WHY I never knew about this place 5yrs ago really beats me.  Since I love to cook and I am always seeking new ideas for my own creations, I got a great tip from a friend about this little gem in Chicago.  The place is Borinquen Restaurant located at 3811 N. Western Ave, Chicago, IL.  What’s even better is that this restaurant is right around the corner from my place!

- via Wikipedia:
The jibarito (pronounced hee-bah-ree-to), a specialty of Chicago, is a sandwich made with flattened, fried green plantains instead of bread. 

It was invented in 1991 by Jorge Muñoz and Coquí Feliciano in Aguada, Puerto Rico, in their restaurant, Plátano Loco (crazy plantain).

Chicago restaurateur Juan “Peter” Figueroa introduced it at Borinquen Restaurant, a Puerto Rican restaurant, in 1996.

The sandwich’s popularity soon spread to other Latin-American restaurants around Chicago, including Mexican, Cuban and Argentinian places, and jibaritos now can be found in some more mainstream eateries as well.

The original Borinquen jibarito had a steak filling, and that remains the usual variety, but other fillings, such as chicken and pork, are common. A proper jibarito also contains cheese, lettuce, tomato and garlic-flavored mayonnaise.