Name: Winner's Circle Sports Grille
Website: http://www.winnerscirclesportsgrille.com/
Type: Restaurant
Location: Edgemont, PA
Occupancy: Multiple
Porcelain: Two toilets, two urinals
The Circ is a pantheon of suburban culture in West Philly. Stuck halfway between a bar and a restaurant, the Circ hosts trivia every week and has a giant projection screen for your favorite team's game. They also provide little audio boxes so you can hear the commentary from either the "main game" or any one of 5-10 smaller screens. The food is pretty good, and the staff is friendly. So, does the toilet match the drapes?
Cleanliness
As a long time Circ patron, I was expecting it to be sort of messy when I went in last night. I was pleasantly surprised to find no puddles, odors, or trash. For an average place like this to pull off cleanliness is quite a feat.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Privacy
Good news: the bathrooms are in a separate hallway! Bad news: if you sit on a toilet, you can see the entire bathroom unobstructed (and vice versa!) I really like the hidden-away approach here, but it's insane that you can barely hide yourself while dropping the kids off at the pool. I don't know what to say.
Result: NO DECISION (0.5 points)
Flushing
Standard, normal, and worked as expected. You're not going to come out feeling like a new man, but it gets the job done.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Dryers
Yikes, big problem here. They avoid the death trap of air dryers, but there is a terrible pump towel system that forces you to touch the same wet lever that everyone before you had used. Also, forget about using the door handle with towel still in hand, because the two are about 8 feet away from each other.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Mirrors
Not full-length, but definitely full-width. You can see yourself well if you only start existing 4 feet off of the ground. Also, the mirror directly points at the door, so anyone walking in catches a full glimpse. I hope you like everyone at the bar watching you scrub your fingernails.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Music
Overhead music! Unbelievable! As an extra bonus, if there is trivia or a sports game on the big screen, you get that audio instead of lame muzak. It isn't loud enough to cover the worst deposit, but for the most part it's very servicable.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Reviewer Tilt
I definitely have to give a shout-out to one very cool bonus here: the urinals have a corkboard above them, and the staff posts that day's Sports section from the Philly Inquirer. No one wants to be looking around (or looked at) when they're peeing, and distracting them with columns about the Eagles is a perfect solution. I can't give the highest Tilt marks here, but a half-point is well-earned.
Result: .5 points
Score: 4.0 out of 7 (57.1%)
What This Means For You: Somehow, the fine folks at Winner's Circle managed to impress me. The bathroom is quite standard on the surface, but the Sports page posting and overhead music go a long way. Also, the hallway leading to the bathrooms is big enough to accomodate long lines, even if it doesn't come up very often. I have no pause in recommending this bathroom, and would advise to NOT wait for the comfort of your own home.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Kildare's: West Chester, PA
Name: Kildare's
Website: http://www.kildarespub.com/main.htm
Type: Restaurant
Location: West Chester, PA
Occupancy: Multiple
Porcelain: One toilet, two urinals
Kildare's is a Philly franchise of Irish pubs. There are a few within driving distance, and they're always a fun time. The night life is actually pretty substantial, which is surprising for such a nice and calm-ish restaurant. Today I ate their "European Union burger" which was pretty damn tasty. Okay, on to the real business.
Cleanliness
The bathroom is fairly clean, although the floors were wet and the trash can was overflowing. It certainly didn't scream "highway rest stop cesspool", but I wouldn't eat a dinner off of the floor either. This is a no-contest to me.
Result: NO DECISION (0.5 points)
Privacy
Here is where the problems begin. First of all, the door opens directly into the space of whoever is using the sink. The two urinals are pretty wide-open, with the urinals themselves extending less than you might expect (and no dividers in between). The door of the stall shows too much detail as well. If you work for the CIA, this is not where you want to conduct any sort of meeting.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Flushing
I only used the urinal, but that was all I needed to be completely skeeved. In the grand tradition of the 18th century, the urinals DO NOT FLUSH. Instead they are angled downward "enough" to drain whatever you're dispensing. I don't care if the stall had a scientific revolution of flushing technology, these urinals are awful. Also, the urinal cakes somehow smelled WORSE than a normal bathroom does.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Dryers
Okay, Kildare's did do one thing extremely well. The soap AND towel dispensers were both wave-motion-activated, and the trash can was right next to both the sink and the door. Quite a great example of how this sort of thing should work.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Mirrors
NO MIRRORS. NO. MIRRORS. Are you kidding me, guys? There wasn't even a reflective surface to be found. I wish I could give negative points here.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Music
On the plus side, the bathroom is fairly close to the speaker/DJ system, so you get a lot of incidental noise masking the very presence of the john. On the minus side, NO OVERHEAD MUSIC.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Reviewer Tilt
I have to be fair here; the decor was very nice in this bathroom. Interesting signs highlighted both cool beer logos and Irish history. If this were a cleaner and/or bigger bathroom, the atmosphere would be a great plus. As it stands, it simply saves it from being a true dumpster.
