Icewind Dale – isolated region of Faerun where temperatures drop to -40 Celcius in the winter. True home of Drizzt do’Urden and many more heroes of Faerun. Location of iconic Icewind Dale games brought by Wizards of The Coast.

The place is fit for any adventurer in search of great deeds and heroic actions. And as we know every hero has to eat. Whether it’s the rich inn in Bremen or lonely fishermans tavern in Caer-Dineval the local cuisine is always an interest to traveling party that have just smashed a band of Yeti’s.

So hold on to your spoons brave adventurers because below you will find a summary of Icewind Dale culinary delights from wariant taverns and inn’s. That is.. if you have the gold to pay for them.

Local Cuisine

The food in Icewind Dale consist of hot, hearty comforting meals. Most of which are prepared from local ingredients with a huge dose of imported spices, pickles and dried foods prepared in summer. Local cuisine has become known for meals prepared from Knucklehead trout – that lives only in this region. The bones of Knucklehead trout are pure ivory, and it is used to create jewelry and luxury items famous in Faerun. Another famous local product is sweet local mead brewed in Good Mead town – smallest of Ten Towns of Icewind Dale.

Icewind Dale Street Food

Street cuisine is not very popular in Icewind Dale for few obvious reasons. First of all the temperature does not encourage eating or drinking outside especially in the winter season. Taverns seem to be more attractive and welcoming when its freezing. Running a stall in this temperature would require not only a food heater but also heater for stall attendant. So there are extra costs. And even if you pay those, there is no guarantee that customer would like to purchase and eat something in -40 degree Celcius.

The only exception to that, was the Cold Counting Comfort Festival held in Ten Cities in honor of Waukeen. Although the goddess did not have many followers in Icewind Dale – the winter festival took deep roots in Ten Cities.

During the festiwal people would build bonfires on streets, hold a parade with torches leading to the lakes and then drop the torches into the icy water to mark the beginning of ‘awaiting for the spring’ period.

Every tavern and inn would have a both serwing things like:

– Mulled wine with roots and oranges
– Mulled mead with ginger
– Reindeer skewers marinated in dark beer
– Trout cakes
Small cookie-sized cakes made from corn flower, dozens of eggs and trout meat, spiced so hot that newcomers could barely stand to eat it
– Grilled reindeer sausages served with hot mustard and bread
– Wild Hunters Stew
Famous dish made of cabbage, wild mushroom, roots, spices, 3 types of meat (rothe, reindeer, boar), anc cooked for 48 hours in dry wine and lard, then rested for a week before reheating. 

Big Fat Knucklehead Tavern

Small shady tavern just by the lake shore located in Easthaven mostly used to serve simple cheap dishes to fishermen. The food here can be best described as barely edible, with exception to variety of fish which are served fresh but their taste is mediocre:

Breakfast examples:

– Fisherman’s sandwich
Two big slices of stale bread, buttered with lard and seasoned with thick salt. Sandwich is filled with herring that was marinated with onion and oil. 
– Fried blood sausage
Blood sausage fried with lard and onion, served with stale bread
– Cottage bowl
Cottage cheese mixed with garlic and pieces of trout, served with stale bread

Dinner examples:

– Sea Soup
Soup made on rothe’s broth with trout, mussels, carp fish and cod fish with potatoes and carrots
– Meatloaf with mashed potatoes
– Baked Trout served with potatoes
– Fried Carp served with stale bread

Drinks:

– Low quality dark beer
– Watered down wine
– Grog
– Local hooch

Buried Treasures Inn

This building is located in Bremen. It was created from materials like pinewood and stone. It has large open hall on ground level and two upper floors filled with rooms. Both the food and the rooms are of middle standard and price. The decor is nice and simple, and mostly inspired by local craftsmanship. It has deer antler chandeliers and handcrafted pine chairs and tables, with simple candlesticks from pine wood. In the middle of the hall there is a huge round fireplace encased with stone. Huge supporting beams are painted green with blue drawings of deer, bears and boars. Bar is located on the left wall and it’s always packed and rowdy. This Inn caterers to adventurers, passers by and merchants alike. 

Breakfast examples:

– Sweet pancakes with honey, creme and wild berries
– Fired reindeer sausage with peas and toasted bread
– Scrambled eggs on fried lard and sausage
– Scrambled eggs with seasonal mushrooms
– Breakfast fish plate
Smoked trout, fried cod and carp fish. Served with cottage cheese and fresh bread rolls

Dinner examples:

– Knucklehead Soup
Local traditional dish prepared only in Icewind Dale in a region of 3 lakes. Soup was always prepared on open fire. First a heavy vegetable, mushroom and beef broth is prepared. The broth takes up to 7 hours to cook, and it rests overnight. The next day both fresh and fried knucklehead trout fillets are added to broth along with onion, potatoes, carrots and horseradish. Soup is served with trout cakes.
– Grilled trout meat
Knucklehead trout fillets grilled with garlic lemon sauce, spices and served with fresh salad and baked potatoes 
– Rothe’s Cutlet
Minced rothe’s cutlet, fried and stewed in onion sauce, served with pickle salad and mashed potatoes

Luxury Dinner Example:

– Winter Beast
Reindeers thigh marinated to 48 hours in wine, honey, winegar, oil and local mustard. Then baked on a hearth for 5 hours, with apples and prunes. Served with cranberries and baked potatoes
– Whale Skewers
Giant skewers with 5 whole different fishes – each one in different marinate: Club fish, pearch, trout, crucian fish and eel. Bakes on a hearth, on wood from rare Arctic Alder, which leave a distinctive mint-like taste.

Drinks:

– Good Mead Triple
– Good Mead Double
– Good Mead One and a half
– Dwarf’s Dark Beer ‘Battlehammer’
– Silver Pale Ale
– Ice Wine
– Winter tea with berries