Ravenswood Gets a Bakery and Cafe Offering Filipino Flavors Folded into Classic Pastries

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What did you get for your 23rd birthday? For Justin Lerias, it’s the realization of a dream conceived during high school of opening a Filipino pastry spot, Del Sur Bakery & Cafe. But calling the March 29 opening of the shop a gift overlooks the year of work, planning, and crowdfunding that has gone into it since Lerias first took out a lease on the space at 4639 N. Damen Ave. in Ravenswood almost exactly a year ago.

And it also belies the creativity and effort behind the pastries that make the business a possibility. Lerias’ signature offerings, honed over two years of pop-ups, fold Filipino flavors into laminated dough: citrusy calamansi curd in a morning bun, sweet-savory longanisa sausage in a croissant, caramelized banana jam in a danish that mimics the fried banana egg rolls known as turon. Trendy purple ube makes it into a cream pie as buttercream sandwiched between oat cookies, a nod to Lerias’ and the bakery’s roots in the Midwest as well.

As those treats make clear, Lerias isn’t filling the antique display case he found in an Andersonville store with classic pastries but twists on them. The “plain” croissant includes toasted, ground wild rice in its dough. Vanilla-like pandan shows up in a basque cake or raspberry danish. The brownie is inspired by the ubiquitous Filipino dish adobo, with chocolate deepened by soy sauce caramel and bay leaf-infused brown butter then brightened by pink peppercorns.

“Let’s do something different,” Lerias says to explain his approach. “Let’s do versions of what we think is cool.”

And the flavors aren’t limited to Filipino influences. Lerias might put oniony nigella seeds, goat cheese, or sauerkraut in a hand pie. Focaccia might just be focaccia. And all manner of ingredients could fill a bready kolache.

Lerias, who was born in the Philippines but grew up on the North Side of Chicago, describes Del Sur as “Filipino flavors, Midwestern flair.”

“Midwestern to me is seasonality of things – we do have four seasons here,” he says. “Having a rotating list of ingredients keeps you interested and intrigued as to what you can do.”

Drinks will also rotate through the menu, giving commuters getting on the Brown Line at Damen Avenue next door variety through the year. (The espresso is from Four Letter Word, the drip from Ceramic Coffee Roasters, and the tea and matcha from Volition Tea.) Think a tamarind spritz, lychee tea, or a turon latte, in addition to regular ube, pandan, and mocha drinks.

None of those would be out of place on the menu up the street at Side Practice Coffee, where Lerias first started selling his pastries as a pop-up. Like that shop, Del Sur will spotlight some local businesses such as Andersonville’s Five Elements Home and Edgewater Candles on a retail wall, in addition to Filipino chocolate made with beans sourced from the home island of Lerias’ father.

Side Practice was Lerias’ advisor Francis Almeda’s first business in a hospitality group now teasingly referred to as the “Almeda-verse.” It has grown to include such Filipino-inflected spots as Novel Pizza Cafe and the Hawaiian bodega Kanin, which just opened next to Side Practice to lines down the block. (Lincoln Square and Ravenswood are becoming a hub for Filipino food, with Bayan Ko and Boonie's nearby.) Lerias downplays the popularity of Del Sur and the possibility that it might draw similar crowds – yet he’s still bracing for it.

But he doesn’t want to grow over-popular or hyped. “It’s just a simple to-go bakery,” he says. “We’re in the business of serving people. We are not doing heart surgery.” He finds himself at home in the space, with its olive green walls, dark wood shelves featuring cookbooks and personal photos, and expansive kitchen separated from the front by a sheer linen curtain. He has taken naps on a flat-topped geometric counter, and jokes that he wants to use the antique display case as his coffin. If business goes well, he might take over additional neighboring space to expand his storefront to include seating, but for now, “It’s everything I wanted.” 

Del Sur Bakery & Cafe opens March 29, with regular hours from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, Thursday through Sunday.

This story has been corrected to refer to Francis Almeda's role in Del Sur Bakery & Cafe.