Jibarito

A Jibarito consists of steak, onions, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on a fried plantain bread.

My first visit to Chicago led to my first taste of Puerto Rican food.  At a restaurant called Papa's Cache, I discovered the jibarito. I'm making some tonight, for the locals and foodies interested.  I'll be at the spot--between Spring Bar and The Falls.

Chicago restaurateur Juan "Peter" Figueroa introduced the jibarito at Borinquen Restaurant, a Puerto Rican restaurant in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, in 1996, after reading about a Puerto Rican sandwich substituting plantains for bread.

The sandwich's popularity soon spread to other Latin-American restaurants around Chicago, including Mexican, Cuban and Argentinian establishments.