G Wiv wrote:Cafe Salamera [RIP] is the only place I have encountered avocado/guacamole as standard with a jibarito.

This is true, but almost all restaurants that offer jibaritos have avocados, and will add them on request - but I find that I like them better without. I am finding that, for my personal tastes in jibaritos, a subdued garlic flavor is more problematic a lack of guac - and, though I'm guessing it's also available on request at all these places, I know for certain you can get extra garlic sauce at Habana Libre.

When we tried Borinquen, it was the one on Western...we'll have to make another trip and try the original location.

G Wiv wrote:I find the Western Ave Borinquen's jibaritos a distant second to the original Borinquen location on California. Papa's on Division and Fast Food Place, a little snack shop on West Armitage, a few blocks East of Weegee's, are my current picks for jibaritos.

Excellent -- thanks for the recommendations (and the collected restaurant contact info)!

G Wiv wrote:Cafe Salamera [RIP] is the only place I have encountered avocado/guacamole as standard with a jibarito.

I guess it's like being raised on Korean kimbab... that uses hot-dog sausage as the meat: your first impression can really skew what you think of "the real thing." Time to get used to the American cheese in jibarit(o/a)s as well?

But seriously, thanks again for the extra assist,
Dan

Cathy2 wrote:My favorite jibarito is from Papa's Pollo Chon. Freshly cooked, flavorful with a side of tostones glistening with garlic oil.

Agreed. It's a very fine, garlicly rendition.

Papa's Cache Sabroso Steak Jibarito


Papa's Cache Sabroso
2517 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 862-8313

G Wiv wrote:I find the Western Ave Borinquen's jibaritos a distant second to the original Borinquen location on California. Papa's on Division and Fast Food Place, a little snack shop on West Armitage, a few blocks East of Weegee's, are my current picks for jibaritos.

Had the time and opportunity to grab a jibarito earlier today. Unfortunately, Fast Food Place and Ice Cream on Armitage was closed this Sunday, so I rapidly rerouted to the Borinquen on North California for my fried-plantain fix. As noted by others in this thread, I experienced a significantly juicier and more flavorful specimen here than at the restaurant's counterpart on Western Avenue, accompanied by faster service and a greater volume of orders from the larger crowd in attendance. Even the rice that came with my $6.95 steak sandwich seemed to be better seasoned at this location. Well worth the trip to taste the difference firsthand.

G Wiv wrote:Borinquen Restaurant
1720 N. California Ave
Chicago, IL
773-227-6038

Fast Food Place and Ice Cream
3611 W Armitage Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
773-135-1768

Papa's Cashe Sabroso
2517 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60622
773-862-8313

Just one note: the phone number for FFP & IC was off by one digit, as it's actually 773-235-1768. Guess I should've been tipped off by that "1" starting off the non-area-code portion of the number. Thanks for the info again, anyway. Sorry, I didn't bring a camera. Edit: also, I think the cheese will grow on me.

Drover wrote:One place that never seems to get mentioned on these threads is Papi's Cafe on Milwaukee Avenue. I tried their jibarito and it was mostly pretty good. The steak was nice and tasty with a bit of mojo zing. The plantains were nice and crispy and had a pretty good garlic kick. But the dealbreaker was the cheese. I had never had cheese on a jibarito before so I thought I'd give it a try. To my shock and horror, the "cheese" they use on their jibarito is a slice of Kraft Singles American cheese! Seriously, what the hell!!

Other than that, I'd say the jibarito was on the upside of average. I also tried a Cuban sandwich while I was there. Oddly enough, it does not come with mustard so you have to ask for it. I was not thrilled with the bread but the rest of the sammich was pretty good -- good ingredient balance, nice melty cheese, juicy shredded lechon, and very tasty ham even though it looked like little more than deli slices. Again, I'd rank it on the better side of average. I will have to try the medianoche... and if it's not any better than "the better side of average" then I'm not sure I'll be making too many trips to this place.

Mellonhubby and I eat at the new location of Papi's quite a lot (it's right across the street from our house.) Actually - I don't recall the jibarito having cheese at Papi's. We usually get take-out from there every week or so (the sandwiches are large and tasty so we usually get more than one meal out of them). When they first opened the service was somewhat chaotic and sandwiches could take a long time to come up. However they've worked out some kinks in the last few weeks and now they're running like clockwork.

I don't recall there being cheese on my jibarito - and I usually get the Cuban sandwich which always has mustard. Did you eat at Papi's shortly after they moved to their new location? If so, this may explain the "variations" in the traditional sandwich condiments.

El Nuevo Borinquen is closed.

Even after the rebranding (and maybe new ownership) several years ago it wasn't able to save them.

The inventor of the famous jibarito and favorite of my family.

Appears it was a while ago, I guess I should of been more frequent.