The disadvantage of being named Zorba's is that you are right at the back of the phone book. Then again - maybe that's the point? Ignore this statement, it means nothing. But then again, perhaps it means everything. They could have called it All Night Zorbas and been under A. Except they're no longer open all night most of the week. They could have called it Aardvarks... or AAA Towing Service Cafe maybe but that would be false advertising as they are not affiliated with AAA.
What to get: a Texas hot, a Chocolate Malt.
What else is good: Burgers, maybe Omelettes covered in Meat sauce.
I don't really like eating the omelettes here to be honest. I was starving recently so I did (as you can see from the pix). It's satisfying for the first 5 or 7 or 9 bites, but then it just feels weird. Smothering them in sauce makes them much better, but I guess it just doesn't work that well for me. It tastes good, but it just doesn't sit right. The hot dogs, on the other hand... and the excellent malts... are amazing. I recommend coming here just to try a hot with everything.
It used to be open 24 hours, but is now limited (10.30 or so, some nights, and much earlier on Sunday), has tiny little booths and is quintessential American fast food. They used to have a sign around the side that read, in this format:
PARKING FOR ZORBA'S TEXAS
HOT CUSTOMERS ONLY
And my sexy friend and I decided that one day, we would cover up the top part of the sign, so it read "HOT CUSTOMERS ONLY." Indeed, we always parked in that spot. And there are some real hotties working here and often visiting here (though often teenyboppers) so it kind of makes sense that they would have such a parking spot.
They also have an excellent milkshake as I mentioned, which is thick and particularly rich, like my boyfriend, and I highly recommend getting it malted for a unique experience and lots of little malt bits in your shake. Their hot dogs are the star attraction though.
The burgers are excellent too (always order your burgers and dogs with everything - it's that simple - the meat sauce makes them as good as they are). The Garbage Plates are not my favourite although I think they're called hot plates, or something. They were invented in Rochester but Zorba's were among the first to introduce them to Buffalo and they did a great job at it.
Fried Bologna is an extremely Buffalonian thing, and I recommend giving that a try too. The service is usually friendly, and there is one tall, tanned blonde cashier in particular who is absolutely stunning and is worth the price of admission alone. I wonder if she knows how much I adore her :) I wonder if he cares. I hope her boyfriend isn't reading this. I hope her boyfriend isn't the big chef with the shaved head and tattoos. In general, though, the sandwiches here are pretty basic and fall short of the Hot Dog excellence.
Buffalo Hot Dogs are something special. There's Ted's of course, and it's very good, but there are so many others, which are even more "Buffalonian", Louie's is the most famous one, but better versions are the luscious Zorba's, the dreamy Abbott, the heavenly Hot Dog Heaven, the Rochester import Bill Gray's and more... Ted's aside, which is a char-grilled different story, this is what Buffalo dogs are: they are snappy, delicious hot dogs, slathered in onions and an almost-bitter, almost-Chilli like meat sauce which, if done properly, is warm, filling, comforting, and absolutely sinfully delicious. It's the same sort of "meat sauce" that you might find slathered over a Rochester Garbage Plate. If you get a chance to try one of these, do not pass it up, because it's just that good. Just make sure you eat it hot.
Did I mention that really good looking people tend to eat at Zorba's? Not that this says anything about the quality of the food. I mean, every time I am unfortunate enough to have to go to Starbucks, there are usually some ridiculously hot girls in there too. I might even go as far to say that really good looking people often don't have very good taste, and tend to gravitate more towards chains and brand names. But then I'd be getting into generalizations, and unlike ALL other British people I would NEVER make one of those. And, like Sean Connery, I would also NEVER say NEVER.
So 5 for the dogs and shakes. 4.5 for burgers. 3 or 4 for sandwiches and omelettes.
I forgot to mention this might also be a good place to go after a workout. All you have to do is switch the A and the B in Zorba's and it becomes Zorab's, which sounds very much like Sore-Abs, which definitely sounds like a place you would go after a work out. For Hot Dogs. Oh wait. read more