Restaurant El Jibarito
Surullitos
Bacalaítos
Sandwich Jibarito
Pastel de Cerdo, Tostones
Although Puerto Rican Cuisine has a long and storied history the Jibarito Sandwich is a relatively new idea, its first sighting somewhere around 1996 at Restaurant Borinquen in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood, though the name translated as “little hillbilly” in Spanish is nonetheless shared by one of Old San Juan’s most popular eateries which opened nearly two decades prior.
Known for Comida Criolla, the combination of friendly servers and reasonable prices enticing locals and tourists alike, it is amidst bright murals that guests sit at long tables, the menu containing everything from Beef with Onions to Mofongo and Goat Stew.
Often found with a waitlist, moreso during the era of socially distanced seating, it was forty minutes after arrival that orders were received, her Juice made with Fruit from the courtyard paired to an oversized Pork Pastel and fried Corn Sticks without the slightest hint of Oil.
Casual but not rushed, both guests and servers taking their time as music plays overhead, one bite of El Jibarito’s Bacalaítos will help to explain why so many feel the need to indulge slowly, both taste and texture far better than even San Juan’s most upscale Restaurants though the “Sandwich Jibarito” is a far cry from that in the Windy City, and essentially just Beef with Onions between Tostones.
www.eljibarito.business.site