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A Royal Feast from Fire and Ice

I've been dying to post this article about the lovely feast that I had at Elizabeth Restaurant.

And the theme couldn't be more perfect! It was a Game of Thrones -themed dinner, fit for royals!

The minute I got my invitation/reminder for the dinner, I was floored!

So, of course, I can dressed (well, inspired) by one of my favorite characters - Danaerys Targaryen.

The enchanting location is found a few steps away from Dark Tower Comics.

Walking into the restaurant got me spell bound! I could smell the food the chefs were prepping and each corner of the restaurant was filled with items that would remind you of the characters and locations from the show and the book.

To give you an overview, the dinner was composed of 11 courses, spanning from 7:00pm through 11:30 pm. Try to guess which dish was inspired by which book-title, character and location! You'll see why at the very end.

We started the meal with Strawberries and Sweet Grasses.

Freshly picked salad with chopped nuts, dandellions and shaved smoked duck egg.

The bread, pickled beets and salt was so meticulously prepared! I enjoyed watching the chefs from a distance.

Snails with honey, pistachio, wild grasses and garlic may be out of some diners' comfort zones, but it was an absolute delight!

Macarel, blood sausage, black berry jam, and black bread - inspired by a favorite dish by one of the royals!

Clams and mussels cooked over wood fire was one of my favorite dishes!

This seventh dish should be easy to guess - it's pickled beets, fermented milk and heart.

The eighth course was spring lamb, onions, malt ale and lovage.

The 9th dish should also be a give away! It's made of poppy seed and panna cotta.

The lemon cakes had just the right amount of tartness, leaving the diners wanting more!

And finally, a plate of cheeses.

After dinner, I spoke to Illiana Regan - the very talented chef behind Elizabeth.

She particularly loved this dinner because it was the first time she had a communal-style dinner in the restaurant, and she was so happy about how it turned out. Normally, the dinners have 9 different tables arranged around the dining area. She wanted to do a "feast" this time around and loved how everyone just started talking to each other with ease despite eating with strangers.

All the food in the course are made from original recipes, with some of the ingredients either locally grown or grown in her very own backyard! She started the Game of Thrones themed dinner on April 3rd--just in time for the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere the following weekend. Knowing that she is a huge fan of both the book and the show, I asked her a few questions -

I started by asking who the most underrated character in the show is. Her answer: Petyr Baelish, also known as Little Finger, played by actor Aiden Gillen. She thinks that he's very unpredictable. "You don't know how bad he is, since he is also counseling Sansa Stark and trying to help her. And he's very good at playing the 'game'". We both agreed that one of the favorite quotes from the show was uttered by his chacter, saying:

"Chaos isn't a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some, are given a chance to climb. They refuse, they cling to the realm or the gods or love. Illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is."

She added, she's surprised that Sansa ended up being a strong character in the show. In the book, she didn't have that big of a role. She's looking forward to what's going to happen between Sansa and Baelish.

We moved on to her favorites. Tyrion Lannister, is of course smart and realistic, making him one of he favorites. And of course, Jon Snow, whose loyalty--she pointed out--becomes his weakness, as we saw in this past weeked's season finale. She loved seeing Danaerys and Tyrion meeting and talking. Danaerys Targaryen is one of her favorite characters. She thinks her character is someone everyone can identify with - going through a journey and striving for success.

We also discussed one of the most talked about episodes of the show, Hardhome. She pointed out that the show had the feel of an action film, going as far as to point out that the zombies falling off the cliff reminded her of World War Z.

When asked about the high demand for the Game of Thrones themed dinner, she said she might plan on incorporating mini Game of Thrones events at Wunder POP. The dinner was so popular that she had to extend it another 2 weeks, and to much of the patrons delight she got a lot of requests for tickets!

You could obtain a ticket to her themed-dinners by subscribing to her newsletter in her website, http://website.elizabeth-restaurant.com/

Elizabeth Restaurant is located in:

4835 N. Western Ave Unit D Chicago, IL 60625

This summer, Elizabeth's theme is - Native American Tribute Series!

July-September

Weekends in August and September weekdays are now open.
Weekdays in September are 50-60/person plus tax and gratuity

Look at the sneak peak from this coming season's menu -

Fall Menu: Grimm's vs Mother Goose.

October sold out in just a few hours from when it was announced! You'll be able to choose from a Grimm's focused fairy tale menu or a Mother Goose focused fairy tale menu. These menus will include our most whimsical preparations. If you think there is not going to be a duck press, think again. It will be fun to finally see what little red riding hood had in her basket.

Be sure to also check out her two other restaurants -

2928 N. Broadway Chicago, IL

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