Flying Saucer a Haven for Lovers of Beer and Sticky Floors

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium
328 W Morgan St
Raleigh, NC USA 27601
www.beerknurd.com

Where is it?

From the entrance, walk to the back of the place, keeping the enormous bar on your right so that you're heading towards the kitchen entrance. After the bar, turn right, into the back dining room, and then hang an immediate right into the hallway found just past the bar's cashier. The toilets are there.

What's it like?

This mammoth, cavernous kitschy beer hall serves approximately 200 beers on tap and offers a wide menu of delicious bar food, much of it with a modern German-American slant. The bratwurst nachos, for example, sound like they would be atrocious but in the end they turn out to be delicious, understated little munchies. Just as impressive are the homemade pretzels, which are chewy on the outside and doughy on the inside -- just about as perfect as hot pretzels can be, really.

The main attraction here, of course, is the beer selection -- as I said, there are more than 200 varieties on tap alone. The gimmick here is that if you drink a pint of all 200 (at a maximum of 3 beers a day), you will get your name put on a "flying saucer" that is then hung on the wall of the place -- a sort of trophy to commemorate the accomplishment, if you will. The dining hall walls are decked with these saucers, each of which carries an amusing, albeit somewhat drunkenly composed, victory statement uttered by one of the people who have succeeded in drinking these 200 pints of beer.

The bathrooms aren't as fun as the dining hall though they aren't as awful as similarly minded establishments. Still, given the kitschy sense of humor exhibited in the dining room, I half expected the bathrooms to be similar to the ones found at the Pig and Whistle Pub in Florida, which is overflowing with amusing novelty signs. Sadly, that isn't the case.

The floors here are green linoleum and very sticky to walk on, the walls simple white drywall and decorated with an assortment of beer novelty signs, as well as some event listings and clippings from the area's alternative presses (the Saucer is located near NC State University and thus caters very much to its collegiate surroundings).

The vanity is made of black marble and contains two sink stations set beneath a long mirror. You'll find two urinals here and two stalls, one of them for the handicapped.

Outside of the sticky floors (they're sticky enough that you'll have to lift your feet with some force to free yourself after standing at the urinal for a pee), the toilets were pretty clean. Though, it also showed some signs of wear and tear and the management may want to look into making some updates in the coming year or so.

Marks out of 10:

7. Really a 6, given the very sticky floors and lack of imagination employed here (especially compared to the dining room), but the dining hall is so much fun I had to raise the score some. This is a great, fun place to spend an afternoon -- especially if you love beer!

Comments to the Management:

Unless the sticky floors are a selling point, you may want to solve that problem relatively soon. Also, consider adding more items to the bathroom walls -- maybe even some of those flying saucers you're so proud to give out.

Teeter's Toilets a Step Up From Other Gourmet Market Facilities, But Still Far From Perfect

Harris Teeter
North Ridge Shopping Center
6024 Falls of the Neuse Rd
Raleigh NC USA 27619
www.harristeeter.com

Where is it?

From the front entrance, head left once you're in the store and head for the pharmacy. Once you get there, look up and you'll find the sign for the restrooms.

Kind of hard to miss the sign, really.

What's it like?

Though billed as "Your Neighborhood Food Market," this southeast U.S. chain boasts a bevy of higher-end foods, including an impressive fish and meat counter and choice selection of fresh wild mushrooms -- and that's in addition to the essentials.

Think of it as a Fresh Market crossed with a Winn Dixie, if you will, though in my opinion it's a nicer place to shop than either of those, and I found the staff here to be very down-to-earth and friendly, not elitist or prudish, like at some staff at other higher-end food markets.

Thanks to the hard-to-miss sign for the toilets, which kind of sets your expectations, you go in thinking the bathrooms here will be pretty snazzy. And in a way they are. The walls are covered with faux-brick tile, the floors with a different pattern (and smaller tile) as that found on the walls. The toilets and urinals are separated by shimmering stainless steel dividers, which add a cool sense of modernism to the environment. Because of that, the standard white porcelain fixtures tend to stick out a little more and seem less ordinary.

