In 2015 , the legendarySteve ’s Lunchsuffered a black blow when fire ravage the 24 - hr diner on Cleveland ’s near - west side . allot to first responders on the vista , the 60 - plus years of accumulate filth turned the edifice into a elephantine Molotov cocktail , leave nothing in its viewing but passion , smoke , ash , and fuzzy memory .
For many citizenry in Cleveland , lilliputian , tatty Steve ’s was the provider of previous - night aliment when little else was still assailable . It was also the spot where uncounted diners got to know and enjoy the Polish Boy . After a night of heavy drinking , this heroic sandwich offered the sort of fuel and strength postulate to attain the task of making it safely home .
" It was n’t Poland , that ’s for certain ! "
Flickr/Stu_Spivack (edited)
Not to be confused with the Big Easy ’s po - boy , the Polish Boy is a uniquely Cleveland invention , and its kudos have been sung bynotable magazinesand celebrity foodie like Anthony Bourdain , Adam Richman , and , of course , rabid Clevelander Michael Symon .
So you might be wondering , what the hell is a Polish Boy , and what does it have to do with Cleveland ?
At its tenderness is kielbasa , which is a general term for a Polish smoke sausage made with beef , porc , or a combination therefrom . The sausage is grilled or griddle , pucker into a uncompromising raging hotdog roll , and topped with coleslaw , French Fry , and barbecue sauce . Finishing one is a feat ; shine off two is the hooey of fable . Proper garb for feed a Polish son is an forestage , or anything you do n’t mind flip into the trash .
For a sandwich that is rightly celebrated and roundly trumpet , there is a dearth of fact on its origin . intensify the problem is the fact that " Polish Boy " was once a general term for any with child kielbasa on a roll .
Finishing one is a exploit ; brush up off two is the stuff of legend .
My research bespeak me to a humankind named Virgil Whitmore , who opened the original Whitmore ’s Bar - B - Q in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood back in the 1940s . Like any practical restaurant owner , Whitmore look around at the ingredients he had on hand and came up with newfangled and creative direction to apply them – not unlike Taco Bell . He had smoked beef sausage , he had coleslaw , he had French fries , and he had his famous barbeque sauce . Whitmore combined the ingredients and came up with this delicious mess of a sandwich , and replicates presently begin popping up at other barbecue joints around town .
Various Whitmore class extremity locomote on to open other Cleveland - expanse barbeque shops , include Mt. Pleasant BBQ , which open in 1977 and is currently operated by Virgil Whitmore ’s grandson , Larry Turner . When require where the Polish Boy uprise , Turner responded , " It was n’t Poland , that ’s for certain ! " But , he add , his shop has been doing them since twenty-four hours one , and they ’re still one of the most popular point on the fare .
Proper attire for eating a Polish Boy is an forestage , or anything you do n’t mind toss into the deoxyephedrine .
These days , you may score Polish Boys not only at barbecue joint like Mt. Pleasant , Whitmore’s , Hot Sauce Williams , andThe Rib Cage , as well as the long - track and wide shoot a line favorite , Seti ’s Polish Boysfood hand truck , but also at a identification number of contemporary restaurants . You see , likethe Cavs , the Polish Boy is make a Brobdingnagian comeback thanks to Cleveland - loving chefs who have picked up the billy club and run with it .
AtBanter , a retail bottle shop / poutine eatery in the Detroit - Shoreway neighbourhood , you ’ll happen a deluxe version , with fat house - made kielbasa , slaw , frites , and sauce , all tucked into a split - top roll . Michael Symon just opened his " Cleveland - style " barbecue restaurant , Mabel ’s BBQ , in the heart of Downtown , and there was no means he was n’t pay protection to his favorite sandwich . Order the Polish Girl and you ’ll make a fat kielbasa from the nearby West Side Market topped with saucy smoke pork and coleslaw . Over atPicnic , a Modern " sausage - theme " eatery in the 5th Street Arcades , dining compartment can score another version of the Polish Boy – this one a woman - grilled smoked pork barrel sausage top with – you guessed it – fries , coleslaw , and sauce .
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