Result: .5 points
Score: 2.0 out of 7 (28.6%)
What This Means For You: If I had to give a quick summary, this bathroom is like putting a delicious chocolate icing on top of a gym sock sandwich. The design is completely backwards, and the lack of real flushing in the urinals makes it feel like a barn or something. Weird smells, a million paper towels in the trash, barely enough floor space to stand still ... someone missed the interior design train big-time. The signs on the wall were neat, but that doesn't make up for an extremely piss-poor (pun intended) effort. Definitely go to Kildare's for the food, but hold it on the ride home.
Website: http://www.kildarespub.com/main.htm
Type: Restaurant
Location: West Chester, PA
Occupancy: Multiple
Porcelain: One toilet, two urinals
Kildare's is a Philly franchise of Irish pubs. There are a few within driving distance, and they're always a fun time. The night life is actually pretty substantial, which is surprising for such a nice and calm-ish restaurant. Today I ate their "European Union burger" which was pretty damn tasty. Okay, on to the real business.
Cleanliness
The bathroom is fairly clean, although the floors were wet and the trash can was overflowing. It certainly didn't scream "highway rest stop cesspool", but I wouldn't eat a dinner off of the floor either. This is a no-contest to me.
Result: NO DECISION (0.5 points)
Privacy
Here is where the problems begin. First of all, the door opens directly into the space of whoever is using the sink. The two urinals are pretty wide-open, with the urinals themselves extending less than you might expect (and no dividers in between). The door of the stall shows too much detail as well. If you work for the CIA, this is not where you want to conduct any sort of meeting.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Flushing
I only used the urinal, but that was all I needed to be completely skeeved. In the grand tradition of the 18th century, the urinals DO NOT FLUSH. Instead they are angled downward "enough" to drain whatever you're dispensing. I don't care if the stall had a scientific revolution of flushing technology, these urinals are awful. Also, the urinal cakes somehow smelled WORSE than a normal bathroom does.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Dryers
Okay, Kildare's did do one thing extremely well. The soap AND towel dispensers were both wave-motion-activated, and the trash can was right next to both the sink and the door. Quite a great example of how this sort of thing should work.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Mirrors
NO MIRRORS. NO. MIRRORS. Are you kidding me, guys? There wasn't even a reflective surface to be found. I wish I could give negative points here.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Music
On the plus side, the bathroom is fairly close to the speaker/DJ system, so you get a lot of incidental noise masking the very presence of the john. On the minus side, NO OVERHEAD MUSIC.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Reviewer Tilt
I have to be fair here; the decor was very nice in this bathroom. Interesting signs highlighted both cool beer logos and Irish history. If this were a cleaner and/or bigger bathroom, the atmosphere would be a great plus. As it stands, it simply saves it from being a true dumpster.
Result: .5 points
Score: 2.0 out of 7 (28.6%)
What This Means For You: If I had to give a quick summary, this bathroom is like putting a delicious chocolate icing on top of a gym sock sandwich. The design is completely backwards, and the lack of real flushing in the urinals makes it feel like a barn or something. Weird smells, a million paper towels in the trash, barely enough floor space to stand still ... someone missed the interior design train big-time. The signs on the wall were neat, but that doesn't make up for an extremely piss-poor (pun intended) effort. Definitely go to Kildare's for the food, but hold it on the ride home.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Fresco Pizza & Grill: Newtown Square, PA
Name: Fresco Pizza & Grill
Website: http://www.frescopizzagrill.com
Type: Restaurant
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Occupancy: Single
Porcelain: One toilet
Fresco is a nice, relatively new grille in Newtown Square. It's tucked away in a weird new shopping center by the intersection of West Chester Pike and 252. I particularly enjoyed their burger the last time I went there. But you can read that information elsewhere. Let's get to the bathroom.