Also impressive is the mirror, which angles out towards the sink station some -- a simple adjustment that inflects some style into what is an ordinary toilet, really.

Given that, you'd think these toilets to have met the high expectations other gourmet markets or specialty stores have missed, like the aforementioned Fresh Market or Total Wine. And in a certain regards, that is so.

But the bathrooms here were also untidy and somewhat foul-smelling from repeated use during the day -- and it's very obvious that a cleanup crew doesn't come in regularly enough, like every few hours, to keep the place in tip-top shape.

I found plenty of paper bits on the floor (mis-thrown towels and generic tear-offs that clung too hard to the dispenser after the towel segment had been issued). I also spotted much water and other spilled liquids (i.e. urine) around the base of the toilets and urinals.

Sure, there were some clean spots, but the messy areas were very noticeable -- as was the smell (most likely produced by that spilled pee). Having a crew come in more than once or twice a day will solve this problem, by the way.

Marks out of 10:

6. Looks nice on the surface, and definitely has potential, but it's also more dirty than it looks. It has potential for being rated higher, though.

Comments to the Management:

I imagine you send in a crew here once a day to tidy the place up. Obviously, it gets more traffic than you think it does, so consider sending in a crew or attendant every few hours, or at least three to four times a day, just to keep the place spiffed up. It surely needs it -- and doing so will certainly make the experience better for all.

Return Visit to Lexus of Orlando Toilets Shows Much Improvement

Lexus of Orlando
Service Department
305 N Semoran Blvd
Winter Park, FL USA
www.lexusoforlando.com

NOTE: This is our second review of this toilet. Earlier this year, a representative of the business contacted us and asked us to re-review this location, citing that during our "initial visit we [the dealership] were still working out the logistics of our new Service facility." This second review accommodates that request.

For those interested, our original review can be read here.

Where is it?

The location of the toilets has not moved since our last visit. To quote our previous review, the location of the toilets is as follows:

From the main entrance: Head in through the main doors, go around the cashier desk located in the center of the lobby, past the classy-looking cafe, and walk towards the drop-off entrance. Before you get to the doors, look left and you'll see the bathrooms.

From the drop-off entrance: Pass through the double doors leading to the customer lounge, cashier and cafe and look to your immediate right. The bathrooms are there.

What's it like?

While the setup hasn't change much since the last time we were here, all the amenities are now in tip-top working order and impressive to behold.

The service facility itself is top-notched, filled with wide spaces and plenty of distractions. Most notable are the three waiting rooms, which include a large TV lounge with two flat screen televisions, a waiting room for kids and a waiting room for people who prefer to wait for their cars in silence (which I found to be a nice touch, since I had to endure my visit with a bunch of Florida Gators fans, who were watching the game and cheering quite earnestly as their cars were being fixed....).

In addition, there are a handful of cars set out for exploration, as you would find in any dealership showroom (except the dealers aren't here, so it's not as pressure-filled) and a cafe at the center serving free coffee and tea, as well as slices of sandwich wraps to visitors (additional items can be ordered at a cost).

The bathrooms also have the same setup: To quote our earlier review of this location once again, "This is a classy, debonair-looking public bathroom that's covered in tan-colored marble tiles and understated decor like fake flowers that look real and framed pictures of landscapes and other serene scenes....

"The decor gives the place a feel of cool isolation and makes you feel miles away from the service area and garage, which are essentially right outside. The thick, black-metal stall dividers and doors further the fortress-like feel, and the stately automatic faucets, soap dispensers and towel dispensers are just icing on the cake."

That still applies this time around. Though, I must admit that on a scale of Lexus dealership bathroom extravagance, I still have to give Johnson Lexus of Raleigh, NC a leg up because its stall barriers were made of marble and wood -- it's just more elegant, I'm afraid. Though at the same time I do like the way the black barriers contrast with the beige marble around it surely adds a classy air that reminded me some of the touches found at the Bellagio toilets in Las Vegas, just on a smaller scale (strange how many toilets now remind me of that hotel's bathrooms...... like the recently reviewed toilet at Pearl, for example).

