
 * Subverted on Heroes. Volume Five Big Bad Samuel tries this on his longtime crush Vanessa, but his information is about 30 years out of date.

Newspaper Comics

 * In Baldo, Tia Carmen tell Baldo she made his favorite form of potatoes—and then second favorite—and then that she made potatoes.

Video Games
"Claus: Ooh, lunch, lunch! Humans!!"
 * Ace Attorney: Max Gallactica likes milk, so everybody gives him a lot of milk for the final day in court.
 * EarthBound: Ness's special attack is named after his favorite thing (the player inputs the name.) When calling his mother to prevent homesickness, Ness's mom often mentions his favorite meal (also input by the player.)
 * Hilarity can easily ensue, especially in Mother 3, where it gets used more frequently.


 * In an optional scene in Chrono Trigger, Marle tries to reconcile with her father by bringing him his favorite food. (It doesn't work.)
 * Inverted in one optional ending in Chrono Cross: the player can ask Harle for "your specialty" when she asks what he wants for dinner.

Web Comics

 * Girl Genius: when Gil expresses his appreciation for Wooster, Wooster says of course he does, Wooster knows how he likes his tea.
 * Parry and Carney: Santa Claus  brings Carney the Carnotaurus a "gigantic anthropomorphous ape" as a Christmas present, to which Carney responds by gasping, "My favorite! How did you know?" and promptly biting the ape's head off.
 * Memoria: What their parents made them.
 * In Sinfest, Pooch is delighted with his regular food -- how did you know? -- and more than usual praise of it.

Western Animation
"Denzel Crocker: Stupid two bit room! Stupid two bit van! Stupid two bit life! Mrs. Crocker: Denzel! Would you like your stupid two bit dessert? I made your stupid two bit favorite!"
 * The Fairly OddParents episode "The Secret Origin of Denzel Crocker":


 * An episode of Batman Beyond has Zeta bringing a sandwich from Terry to an imprisoned Max, monotonously calling it "your fav."
 * In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Iroh is seriously injured in an encounter with Azula and wakes up to find that Zuko has been caring for him. Zuko also made tea, saying, "I hope I made it the way you like it." Turns out, it wasn't the way Iroh liked it, but Iroh drinks it anyway!