The jibarito (Spanish: [xiβaˈɾito]), is a sandwich made with flattened, fried green plantains instead of bread, aioli or garlic-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 Rican restaurant 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 diminutive of Jíbaro 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]

The Daily Meal included the jibarito in their article "12 Life-Changing Sandwiches You've Never Heard Of".^[5]

• Culture of Chicago
• Culture of Puerto Rico
• List of sandwiches
• Patacon (food)