The jibarito (Spanish: [xiβaˈɾito]), is a sandwich made with flattened, fried green plantains instead of bread, aioliorgarlic-flavored mayonnaise, and a filling that typically includes meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato.[1][2] The original jibarito had a steak filling, and that remains the usual variety, but other ingredients, such as chicken and pork, are common.
Chicago restaurateur Juan "Peter" Figueroa[1] introduced the jibarito at Borinquen Restaurant, a Puerto Ricanrestaurant in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, in 1996,[1][2] after hearing a Venezuelan cook talk about a Venezuelan sandwich called a patacon. The name is a diminutiveofjíbaro and means "little yokel".
The sandwich's popularity soon spread to other Latin American restaurants around Chicago, including Mexican, Cuban and Argentinian establishments, and jibaritos now can be found in some mainstream eateries as well.[3]
Other Latin American sandwiches served on fried plantains predate the jibarito. They include a Venezuelan cuisine specialty called a patacones and a 1991 invention by Jorge Muñoz and Coquí Feliciano served at their restaurant, Plátano Loco, in Aguada, Puerto Rico.[4]
^First look at Graham Elliot's Grahamwich. Chicago Tribune, December 15, 2010: "And it was damn near impossible with the jibarito; thin-sliced fried plantains were never intended to endure such treatment."
