Adam & Eats: Miss Anna’s

This week’s adventure takes us to a relatively new place. A while back, the people who brought us Goodson’s family restaurants changed direction and started serving us frozen yogurt.

This left an unbalance in the number of restaurants serving the area home-style cooking. Not to mention, potentially empty buildings. Goodness knows we have enough of those around, so it a very good thing that local restaurateurs have taken up the gauntlet and kept those buildings and our bellies from staying empty for too long.

Located on Towson Avenue, right next to Shenanigans, is Miss Anna’s on Towson. This comfortable little joint has the feel of a very small town café. The friendly and informative staff make you feel right at home. Like most homestyle restaurants, food takes a little bit to come out of the kitchen, but it is well worth the wait.

I can’t think of anything bad to say about the place. But, I’ll try to come up with something. I guess the only thing that they lose points for is the menu. Like Cornerstone Grill, and the Pumpkin Patch before them, Miss Anna’s held on to some parts of the old Goodson’s menu. More than likely, they held on to most of the kitchen staff and customers as well. So, changing the menu up completely wasn’t necessarily a smart move if they didn’t want to overhaul the whole system. They did add some of their own things to the menu, so good on them for that.

Now that we’re talking food, let’s go the whole nine. Apparently, Miss Anna’s is owned by the people who bring us the Ribeye steak house, so their meat is top notch.

My suggestions? A burger for sure. These handmade patties are excellent. Which burger? The jalapeno burger with pepper jack is fan-friggin’-tastic.

As always, I would recommend the chicken fried steak. Since they have a great beef source, theirs tends to be a lot more like a real steak than like a big beef McNugget. The ranch chicken sandwich is pretty good, but suffers from the notorious underseasoned chicken syndrome. Also, it’s a bit messy.

As far as sides go, the usual suspects make an appearance. The fried okra is crunchy and yet still slippy in your mouth. The fried squash is yummy, too. In the tuber category, the baked potatoes are ridiculously awesome. The mashed potatoes are a little more straight laced, but still manage to rock your mouth like a hurricane. If you want fries, the homemade fries are pretty good, but go limp in a hurry. I’d put my money on the sweet potato fries, instead.

And, if you weren’t filled to bursting already, there’s pie aplenty. And cake. And cheesecake. Oh, I might have thrown up a little in my mouth just thinking of eating anything else. I’m so full.

If you haven’t tried Miss Anna’s yet, be sure to do so. Especially if you’re hungry for home cooking.

Until next week’s adventure, good eating to you and yours.