Sept. 16--One of the delights of Chicago's Northwest Side is the preponderance of Filipino restaurants. Drive through Albany Park, and you'll find a bounty of mom-and-pop businesses serving up lechon, pancit and silog plates.
The food of the Phillippines is a bit like that of Cuba -- rice-based, pork and tropical fruit-centric, a bit sweeter, a bit more vinegary, not so much emphasis on spiciness. In terms of cooking that's unfamiliar to the masses, Filipino cuisine is one of the more accessible to the uninitiated.
A forthcoming festival in Logan Square will serve as a good Pinoy cuisine primer. Kultura, a Filipino-American food and arts festival, will take place Sunday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Emporium Arcade Bar (2363 N. Milwaukee Ave.). Tickets are $10 ($5 for students and seniors).
Several recognizable names will be serving food, including Kristine Subido, the chef behind the late Pecking Order (now Pecking Order Catering); Rodelio Aglibot of E+O Restaurant in Mount Prospect; and Bryan Collante of Untitled Supper Club in River North. More information can be found here.
kpang@tribpub.com
Twitter @pang
