Campus Chronicle

Issue date: 4/2/02 Section: Bar and Restaurant Guide

Police officers enjoy good conversation at Zorba’s.

It's late at night, you're sitting around with your friends in your dorm room and everyone is hungry. What do you do?

You walk down Halsted Street to a UIC and Greektown tradition and have some breakfast.

This tradition, which has served so many UIC students and others at any hour of the night, is, of course, Zorba's restaurant Halsted and Jackson streets.

Sure, Zorba's might not be the most appealing-looking restaurant in the area, but what it lacks in appearance it makes up for tenfold in character and charm. It's the type of restaurant people call home and frequent because of its friendly atmosphere and relaxed attitude.

Everyone is welcome at Zorba's — whether it be a college student looking for a place outside campus to get a cup of coffee and study or a person returning from a hard night of partying looking for a bite to eat.

The menu is pretty basic, and so are the prices. Zorba's has the ordinary diner-type food — the basic club sandwich, hamburger, grilled cheese and various kinds of special dinners. What makes it a little different is its Greek menu, with authentic specialties such as saginaki and gyros, among other items.

But when you talk about the menu at Zorba's, breakfast must come up. The 24-hour breakfast menu definitely is one of the biggest selling points here. The huge and super breakfasts are great deals at $4 to $6. Diners can order omelets with toppings customized to their liking.

The restaurant also has a wide variety of desserts and its owners are in the process of opening the back room as a miniature ice-cream parlor.

Zorba's also has a great wait staff, the members of might serve up a little sass along with your food. They work hard, they're friendly and they like the customers who come into their establishment.

The bottom line is people don't go to Zorba's for a classy dinning atmosphere; they go there for a good cheap meal and a nice relaxed and friendly atmosphere. It's more welcoming than the other 24-hour restaurants in the area and is the perfect place for college students to go, hang out and have a nice break from the dorms, their apartments, their classes or people in general.

So if you're ever stuck on where to go for a quick bite to eat, a cool place to hang out with some friends or a nice cheap place to eat at any hour of the day or night, think of Zorba's in Greektown. It's delightful character will keep you coming back again and again.

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