Pulp Fiction is one of those movies that everyone has seen. Multiple times. Quentin Tarantino’s nod to the gangster film is an amazing, disjointed, violent ride. I love it because there is so much going on in this film. Every time I watch it I notice something new; the briefcase, the Band-Aid, the Bible verse and of course, that 5 dollar milkshake.
The scene with the milkshake is one of the more well known moments in the film. It is when Vincent takes Mia Wallace out for dinner as a favor to Marcellus. They end up going to Jack Rabbit Slim’s, a 50’s style diner joint, where they enjoy dinner right before performing the twist that helped make the film famous. You can watch the scene here:
This exchange between Vincent and Mia is a sort of foreshadowing of the events to follow. It can be argued that Vincent is apprehensive to use Mia’s straw because of the events surrounding Tony Rocky Horror and a rumored foot massage. Perhaps Vincent is afraid of Marcellus’ reaction to him sharing a straw with his wife (an intimate act?) and doesn’t like the idea of being thrown through a window. However, he goes against his first instinct and uses the straw because Mia (flirtatiously) challenges him. He may reason that using the straw is worth the risk.
Later in her apartment, she almost dares Vincent to make a move on her, however the apprehension is still present for him, which is why he must excuse himself to the bathroom. This time, unlike with the straw, he doesn’t get the opportunity to give in to Mia’s flirty invitation because she overdoses while he is debating with himself over what to do. During his discussion in the bathroom it becomes clear that his sexual attraction to Mia is not worth the risk of angering Mr. Wallace.
This scene also gives us a glimpse into these characters’ personalities. Mia orders an (expensive) vanilla milkshake which is symbolic of purity and plainness, but she is an undercover drug addict. The milkshake is a metaphor for Mia’s attempts to project a clean, sweet, and valuable image. This idea is reinforced by the fact that she never reveals her overdose to Marcellus. In this scene,Vincent is fooled by Mia’s vanilla milkshake image and this would explain why he is so taken aback when she OD’s on his heroin.
Vincent orders a dark drink (vanilla coke) which alludes to him never pretending to be innocent. However, during the scene he decides to taste the milkshake because he wants to know what a 5 dollar milkshake tastes like; wondering what the milkshake tastes like is because the concepts of purity, plainness, and luxury are not a part of his experiences.
Making a successful at-home milkshake is not within my experiences, so while this may seem like a no-brainer recipe for some of you, I was a little stressed out. I decided to do a little research first.
Since Jack Rabbit Slim’s is a 50’s style place I feel like the food is made more authentically with less processed ingredients hence the big price tag. I found several milkshake recipes from the 50’s and I just played around with the amounts until I had created one I really enjoyed in both taste and texture.
I used a vanilla bean ice cream because it has more depth of flavor than regular vanilla ice cream. I used pure vanilla extract that I made myself but even if it hadn’t been mine I do not advise using imitation in this. As a rule, I would never use imitation anything when it’s the main flavor in the dish. I used whole milk and plain heavy whipping cream to round out my ingredients. I used both the milk and the cream to achieve good flavor and the right milkshake consistency.
After blending I became paranoid that the drink was too thick and was tempted to add more milk but once my husband reminded me that I have a habit of turning milkshakes into milky messes, I left it alone. I am glad I did because the texture was actually perfect when poured into a glass; not too thick and not too runny with a well developed vanilla taste. Yum.
5 Dollar Milkshake:
5 Scoops Vanilla Bean Ice cream
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 Heavy Cream
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
whipped cream and maraschino cherry for garnish
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until thoroughly mixed.
- Garnish with whipped cream and cherry.
