Cafe Central opened in 1950 near Madison and Laflin in what's now the West Loop, built to give Chicago's growing Puerto Rican community — many of them men who'd migrated north for work — a taste of home. It moved to its current West Town address on West Chicago Avenue in the mid-1960s and has held that corner ever since, making it the oldest Puerto Rican restaurant in the city.
The menu covers the staples without much fuss: mofongo and trifongo built from mashed plantain, yuca, and pork rinds; alcapurria and papa rellena among the fried appetizers; asopao made to order in chicken, shrimp, or octopus versions; and the jibarito, the Chicago-born sandwich that swaps bread for fried green plantains. Daily soups rotate by day of the week, and mixtas plates pair stewed chicken, beef, goat, or roast pork with rice and beans.
Still family owned, Cafe Central has built a following of regulars over the decades, with the alcapurrias and the homemade, from-scratch cooking drawing particular loyalty.
The menu covers the staples without much fuss: mofongo and trifongo built from mashed plantain, yuca, and pork rinds; alcapurria and papa rellena among the fried appetizers; asopao made to order in chicken, shrimp, or octopus versions; and the jibarito, the Chicago-born sandwich that swaps bread for fried green plantains. Daily soups rotate by day of the week, and mixtas plates pair stewed chicken, beef, goat, or roast pork with rice and beans.
Still family owned, Cafe Central has built a following of regulars over the decades, with the alcapurrias and the homemade, from-scratch cooking drawing particular loyalty.