Chicago, IL
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The jibarito. a steak sandwich using fried-plantain slabs for bread. Was invented in Humboldt Park in 1996, making it Chicago's newest truly local sandwich. A narrow but deep category.
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Start a Top 5 for JibaritoEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in The Infatuation, Chicago Magazine, ABC7 Chicago, and Chicago Tribune. Updated September 2026.
Borinquen · North Center
The originator: Juan 'Pete' Figueroa invented the jibarito at the Figueroa family's Humboldt Park Borinquen Restaurant in 1996; the family reopened on North Western as Borinquen Lounge and the steak-and-garlic original remains the definitional version.
Papa's Cache Sabroso · Humboldt Park
A BYOB storefront on Paseo Boricua that the Chicago Tribune describes as a low-key traditional Puerto Rican restaurant with an orange awninged patio. The Infatuation calls it the place to start if you have never had a jibarito, and says the version here is garlicky and arrives with a side of Spanish rice that catches whatever falls out of the sandwich. Order the jibarito with chicken or steak, and come on a Saturday for the lechon.
Jibaritos y Más · Logan Square
The Logan Square specialist Infatuation routinely credits with one of the city's best jibaritos; the family-run shop is also locally beloved for donating meals daily to neighbors in Humboldt Park and Logan Square.
Nellie’s Restaurant · Humboldt Park
A Division Street room The Infatuation files under Humboldt Park, where corn flake battered french toast sits on the same menu as breakfast jibaritos. Order the breakfast jibarito, and on a weekday take the omelet special with salchichon and maduros, which comes with a cup of the coconut oatmeal the guide says they sell to go by the gallon. Weekends switch the morning service to a buffet. The guide also lists the room for sitting outside.