LINCOLN SQUARE — Eating and drinking is often a dangerous proposition for characters in "Game of Thrones" — see "Red Wedding" and King Joffrey — but that hasn't stopped diners from snapping up tickets to Elizabeth restaurant's themed menu inspired by the television show.
Elizabeth announced the menu, to be served in April, on Sunday, and it immediately sold out. More dates were added in May, and those seats were instantly taken as well.
"We will likely extend the dinners," Elizabeth chef/owner Iliana Regan told DNAinfo.com via email. "We are getting such a nice response and we are really excited about it ourselves."
(More tickets were made available Wednesday through the end of May. Get 'em here.)
Though "Game of Thrones," which centers on the often bloody struggle for the Iron Throne of the fictional, medieval-ish kingdoms of Westeros, may not seem the likeliest source material for a fine dining experience, it made perfect sense to Regan, who counts herself among the show's rabid fans.
"I love the books and the show," she said. "I order HBO for that time of year and then cancel it after. It's the only show I watch on television in actual time."
While reading the books upon which "Game of Thrones" is based — author George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of fantasy of novels — Regan said she frequently came across descriptions of feasts and food that characters ate during their travels and thought, "That sounds so good. I'd like to make that."
"I think a lot of our food is similar," said Regan, whose cuisine is often described as "new gatherer" and frequently includes ingredients she's foraged. "They talk of blood sausage, warm fresh bread, blackberry preserves, sweet grass and strawberries."
Her plan for the themed dinners is to replicate dishes from each of the books' settings (there are seven kingdoms) as faithfully as possible — or to use similar ingredients to create her own version — and to reproduce the atmosphere as well.
"We will dress the restaurant with some of the colors and banners from the houses," she said. "Pottery, wood, fine china and pewter will all be used. It will be a feast."
At the same time that Regan is prepping for the "Game of Thrones" dinners, she also introduced Elizabeth's winter menu and announced plans to open a micro-bakery called Bunny, which begged the question, Does she ever sleep?
"I sleep. I dream about this stuff," she said. "I am always thinking of new ideas and creatively plugging them away in real time or storing them for the future."
In addition to the "Game of Thrones" menu, Elizabeth has hosted "doughnut and dumpling" pop-ups and put on four dinners in spring 2014 with 100-percent gathered ingredients. So what other themes are out there?
"The seasons and ingredients are our muse," said Regan. "I find inspiration everywhere and am very fluid with it. I never know what will happen next."
For information on future "Game of Thrones" dates, follow Elizabeth on Facebook or Twitter. Tickets for the dinner are $55.
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