Zorba Lounge has been serving its steak sandwich since the Nixon administration, and the room around it has stayed about as unhurried. It is an old-school bar on East Washington, vinyl chairs and no pretension, the kind of place that never saw a reason to reinvent itself. The Pisteolis family has run it since 1977, a second generation now, and they have barely touched the remodeling or the menu.
The food is straightforward American bar fare, made the same way every time: steak subs stacked with grilled peppers, onions, mushrooms and provolone, wings, shrimp and chicken-finger plates, and a handful of salads. The drinks match the room, a cold bottle of beer more than a craft cocktail list.
Reviewers keep coming back to that steak sub, overstuffed and made with meat several of them point out is not the cheap stuff, and to portions that send you home full. It fills up on game days, which tells you what kind of place it is: a low-key spot to settle in with friends over a beer and a plate, not the kind of night you dress up for.