Uncle Mike's Place

"A pioneering Filipino American diner with more than three decades under its belt, Uncle Mike’s has earned a place in the heart of many Chicagoans with its lugaw, a garlic-infused rice porridge that delivers homey comfort. Garnished roasted garlic and lemonn, co-founder Lucie Grajewski calls it “miracle soup” because it always seems to cure whatever might ail her." - Naomi Waxman, Ashok Selvam

"Uncle Mike’s Place in Ukrainian Village is appropriately named: it feels like having a meal in a relative’s dining room, if that person loved old flower tiles and made some of the city’s best Filipino breakfast platters. Each comes with a cup of soothing lugaw, garlic rice, eggs, dipping vinegar, and a protein like fatty longanisa or pork tocino. But their giant bangus is the standout: a fried milkfish that’s salty, slightly tart, and crispy. By the time you’re digging into a small complementary side of champorado, you’ll wish every meal ended with a little bit of chocolate rice porridge. " - john ringor, veda kilaru, nick allen

"Appropriately named, eating at Uncle Mike’s Place in West Town feels like having a meal at a relative’s house, if that person made some of the best Filipino breakfast platters in the city. They come with a cup of soothing lugaw, garlic rice, eggs, dipping vinegar, and your choice of protein, like fatty longanisa, spam, and pork tocino. But their giant bangus is the standout: a fried milkfish that’s perfectly salty, slightly tart, crispy, and will make you wish your neighborhood IHOP served fish for breakfast, too. To round off your meal, you also get a small side of champorado, a chocolate rice porridge. " - sam faye, adrian kane, john ringor, veda kilaru

"For When You Wanted Kasama Getting a table at Kasama in Ukrainian Village—Filipino cafe-by-day, fine-dining-restaurant-by-night—has been next to impossible since they opened in 2020 (and that was before its cameo on The Bear). But instead of waiting an hour for a longanisa breakfast sandwich, consider trekking less than a mile away to Uncle Mike’s Place for some of the city’s best Filipino breakfast platters. Each comes with a cup of soothing lugaw, garlic rice, eggs, dipping vinegar, and a protein like fatty longanisa or pork tocino. By the time you're digging into a complementary side of champorado, you'll be wishing that Uncle Mike was your actual uncle." - adrian kane, veda kilaru

"Uncle Mike’s Place is one of the city’s iconic eateries, a mix of tradition Western diner favorites and blended with Filipino favorites. It’s a little narrow and if you don’t get there early on the weekends it will be a wait, but the service is stellar, and once you’re seated your kids will be treated like royalty. Order pancakes, tocino, eggs, and more." - Ashok Selvam, Naomi Waxman