Fab Review: Uncle Mike’s Place

Uncle Mike’s Place, a family-owned diner, is situated in a quiet part of West Town. They serve Filipino-American breakfasts and classic American diner food. Started as a classic diner in 1991, the place evolved after Uncle Mike started serving recipes inspired by his Filipina mother-in-law. Uncle Mike’s Place has since become one of the best places to get Filipino food in Chicago.

One of my best friends is Filipina, and she’s told me that a comedian once accurately described Filipino food as “food that was created on a dare.” It tends to be sweet, oily, and garlicky (all things that make food taste great). There’s also significant use of soy sauce, vinegar, and citrus, as well as a happy addition of eggs to everything.

{Ambiance}

The unassuming storefront of Uncle Mike’s opens up to a very cozy and welcoming space: sunlight seeps through bamboo-printed screens, bright red chairs accent the warm wicker tables, and eclectic collections of Filipino and Chinese décor rest in corners and on counters. The warm, homey vibe continues with the staff, as the waiters happily banter with each other in their black “got filipino?” T-shirts, and Uncle Mike himself walks around checking up on the customers. There’s audible shuffling, clanking, and the usual noises of cooking from the kitchen, and music plays softly in the background.

While there is an extensive offering of standard American brunch and lunch options, the best sellers are the Filipino breakfast dishes. A chalkboard with hand-drawn script even hangs on the wall, proudly boasting the Filipino food.

While the front section of the diner may be quite intimate, there’s no need to worry about busier brunch times, as there’s a large back room with more seating.

{Food}
Pancit
We learned from the waiters that Uncle Mike sometimes randomly makes dishes that are not featured on the menu. Luckily for us, he decided to serve Pancit that day. Pancit, thin rice noodles stir-fried with soy sauce and citrus, is a common Filipino comfort food. Ours was well seasoned, tossed with basil, and had a light heat to it. It was also mixed with slices of hard-boiled egg and pickled ginger.

Lugao
Lugao is a rice congee mixed with chicken, ginger, fried garlic, lemon, and scallions. Congee is a staple of Asian cuisine, and it’s a simple yet incredibly satisfying dish. Uncle Mike’s Lugao was the perfect consistency – the rice had been cooked long enough to have broken into smaller pieces, making it easy to scarf down. A bowl of lugao is given to every person, and it’s all made fresh every day. I know that because Uncle Mike just gives giant cups of the day’s leftover lugao to customers to take home at closing time.

FAB TIP: If you eat at Uncle Mike’s near closing, he might have some Lugao left for you to take.

Marinated Skirt Steak
Uncle Mike’s claims that their marinated skirt steak is the “best damn marinated skirt steak east of the Pecos,” and I wholeheartedly agree (though I wonder where I can find best steak west of the Pecos). I’m generally not a big steak eater, but this steak was speaking to me. It was incredibly juicy and tender, and the marinade steeped every inch of the steak with a great umami flavor, all complemented with a delicate sweetness. Each breakfast plate comes with garlic fried rice, two eggs, sawsawan kamatis (like pico de gallo), lugao, and chocolate rice pudding, essentially giving you a meal and a half. The garlic fried rice was delectably aromatic, and as a fan of garlic, I could not get enough of it. Even the eggs, fried with red chili flakes, had a little extra something.

Bangus
I have eaten whole fish many times in my life before, but being served a full Bangus still elicited a WOW. Bangus is a boneless grilled milkfish, and ours was served with a vinegar and pepper dipping sauce. I found parts of the fish a bit dry, though dipping it in the vinegar provided some relief. My favorite part was actually the crispy skin of the fish, which was good enough to eat alone.

Longanisa and Tocino Combination
Because I am a lifetime fan of longanisa and have never tried tocino, it only made sense to get a combination plate. Longanisa is a sweet anise-wine pork sausage, and tocino is anise-cured pork shoulder. What you need to take away from that sentence is that these meats are sweet, savory, juicy, a little fatty, and perfectly crisped at some edges.

FAB TIP: If you can’t decide which Filipino foods you want to try, you can order a lunch combo with any two different types of meats.

Spam and Egg Sandwich
I ate a lot of spam growing up, because what kid doesn’t love salty, questionable meat? As an adult, I find spam to be too salty, though I occasionally still enjoy it in a stir-fry. If you’re not watching your blood pressure, the spam and egg sandwich is a simple but delicious choice. While the white bread somewhat tempers the saltiness of the spam, I did find myself wishing for a sweet sauce or some vegetables to balance out the salt more.

Potato Pancakes
The menu boasted that these potato pancakes were homemade from scratch, and I figured with that sort of call-out, they must be pretty special. And, they are! I got a giant plate of beautiful potato pancakes crisped to a perfect golden brown and served with two dipping dishes of apple sauce and sour cream. The crispy edges of the pancakes were divine, and the middle was a very interesting creamy texture. While I was hoping for something a little firmer, perhaps closer to the texture of a hash brown, these pancakes were delicious.

{Experience}
If you’re looking to try some good Filipino food, Uncle Mike’s is a great place to go. The food is familiar, comforting, and at the same time, unique. The diner itself is welcoming with a homey environment and such a pleasant place to eat at. I really enjoyed each and every one of the dishes. If I absolutely had to pick (and this is like choosing a favorite child), I would say my favorites were the longanisa and the pancit. You can’t really go wrong with any of the Filipino dishes, and I will definitely be back to try the pork chop.

{Location}
Uncle Mike’s Place
Ukrainian Village || 1700 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL || P: (312) 226-5318

{Price Range}
$$ ($11-$36)

{Fab Rating: 4.5 Fabs}

Have you ever tried Filipino food? What’s your favorite dish?

Live, laugh, eat,
Senxi

Note: This meal was not complimentary. The views and opinions are those of the writer.