Also near my new house is Rudy’s Taste, a relatively new place with a tripartite specialty: Guatemalan, Cuban-Caribbean & Mexican. It’s on Ashland between Chicago & Division.
I have been hearing about jibaritos, a Puerto Rican sandwich which I didn’t know about before I came to Chicago, but ye cats, what is not to like about a meat and cheese sammich on a FRIED starch? Apparently Rudy’s Taste is known for them, which makes sense considering the reason I went in there in the first place was the neon sign reading JIBARITOS. I got the cubano this time, though, just because I was craving one. I was not disappointed — it wasn’t the best ever, but that’s no crime, because it was really good and full of the proper flavors: salty roasty meat, mayo, mustard, pickle, toasty bread, a bit of melty cheese, and a tangy salsa on the side. The cubano was just the ticket for breakfast after a beery evening on the roofdeck with the new upstairs neighbors.
Why the place was empty during prime brunch hour on a Saturday I have no idea. The coffee was pretty mediocre, but that’s easily fixed (or just get coffee elsewhere — there’s a foofoo coffeeshop pretty much on the same block — and have one of the awesome-looking juices instead). And I’m pretty sure it was Rudy himself who waited on me, and he seemed like a very sweet guy.
I will be going back for dinner and to try the Guatemalan specialties (apparently Rudy is Guatemalan, his dad is Mexican, and his wife is Cuban, thus the triple combo) and the jibarito. Stay tuned.