{"id":6955,"date":"2012-11-18T20:18:19","date_gmt":"2012-11-19T03:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/endoedibles.ifm.yji.mybluehost.me\/?p=6955"},"modified":"2013-05-11T12:32:39","modified_gmt":"2013-05-11T19:32:39","slug":"lost-meals-elizabeth-chicago-il","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/?p=6955","title":{"rendered":"[lost meals] Elizabeth, Chicago IL"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"027

The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation \u2013 some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year\u2019s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I\u2019ve realized there is little hope to ever \u201ccatch up\u201d or document these experiences as well as I\u2019d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.<\/p>\n

\"027

Huckleberry Pie (Consomm\u00e9 with Pie Crust Puree)<\/p>\n

\"027

Round Pancake (Filled with House Made Goat Cheese, Topped with Powdered Sugar and Malt Vinegar Powder)<\/p>\n

\"027

Woodland Terrarium (Soil of Earl Grey Tea\/Malt\/Hazelnut, Preserved Rose Petal, Rose Vinegar, Rose Hip Jelly, Rose Hip Meringue, Invasive Pickled Autumn Olives, Pickled Hibiscus)<\/p>\n

\"221\"

Tartare and Sumac (Venison Atop Brioche, Horseradish Disc, Thai Long-Peppercorn, Caper Berries, Hawthorn Berries, Swiss Chard, Sturgeon Caviar, and More)<\/p>\n

\"027

Queen Anne\u2019s Lace and Carrots (Garden Carrots, Queen Anne\u2019s Lace Jelly \u2013 Biennial Carrot with Flowers from Year Two, Lambs Quarter, Goat Cheese Whey, Carrot Top, Cashew and Carrot Top Pastry)<\/p>\n

\"027

Potato, Black Truffle, and Twig \u2013 (Potato Puree with Local Butter, Slow Cooked Quail Egg, Black Truffle, Birch Log Topped with Malt Powder Twigs)<\/p>\n

\"027

Chanterelle, Pine, and Acorns (Seared Chanterelles, Chanterelle Puree, Pine Gel, Juniper Powder, Acorn Compote, Shaved Acorns, Thyme Fluid)<\/p>\n

\"027

1 Pill Makes You Larger (Cocoa Nibs, Chamomile, and Mushroom Tea to the sounds of Jefferson Airplane)<\/p>\n

\"027

White Truffle Tagliatelle<\/p>\n

\"027

Crab Apples, Hazelnuts, Rabbit (Blue Cheese, Fermented and Pickled Crab Apple, Hazelnut Custard, Crab Apple Jelly, Rabbit Loin)<\/p>\n

\"027

Salmon Cannoli (Daikon Wrap, Dill Aioli, Strained Greek Yogurt, Aquavit Fluid Gel, Gravlax cured with Dill and Coriander)<\/p>\n

\"027

Czernina (Duck Blood Soup with Slow Cooked Duck Egg, Duck Leg Confit, Maitake Mushroom, Smoked Duck Breast, Crisp Bread Crumb)<\/p>\n

\"027

Wild Rice Crispy (Puffed Wild Rice, Curry Marshmallow, Deer Meat Bresaola, Pink Peppercorn, Cheddar)<\/p>\n

\"027

Deer, Celery Root, Cabbage (Venison Tenderloin cooked with Juniper Berry and Spruce, Venison Sausage, Roasted Celery Root, Pickled Elderberries, Amaranth, Cabbage, Shallots, Brown Butter Sauce)<\/p>\n

\"027

Forrest Float (Spruce Juice, Pine Tea, Sassafras Ice Cream)<\/p>\n

\"027

Black Walnuts and Molasses (Malt Whisky\/Vanilla Bean\/Molasses Ice Cream, Pickled Sorgum Seed, Candied Walnuts, Black Walnut Shortbread, Black Walnut Powder, Goat Milk Caramel)<\/p>\n

\"027

Porcini Mushroom (Porcini Caramel, Tarragon Pudding, Almond Sea Salt)<\/p>\n

\"027

Coffee<\/p>\n

\"027

From the tin ceiling to the long wooden communal tables to a kitchen you literally walk through in order to get to the restroom a meal at Iliana Regan\u2019s Elizabeth feels like a dinner with friends far separated from the bustle of the Windy City and garnering great praise since its inception my sister and I entered the \u201cDeer\u201d menu with high expectations \u2013 some that would be met, some exceeded, and others falling a bit short; the true signs of a restaurant still finding its footing and more than willing to take some chances.<\/p>\n

\"027

Defined as \u201cnew gatherer cuisine\u201d by the chef herself part of the experience that is Elizabeth comes from not only the unique variety of ingredients on the table but also in their execution; an Alinea-esque molecular expression of foraged cuisine where much is manipulated and little is what it at first seems; table pieces integrated into dishes and music delivered with plates to engage senses beyond those of the mouth, nose, and eyes\u2026and yet at the same time, much of the experience is quite unlike Alinea \u2013 many of the dishes not particularly delicious and both the terrarium and float barely palatable.<\/p>\n

\"027

A lovely space with a team obviously very dedicated to their vision another \u2018issue\u2019 in the Elizabeth experience is the communal-only approach, a quartet at our table never ending their blather long enough to allow the chefs to present a dish while the eight enjoying the Diamond menu were all clearly very interested in the cuisine, receiving ample descriptions of each plate and vastly more attentive service than our table (deservedly so given their interest, and certainly not to critique the exemplary service team who does their best to engage each customer as an individual despite the dining room\u2019s format.)<\/p>\n

\"027

Speaking to the cuisine in general, many of the dishes at Elizabeth were truly stunning and all highly crafted, detailed, and beautiful \u2013 the Czernina one of the most rustic and funky plates I enjoyed in 2012, the back-to-back Tartare and Queen Anne\u2019s Lace truly inspired, the potato even richer and more flavorful than Robuchon\u2019s famous pommes puree, and the *bonus* tagliatelle (sourced and served because one of our dining companions was the mother of one of the sous-chefs) potentially worth the cost of admission in ingredient quality, execution, and portion size.<\/p>\n

\"027

Course for course it should go without saying that Elizabeth is a \u2018serious\u2019 restaurant despite its casual atmosphere and with the highs very high and the majority of the lows more than compensated by the rest of the meal I imagine that with time Regan\u2019s cuisine and vision will evolve into a true destination restaurant in a city where such designation is no small feat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation \u2013 some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,28,13,1014,27,153,97,900,32,83,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chicago","category-coffee","category-dessert","category-elizabeth","category-food","category-ice-cream","category-illinois","category-lost-meals","category-pancakes","category-truffle","category-vacation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6955"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6996,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6955\/revisions\/6996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endoedibles.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}