Trader Vic's

Since Tokyo is an international city, there are many places for the foreigners to stay in. From the transit standpoint, places like Shinjuku and Shinagawa are a good place to start your Tokyo search. For people who are more familiar with the Tokyo subway transit system, hotels near Akasaka-Mitsuke station might a good place to stay; if you are familiar with the subways, it is a good place to hang around Tokyo. And, as an added bonus, Roppongi is pretty close to the area.

In The New Otani hotel, one of the most famous hotels near the Akasaka area, there is a Trader Vic’s restaurant which might make the travelers feel comfortable after their dose of Japanese food. Very many Japanese people miss the soy-sauce flavor after they go onto trips outside of Japan; I think the same things will happen to the foreigners who travel to Japan. When you are thirsty for a good tasting American food, eating hamburgers will do the trick. And if you stay at that hotel, you won’t have to leave the hotel to get your treat.

At the bar counter area of Trader Vic’s, they offer three kinds of hamburgers. “The Perfect Burger”, “The Ultimate Burger” and “Aloha Burger”. They are all price at 3150 yen, excluding service charge. Since they first started with the “Perfect Burger” and then expanded the burger menu, I chose the “Perfect Burger” for my dinner. The attendant advised me that the burger will take about 20 to 30 minutes to prepare.

After about 25 minutes, the hamburger is served. The hamburger comes with the chili sauce, two onion rings and ton of French fries. The hamburger itself is huge. Also, they provide two different sauces, a very hot mustard sauce and a rather sweet barbeque sauce. The attendant said that the mustard is very hot; I didn’t take him so seriously, but it is hotter than the usual mustards, it resembles “wasabi” which is Japanese horseradish that can be found in sushi. If you take it too much at once, your nose will go on fire!

The buns are covered up with the sesame seeds. From the bottom, the ingredients are as follows; lettuce, half-pound Japanese beef patty, cheddar cheese, onion, tomato, two strips of bacon, avocado, and mayonnaise. Since the buns are pretty solid and the ingredients are stacked high, taking the first bite is pretty difficult. On the first bite, you will notice the sweet taste of the sesame seeds, which covers the crown part of the buns. After that, you will be delighted by the harmony of the taste, created by the fine ingredients. The hamburger itself is light-flavored. The direct taste of the fine ingredients will make you very happy. Since this hamburger comes with mustard. BBQ sauce and chili, after a while you may want to put some of the sauce to make the hamburger taste different. Be careful not to put too much mustard, but the mix of mustard and BBQ sauce is very satisfying. The chili sauce is also spicy, by putting it on; you will discover a new dimension of this Trader Vic’s hamburger. The onion rings are crispy on the outside, very juicy in the inside.

For the “Ultimate Burger”, it has sautéed onions and mushroom, covered with two kind of melted cheese, complete with the half-pound Japanese beef patty. “Aloha Burger” is a Hawaiian-style burger, complete with pineapple and sweet sauce.

If you are homesick of American foods, maybe going to a place like Trader Vic’s and enjoying hamburgers will ease your homesickness. It is one of the most expensive hamburgers in Japan, but it’s worth the money.

----SHOP INFORMATION----

Official Homepage: http://www.newotani.co.jp/en/tokyo/restaurant/vics/index.html 

Hours: Lunch : 11:30p.m.-2:30p.m.
         Dinner : 5:00p.m.-10:00p.m.
         Bar : 11:30a.m.-1:00a.m.

Address: Hotel New Ohtani
Nearest Station: Tokyo Metro Akasaka-Mitsuke Sta. (G05/M13)
                      (Tokyo Metro (Subway) Ginza Line/ Marunouchi Line)
How to go: Get off at  Akasaka-Mitsuke Station, head for exit #D.
    Cross the bridge, and you will find the New Otani Hotel on your right.
    4th Floor in the New Otani Hotel.