Cafe 787

6019 W Fullerton Ave
Chicago, IL 60639
(773) 237-0787

COME HERE!! If you think you'll find better Puerto Rican food in Chicago, you are one crazy MOFOngo. Seriously, hands down, THE best Puerto Rican fare I have had in the Second City. Cafe 787 hits on all points.

Yes, it's a drive. No, it's not in Humboldt Park. Yes, you will come here again and again. I was not ready for this jelly. Cafe 787 was too Boricua-licious for me. My friend had been fiending for some mofongo. Y'see, I'd taken her to a recommended Southside Rican spot - for mofongo. We were served matzah balls and told it was mofongo. We were unamused. After we set it off in there (and went on the run to avoid prosecution), we decided to give the search another try. We made the long drive west on Fullerton and found a parking spot right in front.

Visually, this place is awesome. Hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, Puerto Rican masks, paintings of Puerto Rico, mounted tvs, black wood seats, comfy & plush booths - the place is decorated really nicely. Even the bathrooms are nice - Kohler faucets, high tech hand dryers, sparkly black tile floor... I was in a good mood from sight alone.

My friends and I ascended to the second level, settled in and got to the business of ordering. Champagne cola, mango juice, Malta, aranitas (with garlic bread & sauce already mixed), el trio (maduros topped with creole chicken and bbq pork - OFF THE FREAKING CHAIN good), three orders of mofongo (two pork, one chicken; ask for it because it's not currently on the menu) and three orders of arroz con gandules. Our waitress repeated the order as though to verify we knew what we were ordering. Yep! We weren't scurred. We wanted to eat like we were chillin' with Don Omar in Old San Juan as we plotted to backhand that f00l, Daddy Yankee.

Seeing we weren't playing around, she put in the order. The owner came out to chat us up and he found out we were for real when a member of my party made some bioluminescence from Vieques magically appear in her Malta. Impressed, he went back to the kitchen to make sure our food was on point.

How good was it? We didn't speak for nearly twenty minutes after the food came out. We barely used utensils and managed only to grunt for hot sauce for the pork and mofongo. Unbelievably good. The maduros were sweet and huge & the meat on top served as perfect savory compliments to every bite. The aranitas were crunchy, filling and nicely seasoned. My Cola Champagne on ice was the nectar of kings. And the mofongo...oh me oh my. It was HUGE. Gigantic portion of the plantain delight (full of cracklins) and the pork and chicken that accompanied it could have fed two people each. Add to this: salad AND three orders of arroz con gandules? Wow. I'm flashing back to the eating and I am both ashamed and proud of myself. We took so much food down that Kobiyashi bowed down to us and took notes.

After we gorged ourselves and stretched out to lie down (you think I'm kidding; we had grease on our mouths & fingers and in our hair and our bellies were distended), the owner and waitress came out to have a conversation. We found out that they've been open about a year. A liquor license is a couple of weeks away and they have plans to keep the place open to 2 on the weekends with live music and dancing. All this food AND Puerto Rican Rum AND booty shaking? It's about to be on & poppin' - literally! Even though we didn't have room for dessert, the owner gave my friend a huge container of freshly made sofrito just because it came up in conversation. And, oh yeah, tax & tip came out to $30 a person. That's right.

There is no other place in Chicago one should go for Puerto Rican food. Great decor, nice music, friendly service, COOL owner and fantastic food. Man, I am getting hungry again just thinking about it. Come here and bring me along. Think of it as a finder's fee.