Restaurant Restrooms

[ludja]

Thant's the place! did you ever end up in the wrong bathroom?

I was playing darts in a pub in Carrboro, NC one night (can't remember the name of the place) but when I went to the loo, there were two doors marked "Pointers" and "Setters".

Was there some sort of hunting theme to this place? Can't remember.

Anyway, after a few brews, I could not for the life of me figure out which one to go in-so I picked  door #1-only to find myself next in line with a bunch of "pointers".

I get it now, but when you are kind of drunk, it can be too much of a puzzle to figure out.

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Too funny. Going back in the mists of time this sounds very familar. We used to hang out at a bar (that I think it no longer in business or has another name) in Carrbaro that I seem to remember had these bathroom doors. The place I'm thinking of was the left hand side of the main Carrbaro drag (coming from Chapel Hill) and was just past the RR tracks. (Basically, it was across from Carrbaro 'mall') and near the split in the road. All the booths in the bar were pine and were heavliy shellacked. And, as it turns out, not perfectly level, so there would be fun times with sliding beers. Was this the same place???

Oh--- I just remembered the name of the bar--it was "Sidetrack" or "Sidetracks".

(Sorry if this is a silly OT comment...)

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I can't remember if I did or not, but I think the reason that I remember it is that it must have stymied me for a moment too... I don't remember a hunting theme persay, although the inside of the place almost looked like a cabin with all the pine wood.

The Sidetrack became an illicit hideaway sometimes for us during the day when we wanted to escape writing our thesis'. The bartender would give us quarters to pick out music on the jukebox as long as we "didn't pick any sad country music songs". It was a friendly laid back place and as grad students we liked it in later years b/c it was somewhat out of the fray from some of the other college bars in Chapel Hill.

I just noticed that I misspelled Carrboro about a dozen times in the previous post!

[sazji]

Oh jeez, this is maybe a bit too easy, but this being Turkey ... imagine eating in a place that is fairly nice, clean, good service, then going back to answer nature's call and finding this:

This is in a home (note makeshift heel supports due to floor angle that challenges even experienced squatters!) so it's acceptable; they're fine if they are clean. Toilet paper is an optional item here; that's what the little blue pitcher's for. On western toilets, it's replaced by a specially-placed little water jet that's aimed right for the exit point, a very nice addition. But I'm very often surprised at how little care is given to toilet maintenance at restaurants. (I'll spare you the photodocumentation; use your imaginations or check out the worldwide toilet link posted above.)

Many smaller eateries don't have bathrooms; you have to go out and find a mosque (which always has public restrooms). But the staff will always give you good directions to the nearest one.

Probably the best bathroom experience was in Seattle at the Coastal Kitchen restaurant in Seattle. They were having rotating theme menus that would change every three months. It was Singapore at that point. In the bathroom was a tape playing, like a Berlitz language course, with a phrase in English followed by the equivalent in chinese. But they were hilarious phrases, all in all about 60 of them (and not a single one comes to mind...). The next theme was going to be Greek, so being half Greek I volunteered my services and people got to hear me saying things like "C'mon Narcissus, I need to do my makeup now."

Edited March 2, 2006 by sazji (log)

[Teri Everitt]

I go out to hear bands playing fairly often, and squalid (and I mean by Canadian standards, not some of the freakier stuff you would find while travelling) washrooms are part of the deal,......... rarely do clubs that have bands in ever have clean pleasant washrooms. I have noticed that none of you have mentioned something you will find plenty of in Canada, especially in places that have basement washrooms........freezing cold toilet seats! Up here in The Great White North we have pre-chilled toilet seats. How's that for class?

[Jmahl]

A few years ago in Paris we went to a very nice place that happened to be on the street behind the U.S. Embassy. To get there you have to get past checkpoints with armed French solders. Upon asking for the facilities I given a key and directed out into the street where a half block down I found a low door and a very small barely adequate unisex W.C. Upon returning I was asked if I had indeed locked the door. What was there to worry about? - we were protected by the French Army.

It was great fun.