Food Fight: Who makes Chicago's best jibarito?
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Pork, steak, seafood and morcilla jibarito sandwiches. Photo: Monica Eng/Axios
Fiesta Boricua may be over, but Chicago celebrates Puerto Rican-influenced culture every day with our homegrown jibarito sandwich, a treat that uses fried plantains instead of a bun for the bread.
We're duking it out over who in Chicago has the best jibarito.
Monica's pick: Eating jibaritos is one of the tastiest ways to celebrate my Puerto Rican heritage, and my favorite place to do it is at Jibaritos Y Mas in Logan Square, where they serve 11 different varieties of the sandwich ($10.60-$11.75), all on perfectly fried, garlicky plantains.
- To me, the tastiest arrives stuffed with a rich blood and rice sausage called morcilla, but you can enjoy one filled with seafood, various meats and even vegetarian varieties.
Carrie's pick: As a pescatarian, I've struggled to find a fish jibarito that really hits the spot for me. I didn't even realize veggie was an option, but Monica turned me on to The Jibarito Stop in the Loop, which offers both a vegetarian ($8.99) and vegan jibarito.
- The sauteed peppers and onions had a nice kick, and the plantains were not overly garlicky.
- I really wanted to love the very salty yucca fries, but I think my heart belongs to Cafecito's fries.
Justin's pick: You can stop deep-frying your sweet plantains because the best jibarito in the city is at Omarcito's Latin Cafe in Logan Square.
- The Ropa Vieja ($13) is the star, featuring plantains, Cuban-style shredded beef, and a special green garlic sauce. Add Muenster cheese, and you're in for a treat!
- A brightly colored outdoor patio with a live DJ? Yes, please.