History

The Polish Boy was popularized at Virgil Whitmore's Bar-B-Q in Mount Pleasant in the late 1960s and 1970s. Whitmore, a Texas migrant, combined Southern barbecue with the local Polish kielbasa to make a stacked sandwich that became Cleveland's unofficial signature.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 4 large kielbasa links, about 600g total
  • 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into thick-cut fries
  • Neutral oil for frying, about 1 litre
  • 4 long sub or hoagie rolls
  • 300g sweet coleslaw, drained
  • 120ml sweet-style barbecue sauce
  • Yellow ballpark mustard to finish
  • Sea salt

Method

  1. Heat the frying oil to 165C and blanch the fries until soft but pale, about 4 minutes. Drain and rest 10 minutes.
  2. Raise the oil to 190C and fry the rested fries a second time until deep gold, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper and season with salt.
  3. Score the kielbasa lengthwise and grill or pan-fry over medium-high heat until charred and heated through, 6 to 8 minutes.
  4. Split each roll, lay in one kielbasa link, top with a generous fistful of fries, then a heap of slaw.
  5. Squeeze barbecue sauce in a heavy zig-zag across the top, finish with a stripe of yellow mustard.

Tip from the editors. Don't skip the double-fry; soggy fries collapse the stack and the sandwich becomes a slaw cup.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat polish boy

Polish Boy in Cleveland

Mt Pleasant Bar-B-Q ★ 4.5

mt-pleasantMon-Thu, Sun 13:00-21:30, Fri-Sat 13:00-22:00

Mt Pleasant Bar-B-Q on Kinsman Road in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, a family-run sit-down rib house and Polish Boy counter, runs the city's archetypal sandwich on the same block that originated it.

Try: Polish Boy and Texas-style barbecue ribs

12725 Kinsman Rd, Cleveland, OH 44120

Seti's Polish Boys ★ 4.6

ohio-cityFestival, ballgame and private-event schedule, see Facebook for current dates

Seti's Polish Boys, Cleveland's longest-running Polish Boy food truck on the festival circuit, runs the canonical kielbasa-fries-slaw-BBQ stack of the city's signature sandwich.

Try: Polish Boy: grilled kielbasa, fries, slaw and BBQ sauce on a bun

Cleveland, OH (mobile food truck across Northeast Ohio)

Prosperity Social Club ★ 4.4

tremontMon-Thu 16:00-00:00; Fri-Sat 16:00-01:00; Sun 10:30-22:00Until Mon-Thu 24:00, Fri-Sat 01:00

Prosperity Social Club on Starkweather Avenue in Tremont, a 1938 tavern with original wood-paneled walls and Wednesday polka, runs late-night pierogi and tavern fare through 01:00 on weekends.

Try: Pierogi, kielbasa and tavern fare

1109 Starkweather Ave, Cleveland, OH 44113

More cities are in research. Want polish boy covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →