Time Out's Best Sandwiches - thoughts?

I just skimmed (because I'm at work, and, well, it's easier to look busy on a computer than reading a magazine) but I saw some I agreed with immediately, such as La Unica's Cuban. Also saw some that I have been meaning to get to, such as Mazza BBQ's chicken boti paratha roll, and the jibarito at La Borinquen. And some I'm sure most folks here would agree with, like the brisket sandwich at Smoque.

Anyone else have a look at the list yet?

The List

Also, congrats Will on the continuing media love for the Will Special!

Anyways, my thoughts on the one I've tasted:

Deserve it:
Falafel @ City Noor
Yucateca @ Bombon
Pepito @ Irazu
Cemita de Milanesa @ Taqueria Puebla

Don't:
Jibarito @ Borinquen. It just doesn't do it for me.

They just basically rewrote our thread (and only barely, at that). Their editors should be paying dividends to each member of LTH. It's like seeing your own wikipedia edits turn up in a CNN.com lead story (which has happened several times).

I'm surprised Bari Food & Manny's both failed to make the cut.


(I'm also, selfishly, worried about La Unica making it since the wait on a weekend can be quite long as it is.)

Funny that YourPalWill gets mentioned by name, but they don't even mention the LTH factor there...

gleam wrote:Jibarito @ Borinquen. It just doesn't do it for me.

Ed, is this because you don't like jibaritos (understandable if that's the case: they are an oddity of sandwich engineering, a kind of decent idea that for some reason really caught on), or because the ones at Borinquen seem particularly unacceptable to you?

I was chatting up the bar gal at Panchos last weekend, and she said her favorite jibaritos (as made at Panchos) are constructed of riper, sweeter maduros, but that at Borinquen (she said) they use younger, less sweet varieties.

catch the link to the IB article by Seth, too. Generally good, even if it is missing Chickies (on the plus side, it also leaves out Mr Beef, so that almost makes it even).

Gotta give TO credit for knowing how to do quality research.

I visited Chickies, but was a little underwhelmed. I'm most sad that my reseach didn't include a visited to Pops on Kedzie...oh well, next time. As with the Beefathon article, LTH is my number 1 source for all things food-ish. There's not much room for Mad Propz, however, in 300 words. Many thanks to the Beefathoners for their intrepid research and great foundation for the future of Beef Science.

David Hammond wrote:

gleam wrote:Jibarito @ Borinquen. It just doesn't do it for me.

Ed, is this because you don't like jibaritos (understandable if that's the case: they are an oddity of sandwich engineering, a kind of decent idea that for some reason really caught on), or because the ones at Borinquen seem particularly unacceptable to you?

I was chatting up the bar gal at Panchos last weekend, and she said her favorite jibaritos (as made at Panchos) are constructed of riper, sweeter maduros, but that at Borinquen (she said) they use younger, less sweet varieties.

The only jibarito I've had was at Borinquen, so...

My complaints were the mayonnaise, which is almost always a deal breaker on a sandwich, the meat being fairly tough and gristly, the cheap cheese, and the sort of woody blandness of the plantains.

So, I think it's a combination of the two. The appeal of the sandwich, to me, is limited anyway, but I don't think Borinquen's execution helped it any.

Also in this issue, a review of cheap booze like Richardson's Wild Irish Rose. Have to admit, I laughed out loud several times.

Richardson's is cheap? I prefer to call it "my regular".

I must say that, while Borinquen is the originator of the jibarito, no one made it much better than Norka did.

Hi,

My first visit to Borinquen, Central AVenue location, was so bad across the board that I almost lost site of the jibarito as a promising sandwich. Fortunately I tried Papa's Pollo Chon's jibarito to find it an outstanding sandwich.

I liked Norka's jibarito, though I find Papa's to be on par with hers.

Papa's has regained my high marks for excellent chicken. There was a transition period when he changed rotisserie cookers that it was not as good for a while. He has definitely gotten his chicken groove back.

Papa's Cache Sabroso Restaurant
2517 W. Division St.
Chicago, IL 60622
Tel: 773/862-8313
Closed Sunday
Monday-Thursday: 10:30 AM to 9 PM
Friday and Saturday: 10:30 AM to 10 PM

Regards,

Yeah, Papa's is my choice for jibarito. I've never had any problems with the meat being gristly or plantains tasting woody or anything like that there. The jibarito belongs on any Chicago best-of-sandwiches list, and I would have nominated that one instead.

Frankly, I'm shocked that Bari isn't on there, but, from the places I've been to on that list, I have to say it's a pretty decent list. I'll have to go back to The Nile on 63rd (not to be confused with The Nile in Hyde Park), because the last two or three times I was there, I was underwhelmed by the schwarma. In fact, I had completely stopped going there since about a year ago. Perhaps it's picked up again.

Now, the beef list is fine, except for the glaring omission of Chickie's. If Seth didn't like Chickie's, I don't think he would have liked Pops on Kedzie much more.

I stopped by Nhu Lan yesterday for a pork belly sandwich. The nice fellow behind the counter asked me if I had come because of the Time Out article (busted!) but I demurred. Which wasn't lying, exactly, because I have meant to go there for ages, but always ended up going to tried and true Ba Le instead.

Well, from now on, I go out of my way. The sandwich was fabulous, full of fresh flavor, and absolutely topped anything I've ever gotten from Ba Le.

Binko wrote:Yeah, Papa's is my choice for jibarito. I've never had any problems with the meat being gristly or plantains tasting woody or anything like that there. The jibarito belongs on any Chicago best-of-sandwiches list, and I would have nominated that one instead.

.. I was just about to write that Papa's Cashe Sabroso is my fav too... well I've honestly only ever had one from Papa's and one from Boriquen, but of the two I think Papa's Cashe was tastier. The meat seemed to be well marinated... very very very garlicky. Yum. now i'm hungry for one.

(as far as the mayo, the cheese, the plantain... if you don't like that you can't blame the establishment... that's just kind of how it's made?? )

Maybe our experience last night was an anomaly, but the jibarito at Borinquen was on par, if not better than, the ones I had at Cafe Salamera (may it rest in peace).

The plantain was perfectly salty, crispy and just-right oily. A distinct tang of mojo in the mayo. The pork was fall-apart tender and not at all dry. A crisp piece of romaine lettuce and a fairly tastable tomato. I can't say I'm a jibarito expert, but I'd rank the one I had last night among the best.

What really shocked me was the fried chicken. The waitress initially told us they ran out, but returned to say they were making another batch. It took a while, but it was worth the wait. Every single piece was tender and juicy--even the breast. Crispy, tasty skin. My dining compadre thought it a little too salty. Not me.

I'll have to try Papa's for comparison.