Mama Bea's bills itself as the place for "All American Old Fashioned Hamburgers." The restaurant lives up to its proclamation on two fronts: The burgers are hand-patted and dressed the way Mama used to make them, and the decor leaves no doubt that it's an all-American establishment.
   The last time we ate at this location, it housed one of Robert "Say" McIntosh's eateries, and the walls were covered with preaching. Mama has the place tastefully awash in patriotism. (And military personnel, active, reserve or retired, get a 10 percent discount when they show an ID.) There is a little wooden statue of Uncle Sam; there's a framed copy of the Bill of Rights; there are two tributes to the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 -- one of which looks like an American flag, until you look closely, and see that the stars and stripes are made up of the names of all the 9/11 victims. Unlike the preaching, the patriotism is not overdone.
   And neither is the food. Everything we sampled was pretty much just right.
   Our beef-eater took on Mama Bea's cheeseburger, and got a beautiful, well-done specimen dressed, as they all are, in lettuce, tomato, dill pickle, onion, mustard and mayonnaise. Her only complaint was she asked for hot cheese and got American, and asked for extra onion and didn't get it (the latter was quickly remedied by the nice young clerk, who provided several extra rings).
   Burgers come in regular ($3), jumbo ($3.75), double meat ($4.75) and triple meat ($5.99). A slice of American cheese adds 50 cents, and a slice of hot cheese costs 75 cents. There are also combo deals for each burger, priced from $5.80 to $7.25; a manager's special of two jumbo cheeseburgers for $6.99; and for those who eschew beef, but still want to look like they're eating a burger in a burger joint, there is a turkey version for $4.25.
   Accompanying the beef-eater's order was a messy but very tasty side of chili cheese fries ($3.60) and a creamy chocolate shake ($2.25).
   The hot dog in our threesome went for the foot-long dog ($3.99) with mustard, chili, cheese and slaw (jalapeno peppers are available also, but she declined). The dog came in a paper boat and, to the hot-dogger's delight, under all the dressings, she found the wiener was cut into bite-size pieces, so there was no trying to saw off a piece with the plastic cutlery.
   For $4.50, a dog will come dressed with Polish kraut and mustard. A corn dog is $1.29.
   Hot dog got an order of onion rings ($2). She declared the crispy-on-the-outside, yummyon-the-inside rings to be the stars of her meal, although the chili on the dog also got kudos for not being too greasy.
   The aquatic one went for the catfish dinner ($7.99) with its three golden filets enveloped by a crunchy batter that didn't overwhelm the taste of the fish. The dinner comes with fries, three cherry tomato-size hush puppies that were OK, and an overly-dressed-for-our-tastes slaw.
   Also on the menu are Buffalo wings in four flavors and three sizes, from $3.99 to $13.49; seven sandwiches (from grilled cheese to pork chop) for $2.25 to $4.99; a Frito pie for $3.99; a salad for $2.99, to which chicken, turkey or ham can be added for $2; and a shrimp basket for $7.99.
   The kiddies, for $2.99, can choose a hot dog, corn dog or grilled-cheese meal.
   Other sides include fried okra and potato chips.
   When we sorted out our order, we noticed we had an order of fries and a slice of the storebought chocolate cake that we hadn't ordered. The clerk let us keep the cake, which was a nice topper for a satisfying meal.
   Note to Mama: Might we suggest you put a pile of spaghetti under that tasty chili? We think you'd have no trouble selling it.
   

MAMA BEA'S BIG BURGERS Address:
5900 W. 12th St., Little Rock

Hours:
10:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Saturday

Cuisine:
Burgers, wings, hot dogs, catfish

Credit cards:
MC, V, AE, DC, D

Wheelchair accessible:
Yes

Alcohol:
No

Carryout:
Yes, and the drivethrough window is now open

(501) 663-3031

This story was published Friday, June 23, 2006