Last time there, we found one urinal and one toilet out of order and perhaps complained a little too aggressively on that remark for the sake of humor. This time around, everything's in tip top shape and looks brand new.

Other things I liked were the automatic faucets and soap pumps at the vanity (which is nice and wide and spacious) and the wicker baskets used for the keeping and disposing of its thick-ply paper towels (also seen at Pearl, coincidentally).

Cleanliness-wise: For the most part, I found the toilets here to be spotless and spot-on, save for the handicap stall. I'm not sure if it was the time of my visit or something else, but the stall (which sits at the very back of the bathroom) was a bit of a mess.

First of all, I found flecks of toilet paper on the floor beside the toilet. A common find in some bathrooms, as seen in our recent reviews of the Central Florida Zoo and some of the toilets at Islands of Adventure, though I must say that I didn't expect it here.

Secondly, I found a magazine stuffed into the crevasse between the support beam and the toilet paper holder -- clearly someone had just finished a long sit before my entrance. (Kudos on the clean air, by the way.) I don't mind reading material being in the bathroom, but it would be nicer if it were contained in a front area, like another wicker basket, so the visitor here doesn't get sloppy seconds, if you know what I mean.

Thirdly, and more distressing that the previous comments, was the tube of Fixodent I found sitting on the handicap stall's soap dispenser, by the stall's sink area. I guess I understand why it brought there in the first place, and certainly that's not a problem, but why was it left there and not moved to the lost and found? I must admit that this is the oddest tube finding I've seen in a bathroom since that tube of foot cream experience at Nile Ethiopian Restaurant in Orlando's I-Drive area.

Also an odd note: The handicap stall of this dealership's bathroom and the main vanity of the Johnson Lexus dealership bathroom both use the same type of soap dispenser -- those metal hard boxes fitted into the wall. Interested to know why, if anyone has any insights.

Finally, I was told by a companion that the women's bathroom (only the men's was reviewed here) was very impressive, with lounging seats and other luxury amenities. I'll try to see if she'll write a review for us, so we can give the full scoop, but until then we'll have to rely on her brief description to see us through.

Marks out of 10:

8. Would have been a 9 were it not for that handicap stall. Sorry.

Comments to the Management:

You're almost there, in my opinion. Just keep a watchful eye out for tubes of Fixodent and other mis-thrown items in that handicap stall and I think you've got it. (And thanks for giving us a chance to re-review your location.)

Gleaming White Toilets at McCormick & Schmick's Orlando Exude Familiar Turn-of-the-Century Feel

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant
Mall at Millenia
4200 Conroy Road
Orlando, FL USA
www.mccormickandschmicks.com

Where is it?

A bit tricky to find, but not impossible. From the front door, head inside. As you do, you'll see a bar on your left and a dining room on your right, and a white-tiled hallway leading down the center of the place, separating the two halves.

Go down that hallway. It will take you past the oyster bar, the prep kitchen and a small enclave where the bathrooms are located. (That's not the end of the hallway, mind you -- the toilets are only halfway down. At the end is the main kitchen and storage areas.)

What's it like?

This upscale seafood chain boasts an elegant, almost turn-of-the-century interior design, with plenty of stained glass, dark wood and old-fashioned tavern-inspired lighting. In many ways, it's like the Americanized version of Montparnasse 1900's dining room.

And the dining room is roomy, with plenty of well-spaced tables and wide walkways, allowing people to get a sense of the bustling nature of the place while being able to enjoy their privacy as well. Service is very professional and polite, and the food is very good, particularly the seafood (as you can expect), which (so states the menu) comes in fresh daily.

The toilets extend that turn-of-the-century feel, coming across like a cross between a much more sophisticated take on the bathrooms of Bennigan's or Macaroni Grill, albeit with fewer in-jokes and more class. Picture a mixture of Angelo's on Mulberry with Philadelphia's Davio's, with a dash of JFK's Delta Crown Room, just smaller, and touches of Big Boy Diner and Sleuth's Mystery Theater's lobby toilets.

