On a recent trip to Chicago, my friends and I made it a point to visit Kasama, the world’s first Filipino restaurant to receive a Michelin star. Located in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village, Kasama is owned by Chefs Tim Flores and Genie Kwon, both fine-dining veterans, giving a contemporary twist to traditional Filipino foods. Kasama was opened at the height of the pandemic in 2020, and the increased COVID restrictions provided them regular customers who were then working from h

I am constantly interested and amazed with the many ways people celebrate their culture. Last January, we attended a special culinary event at Filistix Downtown, Rice & Mysticism. Now, Filistix is known for its ‘crossover of traditional and modernized Filipino dishes’. It is a place that features and provides space for other Filipino chefs - the other one I patronized was the one of Chef JP Dublado. Filistix by itself provides exceptional food, but when it presents these pop