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| - I ate there recently when I was in Cleveland on a business trip. I'm a "food tourist" and found out about HSW from Man vs Food.
What I loved: the Polish Boy!!!!! OMG that was sooooo good. The fries, coleslaw, and their unique bbq sauce just work with the polish sausage to create a one-of-a-kind taste treat sensation in your mouth! It was so ridiculously good I talked some business colleagues into going back with me a few days later and they were pretty impressed. One of them had the fried chicken (with their signature sauce on top) and he said it was damned good. I also tried some of their ribs which were okay -- I was expecting better considering this is a bbq/soul food joint but they weren't as tender as I expected. That said, they weren't bad. On my second trip, I tried the Polish Girl (which is the Polish Boy plus pulled pork on top of everything else); I was surprised but I preferred the Polish Boy over the Polish Girl. It's not that the pulled pork is bad --- it's great --- but it's one too many flavors in my mouth at once. It wasn't bad but it just wasn't necessary.
What was so-so: the decoration and atmosphere is that of a run down old restaurant. That said....WHO CARES??? I come for the food, not the decorations. You want decorations? Go to the Cheesecake Factory. It's a dive but it's reasonably clean and it wasn't that bad. The neighborhood isn't great but I went during the daytime (by bus, no less) and felt reasonably safe. Nobody gave me the 'evil eye' even though it was pretty obvious I was "not from around here."
The service: the people behind the counter weren't all smiles and energy but they got the job done and the food tasted good. Before going there, I read all the Yelp reviews and a lot of people are trashing the employees and their attitude. Again, it's NOT the Cheesecake Factory with some chirpy employee who acts like your meal is their mission in life. These people would probably rather be somewhere else. But I wasn't ignored, they were reasonably courteous (again, it was VERY clear I was a tourist from out of town), and the food was prepared in a reasonable amount of time, done cleanly, and it tasted great. If Cheesecake Factory level service is super important to you, you won't enjoy this place.
In short, come for the food, not the decorations and the service (which isn't that bad, just don't expect to be treated like a god). If I ever have another trip to Cleveland, I am going to HSW again.
PS They do sell the bbq sauce in bottles and I brought a few home to try and recreate the Polish Boy.
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