Cleanliness
The bathroom here is quite clean. I didn't notice any "hourly cleaning checklist" that you sometimes see, but you can tell it's maintained on a regular basis. I saw no toilet paper or towels on the ground, nor were there spills of any kind on the ground.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Privacy
The room is single occupancy, which I tend to prefer. There is a Catch-22 with the location, though: the bathrooms are tucked in a very narrow hallway to the left of the kitchen. The upside is that you are secluded from the eating area, so that neither party (diners and bathroomers) will disturb each other. The downside is that the hallway is quite cramped, so you end up having to form a single line for the women's and men's rooms. This makes for several awkward glances and remarks. You also have to do the walk of shame past everybody once you're done your business. However, the overall hidden feeling and comfort that it brings overwhelms the discomfort of people waiting for you to wrap it up.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Flushing
The flush is a typical lever mechanism. It worked as expected, and the flush was substantial but not overpowering.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Dryers
Fresco uses a "wave your hand around like an idiot until the towels come out" device. Thankfully they use towels at all, instead of those awful air-powered pieces of junk. The trash can is small, but they make up for it with the overall frequent maintanence, so it doesn't overflow.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Mirrors
Being a single occupancy, there is only one mirror, expectedly positioned above the sink. My memory may be failing me, but I recall it being tilted downward. Still, it didn't give you many options for checking your entire head-to-toe appearance, which is unfortunate.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Music
If there was any music playing, it was bled-through from the main dining area. For shame, Fresco! This was made slightly better by the fact that no one could hear you anyway since you're in a little hallway, but anyone waiting their turn outside is sure to get some collateral noise.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Reviewer Tilt
The toilet paper is on this small, free-standing spinner that was quite classy. I didn't see any spare rolls around, but they seem to keep up the place on a regular basis, so I can't imagine it being a problem TOO often. Also, there was a handy Lysol spray bottle sitting next to the door, which I rarely see in public facilities. The decor was bright and high-class, making for an enjoyable atmosphere. I hate when you go to a nice restaurant and the bathroom makes you feel like you just pulled over from the highway in New Jersey. I can't give my highest marks, but it was still a nice upgrade from your average john.
Result: .5 points
Score: 4.5 out of 7 (64.2%)
What This Means For You: I would definitely recommend the bathrooms at Fresco. The warm atmosphere made up for the annoyance of the small hallway. No one was waiting for me when I was done, but I could hear the guy before me and I didn't like it. If they added a bigger mirror and some overhead music, this bathroom would get the highest of honors. For now, it is simply above average.
Website: http://www.frescopizzagrill.com
Type: Restaurant
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Occupancy: Single
Porcelain: One toilet
Fresco is a nice, relatively new grille in Newtown Square. It's tucked away in a weird new shopping center by the intersection of West Chester Pike and 252. I particularly enjoyed their burger the last time I went there. But you can read that information elsewhere. Let's get to the bathroom.
Cleanliness
The bathroom here is quite clean. I didn't notice any "hourly cleaning checklist" that you sometimes see, but you can tell it's maintained on a regular basis. I saw no toilet paper or towels on the ground, nor were there spills of any kind on the ground.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Privacy
The room is single occupancy, which I tend to prefer. There is a Catch-22 with the location, though: the bathrooms are tucked in a very narrow hallway to the left of the kitchen. The upside is that you are secluded from the eating area, so that neither party (diners and bathroomers) will disturb each other. The downside is that the hallway is quite cramped, so you end up having to form a single line for the women's and men's rooms. This makes for several awkward glances and remarks. You also have to do the walk of shame past everybody once you're done your business. However, the overall hidden feeling and comfort that it brings overwhelms the discomfort of people waiting for you to wrap it up.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Flushing
The flush is a typical lever mechanism. It worked as expected, and the flush was substantial but not overpowering.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Dryers
Fresco uses a "wave your hand around like an idiot until the towels come out" device. Thankfully they use towels at all, instead of those awful air-powered pieces of junk. The trash can is small, but they make up for it with the overall frequent maintanence, so it doesn't overflow.
