Jibarito - Puerto Rican for "Is that deep fried plantain for bread?"

Driving down Division Ave in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood, you make a special detour from America to If-Lou-Dobbs-Saw-This-His-Pumpkin-Head-Would-Explode-ville.


Many things have been said about Puerto Ricans, but never 'understated.'
The jibarito is a Chicago specialty imported by the Borinquen Restaurant from Puerto Rico in the 1990s. The main ingredients are deep fried plantains, garlic, meat, garlic, lettuce, garlic, garlic mayonnaise, garlic, some sort of meat, garlic, and also an understated hint of garlic to bring out the subtle dashes of garlic.
Needless to say, this is a date meal, or better yet, a pre-date meal.

ToucanSam and I went to the original Borinquen Restaurant on California Blvd. If I recall the way I got us lost on that trip was taking the 90/94 Dan Ryan heading East instead of West, because clearly a freeway going North/South should be labeled as East/West. And also, as points of reference it should use states no one goes to (to go get to Division, should we head East on the Dan Ryan towards Indiana, or West towards Wisconsin?).

In any case, the fried plantains are a telenovela in your mouth. Talk about garlic infused: garlic took these plantains out back, got them pregnant, married them to save face in a small town, and now they live in the basement of garlic’s parents’ house to save money until garlic’s band takes off.

The classic steak filler left this reviewer cold, however. For $6, I guess I wasn’t expecting beer-fed and massaged kobe beef pounded to tender perfection, but, crap on bicycle, how about using the cows that can make the walk up the plank to the slaughterhouse?

Doing more research I came upon Papa’s Cache Sabroso. The first time we tried to get to Papa’s it was closed. Sullen, we ended up at some bourgeoisie nightclub that served an overpriced jibaritos platter that was awful. Jibaritos are like Mexican food: if you pay more than $8, it’s not going to be good (incidentally, the same cannot be said for peep shows down Khaosan Road in Bangkok).

The day we finally tasted Papa's, some kid was blasting Sponge Bob Squarepants full volume in the corner television right above our heads. If we had had something to talk about this might have been an inconvenience. Traditionally, a jibarito is made with steak, but at Papa’s, the slow-roasted chicken took my taste buds, slapped them across the face, twisted their arm till they called 'uncle', took their milk money, and sent them home a disheveled mess. In a good way. You’ll have to take my word about the chicken since ToucanSam is a vegetarian; his jibarito was a bit more passive. The garlic and plantains started off strong, but the finish was all lettuce. Its always a bit disappointing when you go in expecting a Menage a trois but end up instead with a greasy garlic sandwich. At some point, the owners, presumably the grandparents, asked the kid to turn down the TV. For some reason, at that moment everything just felt right.

Conclusion: pay your respects to the originator at the Borinquen, but go to Papa’s for the fillings. And the side rice will not be good at either place so just go for the white rice with beans.