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.

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

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Polish Boy makes more sense with someone from Cleveland explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

Book food experiences in Cleveland

See all 25 bookable experiences in Cleveland