I love food, I love eating, and man, oh man, do I love grilled cheese! Often, we stumble upon some truly unique and wonderful places on our adventures, and this particular restaurant is one of them. When in desperate need of food after a long hike, we saw this restaurant on route 54 on our way to Keuka Lake. Although it didn’t look like much on the outside, once we stepped inside, we were transported into another decade, the 1950s.
(Full Disclosure-We make it a point to never tell anyone, at any restaurant that we are Adventures in New York because we want to have the same experience that you would have when visit.)
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Step Back In Time
As we were driving by the restaurant, a giant billboard caught our eye, Burgers and Shakes. To my growling stomach, this sounded heavenly. We turned around and headed back to the restaurant to give it a try. On the outside, it is like many quick-service restaurants with a service window outside. However, you are doing yourself an injustice if you simply order your food at the counter window. Step inside and let the ambiance of this incredible restaurant sweep you away to the 1950s.
Maybe Baby Burgers is meticulously decorated with pictures and mementos from the 1950s. The red, white, and black decor is like an old-time diner. There are glass cases with articles of clothing from the movie Grease and the TV show Happy Days. Pictures of actors, actress, and musicians from this era, cover the walls, along with different nicknacks that ties it all together. Some people might find this restaurant a little over the top, but I thought it was just fantastic. Even the bathrooms were fully decorated. It is clear that there was a lot of painstaking research done and a passionate love of this era to create such a perfect representation of the decade.
Amazing Food
Maybe Baby Burgers is a counter-service restaurant, where you order from their extensive menu, wait for your name to be called, and then select a booth to eat at. The menu has a large selection of specialty burgers and unique milkshakes. However, that isn’t all that is on the menu, a variety of sandwiches, wraps, chicken, hot dogs, and salads.
On the day we visited, they had a fish fry special, or as it is listed on the menu, a Whale of a Tail Fish Fry, which my husband ordered. There are so many items on the menu that I found myself a little overwhelmed. Then I saw something intriguing, a three-cheese grilled cheese. The Woolworth Grilled Cheese has cheddar cheese, American cheese, and swiss cheese. Yum. I asked if they would be willing to add bacon to it, which they were more than happy to do. There is also a full condiment bar for dressing up your food.
They were swift to get our food out to us, and let me tell you; it was nothing short of amazing. Hot and fresh. If you have never had deep-fried pickle chips, you are in for a treat. They are delicious. As for my grilled cheese, it was out of this world. I am forever in search of the perfect grilled cheese, and I think I may have found it. My husband’s fish fry was enormous and just incredible. Honestly, I wish we lived closer to Maybe Baby Burgers so that I could try everything on the menu. There is just so much yummy-sounding food, just waiting for me to order it.
We were so full from our immense plates of food that we never even got a chance to indulge in the appetizing ice cream and sundae menu.
This restaurant is awesome. If you find yourself near Bath or Keuka Lake, take the drive and enjoy a nostalgic trip into the whimsical time of poodle skirts, gelled-back hair, and the fabulous 50s.
Address: 7530 New York Route 54, Bath, New York
Other Places to Visit in The Area
Keuka Lake State Park
This beautiful and idyllic park is surrounded by the hills and vineyards. Some of the oldest wineries in New York State are found on Keuka Lake and visitors can take advantage of the many wine tours offered in the region, and then relax on the sandy beach perched on the edge of Keuka Lake.
Sanford Lake
This picturesque lake is the perfect kayak and fishing destination. There is also a small primitive campground with excellent lakeside camping to escape from hectic world. Nestled in the Birdseye Hollow State Forest, Sanford Lake is a little piece of paradise.