The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Spoon University.
Kasama has gone viral on TikTok and Instagram reels more times than I can count, so I had to check it out and see if it is worth the hype. Nestled in Chicago’s East Ukrainian Village, the modern Filipino eatery holds the distinction of being the only Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant in the world. At night, they boast a pricey 13-course tasting menu, but during the day, their bakery and lunch menu shine.
The interior of the restaurant is light and airy with an open kitchen concept, with an option for beautiful outdoor patio seating. But beware – if you want to dine-in, get there early. A line outside of the restaurant starts to form long before they open at 9 a.m. Or, if you want to skip the wait completely, I suggest ordering online right at 9 a.m. to bypass the line to pick up your to-go food.
Other than their tasting menu, Kasama is famous for their critically acclaimed breakfast sandwich, which many say is the best in Chicago. The bakery menu changes day-to-day, but keeps classics and fan-favorites like the black truffle croissant, ube and huckleberry basque cake, foie gras tart, and more. They also offer classic Filipino breakfast platters and chicken and mushroom adobos.
I was most excited to try the breakfast sandwich, so I ordered it with egg cheese, hashbrown, and longanisa sausage. The sandwich was $11.50 with an additional charge of $3.25 for the hashbrown, making it $14.75 total. While I think the sandwich is on the pricier side, the added hashbrown made it worth the extra cost.
The sandwich was incredibly rich, making it perfect to share. The eggs were deliciously fluffy and indulgent when paired with the gooey American cheese and the crisp, piping hot hash brown. The star of the show, the longanisa sausage, was slightly sweet and garlicky and had the most delicious caramelized and crispy texture. The only thing missing was something to cut the richness, so it might be good with some hot sauce or vinegar.
Next, we ordered the classic Filipino breakfast ($17.50), which includes a choice of longanisa sausage or tocino, garlic rice, a fried egg, and pickled papaya. I opted for the tocino, which is a sweet, cured pork. The rice was gummy in a good way, but I found the garlic flavor to be lacking. The tocino was a good combination of sweet, sticky, and crispy, but if I were to get the dish again, I would most likely get the longanisa sausage instead. While the egg was high quality and cooked well, the dish was incredibly rich and overall lacking acidity.
Lastly, we ordered the ube and huckleberry basque cake, which was $8.50. The outside was crispy and buttery, and the inside was crumbly and soft. The cake shell was sweet, and the huckleberry flavor of the filling added a tartness that balanced it out well. While ube has a mild flavor, I would’ve liked to be able to taste it a little more.
I had been wanting to try Kasama for a while, so I’m glad I finally made it there. While I wouldn’t go out of my way again to commute early in the morning just for the food, if I’m ever in the neighborhood again, I will definitely be back to try more!