El Picosito Jibaro

Stopped by today for the first time… Love love love the food. The place itself is not bad but it was really cold that it was kinda difficult to enjoy the food… The Arroz con gandules was delicious!!! We loved the jibaritos and the sandwiches but my faves were definitely the relleno de papa. DEFINITELY WILL BE GOING BACK SOON!!!

Great food! Love the pechuga (chicken breast) sandwiches, arroz con gandules and pastelilos. I will definitely be back for more food in the future!

Love how cheap and good it is. Under $ 8 gets you full. La jibarita is the best. So instead of regular plantain, this is sweet plantain. Never had a la jibarita until this place but I’ve had jibaritos before.

We are from out of town and wanted to take my parents for an Anniversary dinner, so we stopped by on our way through Chicago. We are Puerto Rican and there are no Puerto Rican restaurants in our area so we thought we would give that a try. Unfortunately the food was subpar. The bistec empalizado was downright horrible, the steak in the middle of the thick batter was paper thin. When we said something they apologized and told us basically that the steak is not made there, basically they buy it frozen and fry it up! The rice was ok. My bacalaito was not cooked through and the middle was uncooked batter. All and all it was very poor Puerto Rican food, my mom cooks way better than this. The server was nice though! I would never go back!

Hidden gem amongst many other great restaurants in the neighborhood.
This place is down to earth and non-​pretentious. we order one entrée to share between two of us, and we were full. More importantly, the carnitas and rice dish tasted great. The pork was moist and the rice was tasty.
Highly recommended.

Got take out arroz con gandules and bistro and the camarón a la plancha. So delicious! Ask for tostones! Can’t wait to go back.

Had the arroz with pulled pork and the jobarito with garlic shrimp. Both were absolutely excellent and giant portions for the price ($ 10 & $ 9). The pulled pork was definitely some of the best I ever had. Absolutely lovely little hole in the wall

I’d give it 4.5 stars if I could.
Really great PR food and nice people too. The lechon is wonderful

I was pumped to try some of the Puerto Rican food selections from El Picosito Jibaro, located on Lawrence near Kedzie in what apparently was a Middle Eastern food outlet. For my take away order I chose the jibarito with lechon, which came with a side of arroz con gandules, and also an alcapuria. The jibarito was fine, and actually held together as a «sandwich» to eat. However maybe I was missing some grease and flavor, as I have had some absolutely messy jibaritos elsewhere that were impossible to eat by hand but tasted better. The flat plantain pieces of this jibarito were a bit dry, though they held up through every bite. The ingredients included a respectable amount of pork, plus lettuce, tomato, cheese and mayo. The container of Puerto Rican style rice was good but not great, with a sprinkling of gandules. The alcapuria was just disappointing, with a dry oval-​shaped mass of plantain dough surrounding some bland meat pieces. I want to like this place more, and I must say the service was pleasant and quick at the counter. I will have to try it again, but perhaps next time I will dine in.

OK… tried this place out today and the food was in fact very good. The meat in the jibarito was tender and the sandwich as a whole was very tasty. The habichuelas guizada on the white rice was the best I’ve had in a restaurant. That was the upside. Now the downside. The ambience in this place is all wrong! Middle Eastern murals in a Puerto Rican restaurant just don’t not work for me. Come on! A couple cans of paint would really go a long way. Seriously!

I have tried a lot of steak Jibarito’s and this one was FANTASTIC. Everything from the crispy platino, to the lettuce that was fresh and meat which was seasoned to perfection, the fresh tomatoes, cheese and mayo. Need I say more. The rice was DELISH. First time I ate here and I definitely will be making the trip every time I want a steak Jibarito.

Dude. The jibarito is amAAAAzing!!! They serve my jibarito with the garlic margarita atop the plaintain which makes it more delicious. I also recommend the monfongo with fried pork… we dipped that fried pork on that puerto rican salsa (which my boyfriend so loves!) My boyfriend has tried several jibaritos in Chicago and said that it was one of the best jibaritos in Chicago. Our waiter was friendly and prices are very reasonable. When I get sick of eating healthy I’ll come back for sure.

Great jibaritos. I look forward to trying more of the menu.

A secret place, well hidden from an unexperienced eye, occupying a modest facility of what seems to have been a Middle Eastern restaurant, offers a hearty jibarito fix for all ya tired and hungry soles.
Great delicious food, *definitely not for dieters.

There seriously aren’t enough stars I can give this place this is the first Puerto Rican place that even competes with my abuelas food and she is straight off the island so you know it’s the bomb. All the other Puerto Rican places I’ve tried had bland rice or boring beans or dry meat with underseasoned and floppy plátanos but this place. This place is amazing the rice had actual amazing flavor and a beautiful color and the jibarito was bomb the meat was moist plátanos crispy and garlicky and it was just amazing

Best Puerto Rican food I have had beside my moms came here because it was close to the house tried the mofongo with fried pork rice and gandules acapurias relleno de papa and pastel steak jibarito everything was delicious
delicious delicious.

My husband and I were going for a walk and saw this place. Stopped in to get a menu. Ordered one of each type of plantain to give it a try. While we were waiting they gave us a pastelillo to share! Like here, try it. And we did and it was awesome. So we ordered dinner! Now I’m stuffed and oh so happy to have Puerto Rican food within walking distance! Go check it out :)

Finally, a place nearby to satisfy my jibarito fix! I knew as soon as I opened my bag and a burst of garlicy goodness wafted through the air that I was in for a treat. This place has officially de-​throned Borinquen as my favorite jibarito spot in the city.
I highly recommend the steak jibarito, habichuela, and arroz con gandules. They do not skimp on the meat, but if you like you can add extra meat for a buck. Super cheap! My jibarito was deliciously garlicky and had the perfect ratio of mayo, tomato and lettuce so that your sandwich is full, but doesn’t crumble when you take a bite. The plantains (which function as the ‘bread’ in this sandwich) are perfectly fried and were not too greasy.
The habichuela, dear God, the habichuela. I don’t know what they put in those beans, but I’m pretty sure they sprinkle a little bit of magic in them. So. Flipping. Good.
You can’t beat the price. We ordered two jibaritos, a side of platanos maduros, arroz con gandules, y habichuela and our bill was under $ 20. The restaurant is not fancy by any means, but who cares?! The food is divine and that’s all that matters.
I will definitely be ordering again and frequently.

Great Food, loved the Jibarito and yellow rice. Rice was soft, oily, salty and flavorful. Had the Jibarito with steak and all the fixings. Wife had the vegetarian Jibarito but she wasn’t wowed. I guess it would help if they used the same adobo seasoning on the veggies as they do with the meat. That picosito sauce was spicy but I definitely can appreciate it cause I like vinegary hot sauces. Being Puerto Rican I’m glad to see them in the neighborhood and appreciate their style of cooking. Next I’ll try their style of Mofongo, another popular PR staple on the island. To Be Continued.

Don’t be confused by the «Kabob» sign and middle eastern décor. The food here is what you would expect at a Puerto Rican restaurant and it’s all delicious. Portions are generous but some things (like the roast pork) aren’t always available. Service is friendly but it helps if you speak a little Spanish.