Tag Archives: Puerto Rico

Papa’s Cache Saboroso
2517 W Division St
Chicago, IL

Fresh from a scintillating bomba performance (complete with vejigantes!) at the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance‘s “Loíza in Chicago,” we realized, as we so often do in this wonderful city of ours, that we have neglected on of its great culinary traditions. While Humboldt Park, the epicenter of Chicago’s thriving Puerto Rican community, possesses a large number of Puerto Rican restaurants and eateries, we had never before tried a jibarito, a sandwich (usually filled with beef or chicken) dressed with garlic-mayo between a “bun” of fried green plantains. The jibarito has one of those origin stories that sounds made-up, the common “I just decided to do this one day and then it took off” tale, but apparently this time it is true: in 1996, Juan C. Figueroa, proprietor of Borinquen Restaurant in Humboldt Park, invented the sandwich after being inspired by reading about a similar idea in a newspaper.

So where to go to get one of these delectable Chicago delicacies? La Plena? La Palma? To Borinquen, its origin? In time we will likely try all the jibaritos we can, but for now, we went with the recommendation of friends and ended up at a beloved hole-in-the-wall: Papa’s Cache Saboroso. With just a few tables, a brisk take-out service, and an ordering counter decorated like a beach food shack, Papa’s dispenses with any formalities to feature high-quality, tasty, and well-price Chicago-PR fare.

L, of course, got the chicken breast jibarito. Marinated chicken breast, mayo dressing, tomatoes and lettuce, all featured on the signature fried green plantains, with a side of rice. We love fried plantains anyway, but we were surprised at just how well they work as a sandwich. Firm enough to hold everything together, they still provide a great flavor profile compliment to the rest of the meat and veggies that you just can’t get from regular bread, or really any kind of bread. Just great.

Meanwhile, M had a conundrum on this particular Saturday. Go with the jibarito – really, the reason we came – or go for broke and get the Saturdays-only special, the lechon asado, a seasoned roasted suckling pig that is one of the competitors for national dish of Puerto Rico (some mofongo-lovers may take offense). If there is one thing we have learned about M in this blog (besides the love of spicy food) it is that he will stop in his tracks if roasted or smoked pig is anywhere in the vicinity. As was the case here.

Lechon asado, like all great pig roasts, takes a while to make: the menu says “This dish takes so much love and attention you can only get it o Saturdays!” It may be true – a crispy, flavor-kicking crust on the outside and pull-apart meat on the inside. While this version was a tad on the dry side for our tastes, the sweet plantains and salad on the side provide a nice way to cut across all the flavors. Finish with beans and rice, and this is a great way to spend a Saturday.

While we loved our jibarito and will definitely be back, no need to not experiment further. If you’re having trouble making up your mind, Serious Eats Chicago may be able to help with their list of the Top 10 jibaritos in the city.

Soleil
Rte. 187, Km 4.5,
Piñones, Puerto Rico

The Eaters took a daytrip from San Juan to Loiza, a predominantly Afrodescendant town east of San Juan, known for its colorful mask makers. We got a recommendation from the locals to go back west along the coast and visit Soleil, an unsuspecting beachside restaurant with supposedly some of the best food along the ten-mile road between Loiza and the capital. Soleil itself was an appealing but expansive open-air wood structure with two floors and simple tile tables. It was certainly a upmarket take on the typical wooden beachside shack. The menu was, as one might expect, seafood-heavy with a smattering of pasta, meat and salads.

M ordered conch ceviche – one of his favorite dishes. It was served in a martini glass, garnished with tomatoes, lettuce, and tortilla chips. M is more used to the really acidic juices they use for Peruvian ceviche (his all-time favorite), so the more tame acid levels in Soleil’s disappointed him a little, but the dish was still good. The conch was perfectly prepared into nice little bite-sized morsels, and the tortilla chips provided an edible way to scoop up the extra lettuce and tomatoes that accumulated at the bottom of the glass. For $12 it was probably a more generous helping of ceviche than you would get elsewhere for the same price.

L ordered the lunch special of beef empandas with a side order of rice and beans (arroz y habicheulas) for only $7. The empanda was ridiculously huge, covering nearly the entire plate. It was certainly a good value for $7, but the size was frankly frightening and we didn’t expect it to be very good. However, the beef was surprisingly tender and tasty, making for a nice empanada. The rice and beans were passable, and tasted very, very strongly of pork. However, the real draw was not the food, as can be seen below.

Hay Cocos Frios [No name provided]
Route 187
Puerto Rico

At least that’s what we called it. Along Route 187 there are a plethora of small food shacks, most of them catering to locals and beachgoers. It being a weekday when we hit the beach (or maybe because it was February), most were closed. However, as we drove along the highway our eyes were caught by the following sign “We have cold coconuts!” Of course, that was all we needed to turn around in the nearest driveway and speed right back. The sign belonged to a small roadside shack, with a stack of coconuts and an expansive grill area set up.

We sidled up to the counter and ordered a batch of cocos frios, one for each member of our group. The coconuts had a small hole cut in them, with a straw to drink up the sweet coconut milk. The coconuts provided delicious and refreshing drink for a hot, humid day. The best part however, was when you had finished the milk; at this point you brought your coconut over to a silent fellow with a machete whose only job, ostensibly, was to split the coconuts open. Doing this, he also chopped off a sliver of the husk to use as a scooping spoon for the coconut meat. The coconuts were quite young, so the meat was not very ripe or coco-nutty. But the experience in itself was worth the stop. Some of our group additionally ordered alcapurrias (a steal at $1) – spicy ground beef inside a hush-puppy like fritter which got rave reviews. I am quite disappointed I have neither a photo of the shack or the machete man (I could have sworn I took some).