The Mango Lassie

In the wake of the Atkins craze, I’ve come to associate the concept of a breadless sandwich with a misguided low-carb trend. Not so with the jibarito. Not only is this sandwich, which replaces bread with flattened fried plantains, a brilliant invention, it is also anything but low in carbohydrates.

The jibarito (translation: “hillbilly”) is an invention of Juan “Peter” C. Figueroa, a Puerto Rican who lives in Chicago. They can be found on the menus of a number of different restaurants in the city. A firm green plantain is swiftly flattened with a press, fried twice and brushed with oil and garlic. It is then lined with mayonaise, iceburg lettuce, tomato and a slice of American cheese. Next comes the meat, either pork, chicken or steak. There is also a vegetarian version, but I’m not sure what comes inside.

As luck would have it, Figueroa also owns a restaurant, Borinquen, which specializes in the dish. Fomerly located only in the largely Puerto Rican neighborhood of Humboldt Park, it has expanded recently, thanks in large part to the popularity of the jibarito. Now there are three restaurants, including Borinquen Lounge in North Center, which Empanada Boy and I visited as part of day two of my birthday celebration.

The “lounge” descriptor is well placed in this case. The front half of the dim wood panelled restaurant is dominated by a bar with a TV playing sporting events. There are a few table here, but most are concentrated in a raised seating area in the back. The walls in the dining area are coated in mirrors, and fake red and white flowers sit in vases on the tables. The laminated menu doubles as a placemat.

Despite the lounge feel, there aren’t many choices when it comes to alcohol. Empanada Boy and I ordered beers: Negra Modelo and Modelo Especial, respectively. The menu is full of Puerto Rican dishes that may be featured in a future Mango Lassie post, but we came for the jibaritos. We both ordered steak (only $5.95 each!). A basket filled with slices of airy white bread and butter was placed on the table to keep us sated.

I was so excited to eat when the food arrived that it was hard for me to wait long enough to take these pictures before digging in. The sandwiches were truly amazing, much better than the ones I had tasted at Sabor a Cuba. I normally don’t like American cheese, but it served an important purpose here of adding a creamy touch to the flavorful meat. Most importantly, the plantains were wonderfully crispy and coated in a heavenly sheen of oil and garlic. It was that garlic, we both decided, that made these so good. It livened up the meat and when combined with the mayonaise on the palate tasted almost like the creamy yogurt sauce in a gyro.

The sandwiches came with yellow rice and pigeon peas, another Puerto Rican standard. At Borinquen, this rice is closer to orange. It has cured ham in it, in addition to the pigeon peas and a few flecks of green pepper. We asked the waitress what made the rice orange, and she went to the kitchen and brought us a package of Goya seasoning. No ingredients were listed on the packet, but it includes chili powder and cilantro. Traditionally, the dish has annatto oil, made from annatto seeds, which turn the oil red when cooked. This version may have turmeric and possibly some food coloring too. Nonetheless, it was delicious.

Borinquen is a great place to come for a hearty lunch or dinner that reflects the essential spirit of Puerto Rican cuisine. Even in North Center, nearly all patrons are puertoriqueños, which is a good sign.

Borinquen Lounge (various locations)
3811 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60618
773.442.8001