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Review: Baby’s Badass Burgers

In the midst of the Great LA Storm of January 2010, I decided to brave the rain and head out to Miracle Mile in search of lunch on wheels. I'd noticed (via our trusty Twitter feed aggregator) that not many trucks were out that day: I'm not sure whether that was because food trucks don't hold up well in the rain, or because they didn't think they'd do much business in the middle of a downpour.

I'd been wanting to try Baby's Badass Burgers for a while: I've been looking for a good restaurant-style burger ever since my parents and I stopped our regular dinners at Brentwood's Hamburger Hamlet. Laugh if you will, but the Hamlet does a really good mushroom-and-swiss burger.

Thanks to the rain, there was no line at 1:55 PM when I showed up. I got an awesome parking spot right behind the pink Baby's truck, so once I'd ordered (and was given a burger ETA of 15 minutes) I hopped back in my car to hang out and stay dry. I chose the Original Beauty ($5 for a pair of mini sliders, $7 for a "Maneater" 1/2-pound burger) and my husband got the Mamacita ($6/$8). We shared an order of Pig Tails curly fries ($2). We both opted for sliders rather than full-size burgers: easier to share.

The Original Beauty came with mushrooms, swiss cheese, onions and Baby's Special Sauce, which, owing to my husband's distaste for burger sauces, I chose not to get. The burger itself was very slightly overcooked, but the mushrooms were done to perfection. It was a fun-size version of my beloved Hamburger Hamlet burger. Next time - and there will be many next times for me and this burger - I'll get it in the Maneater size.

The Mamacita featured guacamole, jalapenos, tomato, grilled onion, and pepper jack cheese. It had a healthy amount of jalapenos, which gave it a nice kick. The avocado was creamy, but the tomato was a bit past its prime. Again, the burger was a little overcooked. I'm not sure I'd go for this one again. Both the Beauty and the Mamacita came on mini King's Hawaiian buns, and their slight sweetness worked well with the other flavors.

My husband and I agreed that two sliders and half a side of fries wasn't quite enough food for one person. We could have done with one more set of sliders - one for each of us. I wished the portion of fries had been larger; they were on the tender side rather than the crispy side, just like I like 'em, and they were seasoned with celery salt.

Baby's burgers-and-boobs marketing scheme brought it some bad press when it first rolled out last August 10. When I decided to check out Baby's, I braced myself for what one Yelp reviewer described as "the Hooters factor," only to find... none at all. Apparently, sexy ladies don't like to serve burgers in the rain - not even from inside the truck. Go to Baby's on a sunny day if you want to see bosoms while you're munching on meat.

Vegetarian-friendly? There's a veggie burger on the menu. I have resolved to try it next time I go, and once I have, I'll report back.

Vegan-friendly? Nope. According to the King's Hawaiian Web site, their buns contain milk and eggs.

Owen-ometer: He was into the Pig Tail fries, especially one absurdly long ringlet of potato, which he bounced like a yo-yo and then stuffed into his gob. The burgers? Not so much. To be fair, it wasn't that he didn't like them - he flat-out refused even to try them. In no way is that a reflection on the quality of Baby's burgers, though: it's simply an indication of Owen's overparticular gustatory personality.