GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Picture a burrito stuffed with kielbasa, cabbage, garlic mashed potatoes, cheese and a horseradish-based secret sauce – all smothered in a hearty bacon whiskey sauce.
That’s what’s being served up this weekend only at the Polish Falcons hall, 957 Fulton St. W, for Grand Rapids’ Pulaski Days, the annual four-day festival dedicated to celebrating Polish food, beer, music and more.
The “Polito,” as it’s called, was created 12 years ago by a Grand Rapids-based catering company in an effort to transform a traditional Polish dinner plate into a handheld meal. Three Men and a Grill has since trademarked the name and only serves the popular dish to the public during Pulaski Days each year.
Rich Nawrocki, the catering company’s cofounder, says it’s their most popular dish – he estimates they will end up serving 1,000 Politos by the time Pulaski Day ends on Sunday, Oct. 5.
“We’re serving lunch right now, and I would say 80% of our business is the Polito at the lunch-hour crowd,” Nawrocki told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press on Friday afternoon. “We get requests if we will make them year-round.”
When Three Men and a Grill first created the Polito, it was meant to be eaten as a handheld meal and was served as a traditional “dry” burrito, with no sauce served on top – just a king-sized tortilla filled with kielbasa, kapusta, or Polish sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, cheese and a horseradish sauce.
However, customers kept asking for the burrito to be served with a sauce on top, so the Polito creators started researching different types of sauces, Nawrocki said. First, they tried a tomato base, and then a cucumber dill, and eventually they landed on their signature whiskey bacon sauce.
Nawrocki said the presentation of the wet burrito is partially an homage to the Beltline Bar, the Grand Rapids restaurant that’s known as the original home of the famous wet burrito.
“Certainly the West Michigan concept of the wet burrito definitely had an influence on how we created it and presented it,” Nawrocki said.
Three Men and a Grill is run by Nawrocki and his business partner, Lisa Feist. The company was started 18 years ago with co-founder Mark Pospiech, who passed away two months ago, Nawrocki said.
The Polish Falcons Hall is the only place you can get the Polito during Pulaski Days, which runs Thursday through Sunday. The kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
A wet Polito is $15, and you can also order a dry Polito without the sauce for $13.
Three Men and a Grill will also be serving up other meal options, including Polish meatballs, kielbasa sandwiches, pierogis, and more. You can find a full menu on the caterer’s Facebook page.
This year marks the 53rd anniversary of Pulaski Days, which is named after American Revolutionary War hero and Polish immigrant General Casimir Pulaski. It was originally created to support local social clubs and share Polish culture with the Grand Rapids community.
Now, the event is a weeklong celebration where 13 Grand Rapids social clubs come together to offer packed schedules for all to enjoy. Some of the notable events include the kielbasa and pierogi eating contest as well as the kapusta cook-off.
Here is a list of the 13 participating Polish halls this year:
St. George’s Hall – 1513 Quarry Ave. NW
Vytautas Aid Society Hall – 1300 Hamilton Ave. NW
Knights of Columbus – 1140 Muskegon Ave. NW
Sons and Daughters Hall – 1057 Hamilton Ave. NW
Sixth Street Knights of St. Casimir Aid Society – 649 Sixth St. NW
Fifth Street St. Adalbert’s Aid Society Hall – 701 Fifth St. NW
Polish Falcons of Grand Rapids – 957 Fulton St. W
St. Ladislaus Hall – 58 Lane Ave. SW
Kosciuszko Hall – 935 Park St. SW
St. Isidore’s Benevolent Aid Society Diamond Hall – 435 Diamond Ave. NE
Sacred Heart Benevolent Society Eastern Hall – 506 Eastern Ave. NE
St. Stanislaus Aid Society Little Hall – 823 Michigan St. NE
American Legion Post 459 – 658 Michigan St. NE
The full 2025 Pulaski Days schedule, which includes times for live music at each of the Polish halls, is available here. For more information and ongoing updates, visit the Pulaski Days Grand Rapids Facebook page.