Stuck in the 50's Since 1987

In 1987 a group of investors purchased the old diner on S. Garner St. in State College, Pennsylvania and turned it into a 50's diner. Complete with saddle shod waitresses the new owners would pay homage to the diner's roots.

Trucked in from Patterson "Silk City" New Jersey the gleaming diner now serves up a menu straight out of Happy Days. Baby's 50's theme carries throughout the place. A Wurlitzer jukebox in the corner. Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis music filling the air. Even the wait staff is dressed the part. The whole idea was to get back to the basics. Home made food at reasonable prices in a family friendly atmosphere. On that, Baby's delivers.

So how's the food you may ask...... Well, it was good but didn't over achieve. Not the food anyway.

Our drink orders were taken first. A root beer float for Mrs. Sippi and a double chocolate shake with Oreo for myself. Our drinks were brought to the table along with the excess shake in the mixing cup. I grabbed my straw to tear it open and I heard "Oh god." I turned and looked and Mrs. Sippi had already taken a sip and was immediately rendered all but speechless. It was as good as a shake can be. Thick and rich, it was practically a meal in its self.
The float was good but unfortunately had to stand beside the milk shake.

Mrs Sippi had the Reuben. It was the standard corned beef on rye with Swiss, kraut and 1,000 Islands dressing. It was a fine sandwich but did not create a new paradigm.

I opted for a cheese burger. It was a solid diner style burger. Nicely crusted from the flat top (mmm flat top) and had a good beef flavour. It did not however make me forget all about Blimpy Burger.

The "5 Alarm"chili was somewhat disappointing. First and foremost, if it says "5 Alarm" it should be hot. Even with all the peppers piled on top it could only muster 2 bells. It's actually chili mac and had a fatal flaw in my mind. The chili was pretty tight. With the addition of macaroni I think it needs to be a little soupy. The pasta is then able to soak up some of that tasty gravy for an even better dish. As for the taste, it again falls into the "Fine" category. It wasn't hot at all and was very mildly seasoned. A little cumin is all I got from it as far as seasonings. I'm not saying that was a bad thing either. Just sayin'.

Would I eat there again?? Absolutely. Good solid fare is always welcome and the shake was worth the 7 hour drive.

You can find Baby's at 131 S. Garner St. State College, Pa.


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You can also visit them on the web.  


Well that's all from the food court for now.

Davwud