Joe's Cafe- Almost Perfect Jibarito on the Westside [Closed]

In an unassuming small spot on 16th in Berwyn a small cafe featuring Puerto Rican cuisine has been open for a while.

Joe's Cafe
7003 16th St, Berwyn
(708) 484-7522

Everything is cooked fresh so expect to wait a few minutes to get your order but it is well worth the wait.




The Steak Jibarito

Both the plantain and the steak are nice and tender with a nice char to the steak. No squirting of the contents from stale plantain or tugging on the sandwich from tough meat.

The only complaint? It needs a bigger garlic kick we have come to know and love from the Jibarito.

The menu is varied from Panini's to stir fried pastas to breakfast sandwiches to even some BBQ. There is also a warming case featuring snacks such as Empanadas. The empanadas were a lot larger than the ones at the nearby-ish Taste of Brazil. There is a good list of appetizers.


The Pepper and Egg Supreme

The fries were also very good! Fresh cut and hot. Not in the same league as some but still very well done.

Now that the weather is cooling off they will be having a few homemade soups of the day. Be sure to grab a menu and use the coupon for the free empanada with a $10 order.

A great addition to the neighborhood! Now if I could just get Joe to kick up the garlic on the Jibarito. Then it would be perfect.

Awesome news, Panther. I should be able to check this joint out in the very near future. Stir fried pastas, paninis, and BBQ, under one roof kinda scares me tho. Are we talking Puerto Rican versions of these things? Also, I see some mayo like substance on that steak jibarito in the vicinity of the tomato. Can you comment if it is mayo, and if so, was it real stuff, and not the cheap sweet stuff?

Yup! Not Miracle Whip.

Everything tasted like good quality ingredients.

nice lookin' steak jibarito at that spot, putting this place on my list. thanks for the tip.

Finally got to stop in tonight.
Color me impressed.

Went with the steak jibarito. It was quite good. When I go back, I'll get the jibarito de lechon. Not that the steak was bad, but I have a hunch the lechon will be better. I highly agree with Panther in that if they could get some garlicky thing going into that sammich (especially into the plantain) they would seriously have something special goin on. For me, the plantain (while fresh, not crumbly, and well grilled) got a little monotonous near the end. I also got a beef empanada. I'm no expert on Puerto Rican foods, but I liked the hell out of that thing. The filling wasn't great, but it wasn't BAD, but...the dough / crust...um, yeah, I'll be going back really soon. Thanks again for pointing this joint out, Panther. Not really sure what's with all the pasta and bbq on the menu though.

Rigatoni, Fettucini alfredo, and bbq ribs alongside lechon, empanadas, and jibaritos? Seems odd to me, but if it works for them, more power to them.

Hunch confirmed.

The jibarito de lechon was fantastic. Added a real nice garlic/grease kick to the whole thing. The lechon was well seasoned and just kicked everything up a notch. The wife had the jibarito del pollo. Good as well. Nicely seasoned chicken with good garlic notes - all breast meat meat. If it was done with thighs I might eat one or two of these every week. It's going to be hard to not order that jibarito de lechon next time, but I'll have to. For one, that sammich is a deliciously garlicky, porky, heart attack in a styrofoam container. Two, I'm betting they make some other things really, really well.

My Bride and I were looking for some carryout last night and this was one of the spots in mind.

Closed and something else has moved in. Didn't catch the name as we were on a mission. Something about baseball.

Not enough love.