Del Sur, now open in Lincoln Square, is a bakery with Filipino flavors and Midwest flair | Eater Chicago
"Opened a year after the lease was signed and eight years after the owner’s high-school journal plans, this 1,200-square-foot Lincoln Square counter-service bakery next to the CTA Brown Line Damen stop showcases creative Filipino American baked goods that began as a pandemic home project and grew from pop-ups and a regular slot at Side Practice Coffee. Signature items include calamansi chamomile buns, turon danishes (in the tradition of sweet lumpias), ube oatmeal sandwich cookies, and longanisa-filled croissants, and the owner credits Side Practice’s Francis Almeda as a major supporter; Lerias prefers to call him an advisor versus a co-owner and says, "Francis is too important in our little universe to force him to be in one space like he would if he was a partner here." Born on Mindanao and raised on Chicago’s North Side, his résumé includes pastry positions at Lost Larson and Big Jones, and he says, "I’m a quiet and introspective person, and I feel like my pastries are a very good indicator of who I am as a person and how I approach my career and my work." He instructed his small team: "If we’re going to be a specialty bakery, let’s really ride that," which shows up in technical touches like kneading a toasted blend of Midwest-grown wild rice and Asian black rice into croissant dough, an adobo brownie made with bay leaf–infused brown butter, soy sauce caramel, and pink peppercorns, a kringle paired with ube jam, and repurposing croissant trimmings into seasonal hand pies (fillings such as caramelized onions and elote); kolaches are planned (including a hoped-for sweet pork belly and egg version) alongside focaccia and a limited run of sourdough loaves. Instead of almond croissants the shop is offering a pumpkin seed version filled with toasted pumpkin seed frangipane and using day-old toasted rice croissants revived with salted pandan syrup, a choice made in part because a friend died at 16 from a nut allergy: "That really shapes how I approach allergies," he says. "I feel — at least for the first six months of the bakery — I want her family to be able to come here." The beverage program uses Four Letter Word for espresso and Ceramic Coffee Roasters for drip coffee, Volition Tea for single-origin teas and matcha, offers alternative milks at no extra charge (the owner is lactose-intolerant), and features housemade syrups (salted pandan, dark mocha, caramelized honey), house chai, a tamarind spritz with matcha and tajin, and a banana-flavored milk made from banana peels for a turon latte; "I’m always looking for ways to be sustainable as a business," says Lerias. Much of the equipment is secondhand (the espresso machine came from Side Practice), and the interior pairs lime-washed walls, dark wood accents, and terra-cotta floor tiles with a vintage glass-and-wood case sourced from Andersonville’s Scout, a white linen curtain separating retail from the kitchen, and wooden shelves stocked with products from friends (Philippine chocolate bars with beans from the same town as his father, Thai chili jams from Pink Salt Kitchen, scented candles from Edgewater Candles); all items are fair-trade or single-origin and photos of family and friends are displayed. Pastry boxes are a faded green that matches the walls and contain illustrations meant to mimic laminated layers, with the bakery’s motto "Filipino Flavors, Midwestern Flair" printed on the bottom and three petals attached to a squiggly line on the outside representing the owner’s mom and two sisters. For now the operation is counter-service only but the owner is considering taking the neighboring vacant space to add seating to become a community-focused gathering place; early support was demonstrated by a crowdfunding campaign via Honeycomb Credit that raised $40,000 in 24 hours and $80,000 by day four, and Lerias sums up his approach: "Sure, we’re going to be serving good food and drinks, but to me, it’s more about how we impact the community," and "Community over competition is the biggest thing because if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder, you’re never going to grow." - Lisa Shames
