Papa’s Cache Sabroso

My son and I went this prior Saturday for the first time. We ordered steak sandwiches and I had a side of arroz con gandules and he had the arroz blanco with habichuelas. All the food was fresh and flavorful. OMG they have this green garlicy hot sauce that I would bath in it if I could. You have to try it… My new fave spot…

My overall experience was good. Papa the owner is always engaging in conversations with his customers making the atmosphere welcoming. The waiters could be a little more friendly. The food was delicious I had Steak I highly recommended it.

Food was good, but the wait time was ridiculous. I waited 30 minutes for just a sandwich and chicken dinner. I placed order to go for arroz con gandules at same time as dine in order. When i finished dinner, i had to wait another 20 minutes for the rice. How does it take 20 min to scoop rice into take out container?!

I decided to try this restaurant after reading all of the reviews… the food was fantastic! I loved the rotisserie chicken w/​arroz con gandules. The steak sandwiches are delicious too. I tried flan w/​caramel for dessert and it was good too (I could’ve ate four pieces lol). I will be back for more chicken in the future…

Hopefully they increased the quality of the delivery processes because the food is great.

Im very disappointed with papa cache it used to be one of my faves :(. The food is awesome besides the rice. TRY THE HIBARITO!
But the service sucks. The girl on the phone is so rude and sounds so annoyed by anything I say. Im also disappointed that they no longer take orders over the phone. What about the elderly people who don’t know how to use grub hub… The delivery guy is always forgetting something. Maybe its because its always busy but please try to be more nice to people you might just get more customers.

My favorite classic jibarito that is true to how i always remember them tasting! Aside from the jibarito, the chicken dinner is fantastic. I love the service too everyone is always welcoming. Summer time also isn’t complete without enjoying a lunch out front.

I’ve finally decided… hands down my favorite PR restaurant. From the rice to the tostones, I’m a raging fan. It’s a nice location in the Humboldt Park hood and easy to find. You can smell the rotisserie chicken from their parking lot across the street. You better beware though, it smells that fantastic from the immense amount of garlic each is slathered with. If you’re not careful, it can stay with you for the rest of the day. I always make a point of having a fizzy drink with my dinner; I’m convinced it helps. Most of the time it’s my Caribbean favorites Kola Champagne or Coco Rico. They also offer ginger ale, root beer, Pepsi, and parcha (AKA passion fruit).
There are daily dinner specials but my favorite day at Papa’s is Saturday. The one day a week lechon is awesome. It’s easy to find this over salty, greasy, or dry in other places, but Papa knows pork. It’s perfectly seasoned on its own, however Mama has a kick in the mouth green hot sauce that pairs wonderfully with the roast pig. The tostones are reliably good. Some other places don’t change their oil enough or they half cook the plantain in advance. Papa seems to clean the fryer regularly and make the delicious twice fried platanos to order. Garlic makes a not so subtle appearance on these babies too!
Before I rave any more, I have to remind you that this is a mom and pop operation. They can easily run out of specials before they close. Sometimes that means you’ll have a wait before you get your paws on the next batch of pollo chon. Sometimes that means you’ll go without the lechon next Saturday. You can’t rush the process.
Speaking of rush, I don’t think I’ve been here when the place wasn’t full. So be smart or be patient! It’s easier getting a table during the summer since the outdoor enclosed patio doubles the seating. If you’re logical you’ll read that to mean you can sit down while you wait for real Puerto Rican grub. In all seasons, between diners and their busy delivery service, I highly recommend calling ahead for takeout service. I had leftovers for breakfast this morning and I already want some more.

Oh my Gosh, the best ever! …if you haven’t had a jibarito. .get one here! I promise you will not be disappointed!

Yummmmm… saborrrrrrrrr *rolling «R» horribly*
After going through a stint of earing chicken nuggets and fries from Wendy’s for about a month (and 10 pounds later. Preggo problems), I have finally shaken the desire for that crap and am back to desiring hot, home cooked food. While coming from the north side of the city, I was not looking forward to rattling through pots and pans to cook, while my begging dog claws at my ankles at 10 something at night. I sighed as I continued driving down Division Street. The options around in either direction didn’t appeal to me at all — Burger King, McDonald’s… BARF!!! As I passed under the big Puerto Rican flag, I immediately thought about how I stopped at about 3 PR food trucks through Humboldt Park a few days ago (don’t judge me) and how good a jibarito would be. I then passed Papas. It was a sign from the plantain gods!!!
I pulled a uturn and stopped. It’s a very small place that you would totally miss if you weren’t looking for it. There’s plenty of street parking though. The inside is pretty small but that does nothing to take away from the PR feel of the place as you smell the aromas of the island and gaze at all of the celebrity pics on the wall. I ordered my chicken jibarito and rice and beans. The place was packed and normally is, but that doesn’t take away from their service.
The taste — delicious! Plantains were perfectly cut for the sandwich. I hate when thick pieces are cut. It was fried to perfection and the garlic, olive oil, and seasoning blends were mouth watering. I wish I had more rice and beans as well. I devoured my food. They totally made a faithful patron out of me and my belly!
VIVA PUERTO RICO! :-)
#WhoNeedsLoveWhenYouHaveFood
#ChiTownFoodieChic

Wonderful jibarrito. The meat was cooked to perfection and had great flavor. Just the right amount of toppings and the plantain was crunchy and the right thickness. The arroz con gandules or ‘Spanish rice’ as the woman called it… Lol. Was flavorful and fluffy.
They don’t have pasteles (Puerto Rican tamale), rellenos de papa (meat stuffed potato), or morcilla (blood sausage) that I could see. But they had plenty of other dishes there that made your mouth water. They even have chicken on rotisserie in the back. The smells of the shop were fantastic! I will come back.

