Japan Trip 2012, Day 5 - Anna Miller's

After wandering around Akihabara, all three of us who went to Mount Fuji met up and went to a restaurant called Anna Miller's. This took us to just outside Shinagawa Station within Tokyo. Anna Miller's was right past the first intersection, in a shopping center just outside of the Takanawa exit.

Some of you out there may already know that all the waitresses wear something akin to... uh, I guess maid outfits, but for those of you that don't, now you do. This place has been said to be the restaurant that the first maid cafes in Japan tried to emulate. Yeah, they wear the outfits, and yeah, you can't take pictures of them in uniform. So don't try, the police will come running.

Of course, I guess I should talk about what they serve. On their menus is a soliloquy of sorts about Pennsylvania Dutch food and how good it is for the soul, humanity, and your pet hamster or something like that - and that's what they serve. Myself, I had what it called Homestyle Clam Chowder and Sauteed John Dory Fish, the former of which is self-explanatory, and the latter which is breaded fish. From what I remember, the chowder was a little on the thin side, but still decent. As far as the fish goes, I can only remember it being pretty good, though not outstanding.

However, it bears saying that none of these dishes seemed to be altered to suit regional tastes - if I walked in a decent restaurant anywhere in the South and ordered the same thing, I could expect it to taste kinda like what I ordered here. The Pennsylvania Dutch has a bit of authenticity here, though I'm sure I could be a better judge if I ate that type of food more frequently.

The price of these dishes, though... the soup itself was nearly 500 yen, and the fish was around 1600 or so. With the exchange rate in its current state, that's around 28 USD for a meal which you could probably find for ten bucks less in the States - this isn't Red Lobster quality we're talking, nor are the portions as big. The fact that you don't tip in Japan only did so much to still the raised eyebrow my wallet gave me. I heard that years ago, prices weren't that high, but I also heard that they used to have many more stores. They closed them all down in Japan except for that one store in Shinagawa, so you can imagine what that business decision did for them.

But still... it's in Tokyo. It's Pennsylvania Dutch food. And it's just like the States. Put 'em together, and the increased price is to be expected. So just in case you're cruising in Japan but for some reason want to eat some good old home cookin', you can head down to Anna Miller's and try some.