Foodie Rant - Properly Sauced? Try Properly Ripped Off.
Oprah-geddon: Winfrey To Quit Show In 2011
Daley Blames - Who Else? - The Media For Oprah-geddon
NYT Preps For Chicago Edition
Chicago Gets Googled
The jibarito is a cross-cultural gem with a very American story. It was invented in Chicago (circa 1993) at Humboldt Park’s Borinquen Restaurant, a tricked-out plantain sandwich inspired by Puerto Rican culture and named after its peasant class, then embraced across strata at local Cuban, Mexican, and South American joints.
We’re hardly the first to praise the luscious mix of thinly sliced and spiced steak, stringy onions with a touch of lettuce, tomato and condiments on a bed of sliced plantain softened just enough that each bite is one step closer to heaven … or a heart attack. Diner beware: one online recipe lists the dish at over 42 grams of fat (with a full day’s allotment of saturated fat). The chef’s secret, apparently, is to twice fry the plantain, then fry everything else in butter and oil.
Ham, chicken, and veggie versions are widely available, but we prefer going whole hog … uh, cow. The version served at Habana Libre is almost as good as Borinquen's. Cafe Laguardia’s version is respectable.
The original Borinquen Restaurant is located at 1720 N. California Ave. and is open 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m. until midnight Friday and Saturday. Varieties of our favorite sandwich range from $4.95-6.95 (vegetarian – meat lovers, each one comes with rice). Additional branches located at 3811 N. Western Ave. and 3020 N. Central Ave.
Photo via gwiv.com
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Hey guys,
Love Chicagoist. Even wanted to write for it, but I'm leavin' the city. Anyway... just a note: why run a picture of an empanada in a story about a jibarito sandwich? I know empanadas are the new cupcakes, but c'mon, you can do better.
Also, the plantain has to be fried twice. It's basically just a big @$$ toston. No secret, just tradition. I've never had one of these sandwiches myself (always seemed kind of sacrilegious), but I may not be able to live with myself if I don't try one before leaving Chicago. People might question my boricua pride...
-c
These things rock; I just wish I could have them more often. Just eating one will tell you how unhealthy they are, but man, it's good fun when you're eating one.
The original Borinquen is right around the corner from me, but I've only been twice in the 2+ years living there. What a shame...
Coquito: an early parting gift for you. The picture's fixed.
I am pretty sure their website (which is where I imagine you got the price from) is outdated. I was their a week ago and the steak jibarito is up to $7.55 I think.