Cleveland's defining sandwich: a grilled kielbasa link in a bun, piled with hand-cut french fries, sweet coleslaw and a slap of barbecue sauce.

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. The format spread to lunch counters across the East Side; Freddie's Southern Style Rib House and Hot Sauce Williams now anchor the modern Polish Boy circuit.

Where to eat Polish Boy in Cleveland

3 editor picks for Polish Boy in Cleveland, ranked by editorial score. All Cleveland signature dishes · Polish Boy across every city.

  • Seti's Polish Boys

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

    Seti's Polish Boys is Cleveland's longest-running Polish Boy food truck on the festival circuit, with the canonical kielbasa-fries-slaw-BBQ stack on a bun.

    DetailsDirections

  • Mt Pleasant Bar-B-Q

    Try Polish Boy and Texas-style barbecue ribs

    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.

    DetailsDirections

  • Prosperity Social Club

    Order The pierogi plate and a brandy Old Fashioned at the bar before sitting.

    Prosperity Social Club on Starkweather Avenue in Tremont, an Eastern European tavern open since 1938, runs pierogi, cabbage and craft beer with karaoke.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves 445 minEasy

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.

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

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy.