In my various previous posts I have harped on the fact that I strongly believe that almost all of the restaurants downtown offer the same, or at least very similar, dining experiences and menu items. While I don’t believe that the place I have tried this week is anything revolutionary in terms of dining experience and menu items, in terms of State College I find that it’s a great change of pace, especially if you’re looking for your classic burger at a vintage diner.

If you haven’t been able to guess which spot I’m talking about yet by the title and the description up above, I’m talking about Baby’s Burgers. (Pictured below)

Located on 131 S Garner Street, which is really just the extension of Shortlidge Road right near South Residence Halls, Baby’s is cooking up all of your diner classics like burgers, shakes, and an array of fries. This past weekend my little sister came to visit me, and she LOVES burgers more than literally anyone I’ve ever met. Naturally, that’s all she wanted when she came here, but I was so nervous to take her anywhere because I haven’t had a good burger here yet. From the outside, Baby’s made me pretty nervous because it looks like it’s perpetually going out of business. Below is a photo from the inside, which is much better than the exterior in my opinion.

Anyway, once we got in (just before they closed at 8:00 pm ON A SATURDAY), we sat down and picked out our burgers and drinks. I ordered a Hawaiian burger, strawberry shake, and side of fries. Maybe it was because no one was ordering anything else at the time because they were about to close or maybe it’s because their service is decent, but either way we got our food within 10 minutes.

My medium-rare burger was thiqquueee and dripping in the secret Hawaiian sauce and stacked with a few onion rings. I bit into my first burger in a long, long time and was very pleasantly surprised. While I don’t have a picture handy, the presentation was sub-par at best. The bun didn’t look too pretty and the burger itself was also not exactly burger color. It was kind of a tinted black, but that might come with how they cook their diner patties- not 100% sure. But as I was saying, I really enjoyed the burger! The sauce was a perfect pairing for the onion rings. I can compare it to the sauce you get at Outback when you get the bloomin’ onion. Also, the shake was amazing. I hadn’t had one of those either in the longest time, so honestly anything would’ve sufficed. I apologize for how I’m about to describe the milkshake, but it was the perfect thickness and pretty big. As for the fries, they were aggressively average. They were just pretty warm and weren’t very crispy – which is how I love my fries. I would recommend getting them simply because the trifecta of the burger, shake, and fries is unstoppable.

I would recommend stopping by Baby’s because there is hardly another place around State College like it. If you’ve been to Ruby’s Diner it’s almost exactly the same, but maybe a little rougher around the edges. Either way, it’s a cheap, convenient, and tasty place to eat!

If you’ve made it this far into my blog, please let me know of any other good burger places in State College.