Does Medicine Cabinet Reveal Country Ham n Eggs' Smelly Secret?

Country Ham N Eggs Restaurant
709 US Highway 1
Sebastian, FL USA 32958

Where is it?

From the entrance, turn right and head to the back corner of the dining room. The bathrooms are there. Of course, this is a small place, so don't expect to go very far -- the entrance to the men's room is only a few feet from a table (clearly for the establishment's less-desirable clientele).

What's it like?

This restaurant's name pretty much gives you a clue as to what the toilet will be like. This is a humble towny diner serving decent breakfasts at reasonable prices. Good country ham too, in case you're wondering.

The interior reminded me a lot of the inside of a mobile, with white faux-wood fiberboard walls and Formica tables and a bit coffee station in the middle. The bathrooms extend that decor -- clean and homey, but also a bit on the trailer-park side (no doubt the desired effect, I'm thinking). That same fiberboard covers the walls here, given a cozy, insulated feel to the room. The toilet, sink and linoleum floor tiles are clean but well-worn.

The only odd part is a cheap-looking wooden medicine cabinet hanging above the sink. While it certainly extends a sense of hominess here, it also draws too much interest. As most people do in a person's home bathroom, I peered inside the cabinet on my visit here and -- to my surprise -- found two cans of air freshener.

Two cans!

Isn't one enough? Are the smells produced here so bad that the first can needs reinforcement? Or do the odors here spread so quickly that two cans are needed to diffuse the stink before they reach the dining room tables beyond the door?

Of course, I didn't smell anything while I was here, but then perhaps the sprays were already in effect before I entered. Very strange.

Marks out of 10:

6. Cozy, comfy country feelings through and through. Though still a little bit too "country" for me.

Comments to the Management:

Lock the medicine cabinet. I'd rather NOT know what's inside.

3 is the Magic Number

McDonald’s,
Carpenters Arms,
Old Botley,

Oxford.

OX2 0JR
United Kingdom

http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/


Where is it?

From the entrance head left. Follow through the chairs to the end of the restaurant and then to the right. There is a clearly signposted door through to the toilets.


What’s it like?

We’d eaten out and didn’t like the dessert menu too much and fell back on the trusty McDonald’s ice cream cone to finish things off. As we were approaching the restaurant I thought how the golden arches on their side would look like a number 3. And then remembered that De La Soul say three, that’s the magic number, yes it is! I’m not sure if it’s a pity that they didn’t use the golden arches on the single cover or not?

The whole theme continued in inside. Three staff, three sets of toilets (male / femal / disabled) and so on. I guess I’d have to say the staff seem to strike the same sort of happy tone from the De La Soul track too. This is one of the cleanest and friendliest McDonald’s that I know. Converted from the Carpenters Arms in 2002, it has worn well with the management obviously caring for the place in a way you rarely see in a fast food chain.

This is something that carries through to the toilets. They are on the basic side but well maintained. I’ve never seen a lock, door or soap dispenser out of order here. On this trip they had obviously been cleaned recently. Well done to the staff on that one. Still, some shit bag had managed to put toilet paper in one of the urinals, luckily not quite blocking it. I assume this is one of the ‘guests’ rather than one of the staff, but it still has to knock down the grading.


Marks out of 10:

A five, but I’d really have liked to give a 7.


Comments to the management:

Keep happy and slap the customers into line!

Sam's Shows Faucet's Future, Soap's Present

Sam's Club
4255 W. NEW HAVEN AVE.
MELBOURNE , FL USA 32904

www.samsclub.com

Where is it?

About 50 feet to the left of the snack bar, but just before the cigarette department.

What's it like?

Teutonic and clean, as expected from this faceless warehouse club. Though having said that, this location does try to step up the innovation level -- namely in the sink here, which look more like a long-plastic piss trough than a sink. (see picture)

Step up to the sink, place your hand in front of the sensor there, and a triple-jet of water spurts out at you and then runs down a long drain towards a centrally located drain. Pretty neat, in a cold if I do say so myself, and with warm water -- unlike other locations.

Having said that, though, the water pressure could be stronger, and I found it very odd that the soap dispenser turned out to be just a standard pump bottle of soft soap you can buy at any supermarket (or at any Sam's, in bulk quantity, of course), sitting on the counter. I guess you can't have everything.

Marks out of 10:

7. The sinks almost made it an 8, save for that bottle of hand soap.

Comments to the Management:

Don't stop there! We want more automatic features! NOW! I suggest starting with an automatic soap dispenser.

May Sum: Sign of the Times

May Sum Chinese Restaurant
4542 S Semoran Blvd
Orlando, FL USA 32822

Where is it?

A large buffet table for the lunch crowds sits across the main part of the dining room. To the right of the buffet table is the opening of a lonely looking hallway, curtained only by a few loosely draped sheets of cloth. Go down that hallway (about 30 feet long and poorly lit) to get to the bathroom.

What's it like?

No, it's not as scary as it sounds, but it's not as clean as you'd like it to be either. The drywall here is chipped and banged up. The floor tile is clean but weathered, as are the toilets and sinks.

Of course, this is a family run place that's been around for more than a decade, and while you don't expect the bathroom to be in perfect condition after all those years, you also wish it didn't show its age as much.

Also worth pointing out: The back wall of the men's room has a very droopy fake orchid hanging on it. I know it's supposed to brighten the place up a bit but for some reason it only makes the environment seem sadder and older than it is.

Marks out of 10:

4. I wouldn't want to stay here longer than I have to, if you know what I mean.

Comments to the Management:

Time to revamp, even modernize.

Bennigan's: Traditional Irish Pub with Gadgets

Bennigan's Grill and Tavern
6324 International Dr
Orlando, FL USA 32819

www.bennigans.com

Where is it?

Kiss the Blarney, to get to ye loo,
head ye out from thy front entrance,
straight and 'round the bar,
staying to the left on ye way,
then keep going straight
until you reach the back wall.
Once there, look left
for the 1920s-inspired sign reading "Restrooms."
Yonder stands your goal.

What's it like?

If you can't tell, or if you don't know, this is a chain trying to capture the feel of the Americanized Irish Pub. Given that, it seemed fitting to review the potty in poetry.

Ode to a Bennigan's Bathroom

'Tis one of seven Bennigan's in the Orlando area
one of two set in the city's tourism center,
the other's by the Florida Mall,
on Orange Blossom Trial,
Yet I seem to like this one better.

Like its brethren, it tries to be Irish,
a decor filled with woods, mirrors and beer signs
plus 1920s Americana-inspired touches,
and plenty of plasma TVs and hi-tech flourishes
and a sound system thats too loud to allow you to unwind.

The food is standard chain fair
With a few Irish specialties thrown in
Like the Turkey O'Toole sandy
(a specialty from Cork County?)
and the very "authentic" wings of Buffalo chicken..

The bathrooms carry on the conceit,
same woods and wrought-iron touches and clean.
But just like outside, you'll find
some high-tech surprises
like automatic faucets, soap and paper towel machines.

Marks out of 10:

8. As Yates said, "'Tis as fine a chain-restaurant bathroom as I've ever seen."

Comments to the Management:

Keep up the good work, kind sir

I visited during lunch
before the day's rush came through the door
and found a good clean bathroom
(warm and welcoming)
without trash or water on the floor.

Though early it may have been
the place still looked untouched,
well-kept and well-maintained
(and through the rest of the day)
I believed it would stay as such.