Photo: Anna Knott

The kitchen staff at Elizabeth works to create ambitious, nature-inspired dishes. 

Elizabeth (4835 N Western., 773-681-0651). New Gatherer Cuisine.

(two and a half stars)

$$$$

There’s no other place in Chicago quite like Iliana Regan’s Elizabeth. Equal parts dinner party, performance art, and forager’s paradise, this deep golden storefront offers three menus between 10 and 20 courses ($90 to $130), full of ideas and creations that are ambitious, surprising, and ultimately satisfying. Whether you’re eating raccoon Bolognese to the sounds of “Rocky Raccoon” on portable speakers or watching a dish of “maple wood, birch, and dried mushroom tea” brew tableside in a hot infusion siphon, it’s obvious that this restaurant fearlessly marches to its own beat. Staffers treat guests at the communal tables with uncommon care, wine pairings show great savvy, and chefs share every detail, if you’re so inclined. Buy tickets at elizabeth-restaurant.com.

Dishes We Liked: (All dishes are part of a prix fixe menu.) Foraged mushroom and juniper; foie gras and homemade brioche; apple cider, sunchoke, and loup de mer; shrimp noodles; hamachi and fermented leek; dry-aged rib eye; bacon ice cream cones

New restaurant reviews, updated to reflect critics’ recent visits, appear each month in Chicago magazine, in Dine, as well as on our website. Listed restaurants are rated from one to four stars, where one is good, two is very good, three is excellent, and four is superlative. Elizabeth previously was not rated. The review appears in the June issue, on newsstands now.