Result: PASS (1 point)
Mirrors
Being a single occupancy, there is only one mirror, expectedly positioned above the sink. My memory may be failing me, but I recall it being tilted downward. Still, it didn't give you many options for checking your entire head-to-toe appearance, which is unfortunate.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Music
If there was any music playing, it was bled-through from the main dining area. For shame, Fresco! This was made slightly better by the fact that no one could hear you anyway since you're in a little hallway, but anyone waiting their turn outside is sure to get some collateral noise.
Result: FAIL (no points)
Reviewer Tilt
The toilet paper is on this small, free-standing spinner that was quite classy. I didn't see any spare rolls around, but they seem to keep up the place on a regular basis, so I can't imagine it being a problem TOO often. Also, there was a handy Lysol spray bottle sitting next to the door, which I rarely see in public facilities. The decor was bright and high-class, making for an enjoyable atmosphere. I hate when you go to a nice restaurant and the bathroom makes you feel like you just pulled over from the highway in New Jersey. I can't give my highest marks, but it was still a nice upgrade from your average john.
Result: .5 points
Score: 4.5 out of 7 (64.2%)
What This Means For You: I would definitely recommend the bathrooms at Fresco. The warm atmosphere made up for the annoyance of the small hallway. No one was waiting for me when I was done, but I could hear the guy before me and I didn't like it. If they added a bigger mirror and some overhead music, this bathroom would get the highest of honors. For now, it is simply above average.
Welcome to Commode Node.
You may remember me as that guy who writes at The Burrito Stand. Well, I'm back with another blog, but this one is a little different. This one is about bathrooms.
That's right, bathrooms. If you're picky and OCD like I am, then you enjoy knowing ahead of time what you're in for when it comes to a lavatory. Lucky for you, I'm here to help. I will be writing up reviews of the different bathrooms I encounter, based on the following criteria:
~ Cleanliness: Obviously, this is a big one. How clean is the bathroom? Is there a nice air freshener routinely masking our horrible odors, or are there dank paper towels strewn about and a woft of South Philly in the air?
~ Privacy: Single occupancy, or multiple? Are there little separators between urinals? Can you easily see through the cracks in the stall walls?
~ Flushing: Is there a lever, knob, or button? Is there one of those sensors that does it automatically? Is the flush splashy and incomplete?
~ Dryers: Paper towels or heat-based dryers? Are the trash cans convenient or hidden, and are they overflowing with awfulness?
~ Mirrors: Can you see most or your body in the mirrors, or will you risk dragging a piece of toilet paper back into the establishment on your shoe? How much effort does it take to make sure your fly is up?
~ Music: Is there sound coming through on the overhead speakers, or are you left alone with your shame in a loud, echo-filled chamber of flatulence?
~ Reviewer Tilt: The "wild card" category, where I arbitrarily decide how much I enjoyed my bathroom experience.
Now, as you might assume, most of the bathrooms reviewed will be at restaurants. However, don't rule out malls, retail stores, or Quik-E-Marts.
I hope you enjoy this blog. I'll sure enjoy writing it.
That's right, bathrooms. If you're picky and OCD like I am, then you enjoy knowing ahead of time what you're in for when it comes to a lavatory. Lucky for you, I'm here to help. I will be writing up reviews of the different bathrooms I encounter, based on the following criteria:
~ Cleanliness: Obviously, this is a big one. How clean is the bathroom? Is there a nice air freshener routinely masking our horrible odors, or are there dank paper towels strewn about and a woft of South Philly in the air?
~ Privacy: Single occupancy, or multiple? Are there little separators between urinals? Can you easily see through the cracks in the stall walls?
~ Flushing: Is there a lever, knob, or button? Is there one of those sensors that does it automatically? Is the flush splashy and incomplete?
~ Dryers: Paper towels or heat-based dryers? Are the trash cans convenient or hidden, and are they overflowing with awfulness?
~ Mirrors: Can you see most or your body in the mirrors, or will you risk dragging a piece of toilet paper back into the establishment on your shoe? How much effort does it take to make sure your fly is up?
~ Music: Is there sound coming through on the overhead speakers, or are you left alone with your shame in a loud, echo-filled chamber of flatulence?
~ Reviewer Tilt: The "wild card" category, where I arbitrarily decide how much I enjoyed my bathroom experience.
Now, as you might assume, most of the bathrooms reviewed will be at restaurants. However, don't rule out malls, retail stores, or Quik-E-Marts.
I hope you enjoy this blog. I'll sure enjoy writing it.
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