This place won my business. I sat down and the nice waitress Julia put my beers in the freezer because they were warm. She then brought me a cold beer from her personal brews while my beers got cold. The Chicken is super tasty, the tostones is perfection & the beans are delicious. As a Latin man, it’s hard to eat Latin dishes because mom is always the queen. Here at this place you can tell somebody’s mom is back there cooking

I ordered to go, to start I have ordered from other Puerto Rican restaurants before and never have I seen when ordering a steak sandwich get only one scoop of rice. For the price they asked I was expecting the two scoops like all the other restaurants. I also had to wait a few minutes because the waitresses where having a conversation that was more important than asking if I needed assistance.. Not sure if I’ll be coming back.

This is for a to-​go order.
This place seems to cater more to frequent goers. The girl that answered the phone was not too friendly, and when I asked a couple questions about the menu — she seemed annoyed by the fact that I even had the gall to ask them.
Arriving to get my food was no different. People that were behind me in line were allowed to cut in front of me, who all seemed like they were acquainted with the owners/​workers there. One person cutting is OK, but three did it in the time I was there. Not cool.
When I did get to tell her why I was there, my food was already there waiting for me to pick it up. I ordered the Camarones en Salsa, and the other ordered Jibarito con Arroz. The Camarones was really lackluster and had about 5 shrimp in it. The price tag? A whopping 14.50! The Jibarito con Arroz was a bit too greasy for the other’s liking. They do their rice well though.
Another nice touch — they give you complimentary fried plaintains! A bit over-​salted.
All in all — LOSE THE ATTITUDE because that’s enough for me to never come back again. The food is good, but that type of money can get you something better in Chicago.

The food is good when they don’t let the chicken dry out.
I’ve ordered though grub hub multiple times and they keep messing up my order. Either they totally forget items, add cheese to one but not the other, or pick what they give you instead of fulfilling the order.
Not worth the headache anymore. See ya

I love the food here but the service for the first time was rude. I guess I have to take it to go instead. I recommend restaurants for a living I wouldn’t as of this last experience ever recommend a client here again. But the food is delicious.
I change my order from a go to a dining in and I brought a friend and they just took my order out of the bag and presented to me in my carbon box at my table. I waited a half hour to be served glasses for our drinks very very rude. I’m in the service industry and it’s pretty embarrassing that in my own neighborhood the service is this absurd.

Could not decide between the jibarito and the chicken so that gives me good reason to return! Went with the chicken which was very tender and tasty. The tostones were perfectly crisp and garlicky. The yuca was amazing!!!
The service was great.

Hoy 8÷12÷15 visite a Papas cache y la Comida estaba Buena pero las 2 meseras y la cajera NO eran amables con los Customers, no se acercaron a preguntar si necesitabamos algo mas y a lo ultimo cuando me trajeron el bill, la mesera en vez de ponerlo en La mesa casi lo tiro. Pero luego despues de un servicio tan pecimo y tan malo estan pendientes de las propinas. Papas Cache te doy un consejo cambia a todas esas meseras y pon unas que sean amables con tus clientes para que al cliente le den deseos de regresar! Yo por mi parte no regreso mas.

Papa’s steak jibarito is fantastic. I order about one per week on average. It comes with rice, which can sometimes be under cooked, but I’ll let that slide.
My one gripe about this place is the staff — they’re unfriendly. I get it, it’s stressful when you’re busy and trying to serve a dozen people, but you’re in the SERVICE industry! Be thankful to all your customers. I feel like I’m being an inconvenience to them when I’m ordering takeout — the lady on the phone actually sighed when I asked if I can place an order for pickup! Then put me on hold for several minutes until someone else picked up the phone. If I wasn’t so hungry at the time for a jibarito I would have hung up!
But I digress. I’ll keep ordering the steak jibarito from them and I’ll keep dealing with the unfriendly staff because they do have good food at reasonable prices. At least until I find another spot with an equally as good or better jibarito with a staff that actually welcomes their customers.

Loved this place! Went with some coworkers on a Friday for dinner to try their jibarito sandwich. It’s a BYOB place so we picked up some coronas and limes on the way. We sat outside in the front where they have an enclosed patio-​like area. The weather was warm so it was really nice to eat out there.
The staff was so friendly and helpful! The waitress noticed our limes and offered to cut them for us. She also brought them back in a nice little to go container. All of us got the jibarito and it was DELICIOUS!!! I had the steak which was well seasoned and the crispy plantains were a good replacement for bread. Also had a side of Spanish rice which was pretty tasty too.
Overall, awesome food and service. (The waitress brought my friend a to go box without us even having to ask) More of a dive though so don’t go if you’re looking for something more fancy and upscale. And don’t forget to BYOB :)

Can you say JIBARITOOOOO? (That’s pronounced hee-​bah-​ree-​to) They are so delicious and nutritious. Ha, probably not nutritious, but DAMN are they good! If you’ve never had one and you want a different Chicago culinary experience, try this place out!
Here’s the low down. Fried plantains serve as the «bread». Sweet and lovely. It comes with avocado, cheese (the choices are, and I quote, «yellow or white»), mayo, tomatoes, lettuce and some sort of meat if you like. I am a veggie monster, and it’s enough without the meat! That little bad boy is flavorful and greasy to the max! You get a side either spanish rice or red beans and rice. A whole meal for $ 7 and some change. Worth it. Or if you’re like me, you eat half and save the rest for your drunken late night snack. Perfect for soaking up the booze. I usually choose the latter. Absolutely wonderful. Take it to go or pop a squat inside. It’s a bit cozy but if you want a real Humboldt Park experience, this is it! YUMMMMM.