With ingredients like sweet-savory longanisa sausage, nutty pandan, and earthy ube, Filipino food has firmly taken hold in Chicago over the past decade. Among the many openings featuring the archipelagic country’s cuisine are a trio of spots in Ravenswood, all on Damen Avenue and in walkable proximity — including one super-buzzy new bakery (read: long lines). That combination has the makings of a culinary crawl too good to pass up. Here’s our stop-by-stop guide to this Filipino bang-bang-bang (to borrow from Louis C.K.).
STOP 1
Del Sur Bakery
4639 N. Damen Ave. delsurchicago.com
The backstory: Justin Lerias, formerly of Big Jones, started out holding pop-ups at Side Practice Coffee, offering pastries that drew on his Filipino heritage. That was such a success that in March he opened this storefront by the Damen Brown Line station. It instantly became the hottest bakery in a city where folks are happy to queue up for carbs.
The order: The soy-caramel-slicked longanisa croissant is a worthy pick, but my top two choices are the Basque cake, topped with pandan cream and a rotating seasonal jam, and the turon Danish, a long, laminated beauty made with caramelized banana jam and vanilla flan.
The tip: On weekends, expect long lines and hour-plus waits. Weekdays are less busy. (When I arrived shortly after the 8 a.m. open on a Friday, the wait was 45 minutes.) There’s no indoor seating, so get your box and head north to stop 2 — a 15-minute walk or a few minutes on the No. 50 bus.
STOP 2
Kanin
5131 N. Damen Ave. kanin.chi
The backstory: Julius Tacadena, who was born in the Philippines and raised in Hawaii, draws on both places for the menu at his colorful bodega, which has a handful of tables, along with coolers and shelves stocked with Asian drinks and snacks (be sure to snag some ube banana pudding). Like Lerias, he got his start doing pop-ups at Side Practice and opened his own restaurant in March.
The order: Grab some classic Spam musubi or the version with longanisa and egg, which makes for a savory breakfast bite. At 11 a.m., the bento boxes hit the case: The barbecue chicken one includes rice, pickled daikon and ginger, and a sprinkle of furikake.
The tip: If you have trouble finding a table, take your spread with you to eat next door at stop 3, where there’s more seating.
STOP 3
Side Practice Coffee
5139 N. Damen Ave. sidepracticecoffee.com
The backstory: Francis Almeda, the man behind Novel Pizza in Pilsen and Drip Collective in the West Loop, is the consummate connector. He helped Lerias and Tacadena get their businesses off the ground (he’s a part owner of Kanin). At this shop, which he opened in 2020, you’ll find Volition teas and coffee from local roasters like New Math and Four Letter Word. You can get classic espressos, pour-overs, and drip coffee, but the menu also features rotating Filipino-inflected specials, like a latik latte, made with coconut syrup infused with bay leaf.
The order: The pandan-vanilla latte, a menu staple, is the first thing you should try.
The tip: The shop hosts local food pop-ups, often side projects like Tita Tootsie’s, a Filipino food collective that includes Moody Tongue sous chef Bryan Collante. Find out about upcoming events via Instagram (sidepractice.coffee).