History of Jibaritos

History of Jibaritos

By: Jeanel Robles

What is a Jibarito (Heeb-ar-eeto)? This Puerto Rican delicacy is actually much more common in Chicago. There is actually a bit of controversy on whether it originated in Chicago or Puerto Rico, but we will get to that later. First, let me tell you what this food consists of and what makes it so good. The jibarito is a sandwich with two fried plantains called tostones as the bread. A plantain is really an unripe banana, and a tostone is a plantain that is seasoned, smashed, and fried to form the bread for the sandwich. What is really the star of the show though is the meat. There are a couple of options when it comes to the meat of your jibarito. You could go for thinly sliced and perfectly seasoned steak or lechon, which is roasted pork, another famous Puerto Rican dish. Once this sandwich is assembled, it is typically finished with a dollop of garlic on top. Served with a side of rice and beans, it makes a perfect and delicious meal.

Now, let’s move on to the history of this food. The name given to the dish actually has a different meaning. Jibarito comes from the word Jibaro (Hee-bar-o), which roughly translates as “someone who lives in the hills of Puerto Rico.” As far as where the jibarito originally came from, there is a bit of controversy on that topic. The most popular belief is that it was created by Juan “Peter” Figueroa in 1996. Juan owned Borinquen Restaurant in Humboldt Park and was trying to find ways to save his restaurant from closing. He read about a plantain sandwich that was served in Puerto Rico and made his own version called the jibarito. It is believed that Juan read about a plantain sandwich made in a restaurant called Plátano Loco in Aguada, Puerto Rico and made his own version. So, the jibarito was made in Chicago by a Puerto Rican, and it has a lot of Puerto Rican influence.

Now that I’ve told you so much about this amazing sandwich, it would be selfish of me to not tell you where to get one. Considering Chicago is the birthplace of this food, it’s almost impossible to not find a good jibarito here. I won’t just tell you where to find a good jibarito, I'll tell you where to find what is in my opinion the best: Las Delicias de Puerto Rico on 4821 W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60639. This restaurant has a variety of options for food to go along with your jibarito, ranging from alcapurrias, carne frita, relleno de papa and so much more. If you do go to this restaurant, bring your appetite because as soon as you walk in, smell the meat cooking, and see all the options of food, you will want to buy one of everything. I came across this restaurant on my way home from church one day. Seeing as my family are all very big fans of jibaritos, we had to stop and try it out. Now, no matter how many other restaurants I try, I always end up coming back to Las Delicias.

Sources:

https://www.tasteatlas.com/jibarito

https://www.sandwichtribunal.com/2017/02/the-jibarito-and-its-origin/