Review: Sonny’s Famous Hoagies, Sandwiches That Will Blow Your Mind

BY KYLE NELSON

Since 1958, a small storefront restaurant in Hollywood Florida has been baking fresh bread every morning, slicing and sizzling ribeye all to deliver genuine philly cheese steaks to customers at a quick rate. This restaurant is Sonny’s Famous Steak Hogies, and the name certainly does not disappoint. Interestingly enough, hoagies is spelled incorrectly on purpose. Once a person steps into Sonny’s, they are transported to a 60s Americana style diner. There is a counter by the door where the line will wrap around and eventually out the door. No glass cups or ceramic plates are used here, just old school styrofoam. And one more thing, they take cash only, no credit cards.

The entire vibe of the restaurant is comforting. The staff is extremely welcoming, dressed casually, and they will always ask “how are you?” before “what are you having?” When coming here, it is important to have the right mindset. If you are looking for a vegan, low-fat, tofu-filled pile of green vegetables, this is not the place for you. It won’t exactly contribute well to your trendy instagram feed about the top health food places in South Florida but it certainly will contribute to the filling of your stomach with essential comfort food. Sandwiches range from hamburger subs, classic philly cheese steaks to chicken parmesan subs. One thing that is missing? No fries, just good old fashioned lays potato chips – from a bag. Lacking side items is a small price to pay for the quality and overall affordable food. Sandwiches range about $5-$6 and vary according to the toppings chosen. With that said, desserts are offered, customers can choose between prepackaged Tastykakes or Kandy Kakes.

“Sonny’s has the best steak hoagies in South Florida,” junior Andrew Hausdorff said. “Whenever I go there I always get the number 90 and add their famous cheese sauce. It’s so delicious.”

The best part about the succulent sandwiches is honestly the soft, homemade hoagie rolls. Baking up to 700 rolls a day, Sonny’s has definitely had enough practice to perfect impeccable sandwich bread. After 4:30 p.m., pizza and spaghetti and meatballs are offered, but they don’t really seem to fit the style of the restaurant. Hoagies are definitely the way to go no matter the time of day.

In the packed dining room, there are 46 seats but takeout runs all day. It is recommended that customers keep groups generally small when visiting, as seating is very limited.

For ordering purposes, Sonny Nigro came up with an interesting shorthand for the subs. When customers order a “50” it is a steak sub with sauce and onions. 5 looks like an S for sauce and O is for onion. A “9” looks like a P backward, so the sub is a plain steak sub. The combinations are endless, and though this isn’t Burger King, you can pretty much have it your way.

Overall, the immense tradition and overall pride in the restaurant exhibited by the entire staff speaks volumes for Sonny’s.

SONNY’S FAMOUS STEAK HOGIES

1857 N. 66th Ave., Hollywood

954-989-0561, or SonnysFamousSteakHogies.com

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. (until 8:30 p.m. Sunday)

Featured image by Ben Milgram