I’ve been sitting on a Groupon for Babs (Bao’s Awesome Burgers) for quite some time. We’ve tried to go a couple of times when it didn’t work out but this past weekend we finally made it in! Jake only had to circle us around the tiny lot once before someone left a spot that we were able to grab. I think Jake is a parking good luck charm.
For the Babs Groupon deal, we had the deal where you could get two burgers or sandwiches, plus fries and two drinks. Jake and I both opted for the iced tea which tasted like it was freshly brewed.
[canton wings / $6.49]
Originally the three of us (Jake, T and I) had decided on getting the macaroni and cheese bites… but they were out! I almost ordered one of their bao appetizers but wings kind of sounded like a good idea so we got an order of those. These are basically just fried wings without any sauce or seasoning. Kind of like salt & pepper wings… but without the good bits! The wings were just okay. They came with a side of ranch which was okay. They had a nice crispiness but there was nothing special about these.
[the b-b-beast / $9.99]
We split one sandwich and one burger between the three of us – which was plenty! The B-B-Beast is a three meat sandwich that’s piled high with pastrami, roast beef, and corned beef. We had a choice between white bread and sourdough and picked the sourdough. There’s a layer of coleslaw on the bottom plus hot french fries sandwiched in between the meats and the coleslaw.
I squished the sandwich down a little bit so I could cut it in half so we could maybe get a bite out of this sucker…
I took a photo of Jake trying to get his whole mouth around the sandwich – he couldn’t! But he sure did try.
Of the two entrees we had, this one was my favorite. The pastrami was super juicy and flavorful without being overly salty (which some pastrami can be). The layers of meat worked really well with the coleslaw and fries, melding all of the flavors together to create awesomeness! Normally I can’t stand coleslaw in my food… but somehow this worked for me. It’s a HUGE sandwich so I do highly recommend sharing with a friend (and maybe also a teenager).
[texas burger / $8.99]
All of BABS burgers are “Quicksand Burgers” – they’ve got the cheese in stuffed into the middle of the burger. Of the ones on the menu, we figured the Texas Burger would be the best one for us. There was kind of a measly amount of fries on our plate, but they were kind of boring fries anyway – just regular shoestring. They have other kinds of sides – skin on fries, sweet potato fries, waffle fries and tater tots – which we could have upgraded to for $2, but we opted to just keep it simple.
The Texas Burger comes with an onion ring, chopped bacon and BBQ sauce.
Somehow I forgot the cheese was in the middle (duh) so I tried cutting it in half and kind of made all the cheese ooze out. Oops. At least it made for a dramatic photo…
The sad face thing about this burger? Our it-is-practically-burnt bottom bun. It’s not *quite* burnt but it was SO crispy and really hard that it made it really unpleasant to eat. The burger was cooked to well done and was pretty dry. Overall this just did not work for me. I’ve read other positive reviews about their burgers though so maybe we just got a really bad one…
Our service was also kind of lacking. Our waiter asked to see the Groupon right away, redeemed it, and then took a long time to come back and take our order. It seemed like he was taking orders for everyone around us and just totally glossing us over. We had to flag him down to actually come and take our order. Also whenever we would ask him for something (more water, more napkins, etc) we would have to ask him several times before he would deliver. Not too impressive on the service.
But… Jake and I (and T) all loved the B-B-Beast so much that we would come back just for that sandwich! There’s your saving grace – the food was still mighty tasty! I’m sure we’ll be back to try another overstuffed sandwich and maybe some of their bao’s. Maybe they would like us better if we didn’t have the Groupon… oh well.
Link love! Other bloggers who have visited Babs:
– Jinxi of Jinxi’s Eats revisit
– Kirbie of Kirbie’s Cravings visit
– Kirk of mmm-yoso’s visit back in 2011 (before the inner remodel)
Babs (Bao’s Awesome Burgers)
4646 Convoy St., Ste 103
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 571-6038
Whoa, that cheese oozing out definitely was dramatic! My sis just took her boys and the other kids there. They loved it. Too bad about the $#@% service here though. The parking lot for this place is just awful. I’ve been there before for Raki Raki and the Angels & Hearts crepe place but parked on a side street. I was too afraid to park inside, haha!
Hi CC – The parking lot here is dreadful, but every time I go with Jake he manages to get a spot! I make him drive, too, so less dread for me. haha! I want to try Raki Raki one of these days!
We still have our groupon to use as well. I love the beast sandwich there. I tried the beauty once but it just tasted so healthy in comparison haha! I think I will go here after the gym since I am doing really well with my pre-summer workouts (so far)!
Hi Lynn – I was glad we have the three of us to share all of that food! I definitely could not eat one on my own. That’s probably a good idea, haha.
So the sandwich was better than the burger? The picture of all that melty cheese oozing out of the burger…swoon.
Hi JS – Yes, the sandwich was better this time! I’ve read plenty of other reviews where they loved the burgers, but I think ours was overcooked… I’d give it another chance though in the future!
That cheese stuffed burger made for a great pic! I’ve seen them on Groupon before but never picked up the deal.
Have you noticed vendors haphazardly treating customers with their Groupon deals? I think it’s 50/50 on that one for me. That’s why I hesitate buying these deals at times b/c I figured the restaurants hate you for being so cheap or something (therefore giving you bad service). I don’t know.
I think you need to ask Jake how he always seems to score a parking space in these awful parking lots in Convoy. There must be a trick. Must be…
Hi Faye – Yeah, I’ve found that if you present that coupon early they kind of brush you off a bit more… our waiter here asked us how we found out about it and I told him we had a Groupon. Maybe that was my first mistake! He was much more attentive to people who came in after us. It was pretty craptastic if you ask me. But whatever. Sometimes I hesitate getting the deals, too – like, why are you offering this deal? Does you food suck? haha
Jake was following people in the lot and looking to see if someone was already in their car and then just sitting and waiting for them to leave. Maybe that’s the trick!