Cousin Vinny's Cafe, Torrance

Cousin Vinny's Cafe
5148 W. 190th St (in the 99c Store strip)
Torrance, CA 90503
310-542-3300
www.cousinvinnyscafe.com
Plenty of free parking.

Visited: A couple times, most recently, January 2011, Lunch, Dine-in

Well, they're from back east, and they say they got a good Cheese Steak, and boy, they sure do. We really enjoyed our sandwiches, and will definitely be back.

From a south Philly perspective, the original Philly Cheese Steak ($8.50) was very nicely done. The hoagie roll is soft and toasted on the griddle. The meat is plentiful and very tender, and the onions were cooked very nicely. They also use Provolone, which was great, but also have Cheez Whiz for those that prefer orange cheese.

They also claim to have the best French Dip ($8.50) around, well, not so much. It's a very fine sandwich with that nice bread and meat, however being from LA, nothing tops Philippe's. And my longstanding pet peeve, they used the term 'au jus' incorrectly on the menu.

The Meatball Sub ($8.50) made with their homemeade meatballs and marinara was also very tasty. Good bread is such a key, and their hoagie roll holds up well to the sauce and melted mozzarella.

All sandwiches come with a huge portion of crinkle cut fries or macaroni salad, and a pickle spear.

Vinny's is a new business, so watch out for coupons in area mailers.