The walls and floor here are covered in white tile (similar to Montparnasse 1900), only that the walls have a five-by-five-inch (give or take) tile set and the floor is covered in small inch-by-inch tile. The tile all around is spotless and gleaming.

There are two stalls here, a standard and a handicapped. Both are roomy and well-stocked and clean, like the rest of the place, with white porcelain thrones sitting center stage. The urinals stand proudly in the bathroom's middle section, one lowered for children and one at regular adult height. Though there are no dividers, they are spaced well enough to allow for a good deal of privacy.

The vanity is made of a black granite top, which offers nice contrast to the white tile around it. A lot of what's around the vanity is matted chrome -- and the the paper towel dispenser, thanks to this design -- offers a unique spin on a commonly found item. Just enough to keep it interesting and make you think, "Hmm... haven't seen one like that before, have I?'

With all the automatic stuff found on the vanity, I found it a bit surprising to see a manual soap pump set to the side of each sink. Not a bad addition -- and a bit reminiscent of Johnson Lexus in Raleigh, NC -- but I wouldn't have minded something a bit innovative there, like I saw with the paper towel dispensers. Nothing mind-blowing, that is, but certainly something that freshened a familiar item some.

Decor is minimal here -- the only decor I found, actually, was on the vanity and below it. There's a stack of paper towels there (in case you don't want to use the dispenser?) and a group of faux greenery behind it. Can't say I liked it much -- more than anything, it got in the way of the towels. Might want to consider relocating it.

Also, beneath the vanity, is a wicker basket that's there -- I presume -- solely to handle the paper towels used from the vanity. This was a pretty tacky addition and while I assume it was included to add some sophistication to the idea of throwing towels away (the rule is, apparently, that good towels deserve a good waste basket, even though a crappy one does just the same). I didn't buy it, and it just seemed like a foolish add-on. It works for the J.W. Marriott Grand Lakes, because the rest of the bathroom has that same unified vision, but not here, I'm afraid.

Marks out of 10:

8. A nice face lift to some themes we've seen before. Not perfect, but pretty close.

Comments to the Management:

Nicely maintained. I would just change out those soap dispensers and get rid of the fake plant and wicker waste basket, since all of it feels out of place here.

As Bathrooms at Car Dealerships Go, Raleigh's Johnson Lexus Is Tops

Johnson Lexus of Raleigh
5839 Capital Blvd.
Raleigh, NC USA 27616
nitra.lexusdealer.com/johnson-raleigh

Where is it?

From the drop-off area in the service section, head inside the building and follow the main hallway around until you come to a lobby in between the service department and the sales department.

The area has a modest coffee bar (serving free Starbucks coffee and various danish and pastries -- unlike, say, Lexus of Orlando, which makes you pay for this sort of stuff), business center, kids room, television lounge and more. The bathrooms are across the hall from the TV lounge.

What's it like?

I've been to only two Lexus dealerships in my life (this one and the aforementioned Lexus of Orlando), and both exude sense of luxury that seems more akin to high-end hotels like the Wynn Las Vegas or Mansion on Forsyth Park than a car dealership. (Hell, the Nissan dealership I bought my most recent car from was more traditional in terms of decor.)

Thanks to the abundance of art found on the walls here (nice art too, not just tacky stuff you'd buy at the bargain bin of Michael's Arts and Crafts or American Signature Furniture) this dealership often feels like an art gallery first and a car dealership second -- quite an accomplishment considering that most car dealerships offer little sense of comfort.

As mentioned earlier, you'll find plenty of distractions here, from a small cafe serving free coffee and pastries to a fully functioning business center to a very friendly staff that always seems ready to lend a hand. (In my customer survey on this place, which I filled out while waiting for my companion's car to be fixed -- an oil change -- I noted that my experience at this dealership was so good that I would considering driving up from Florida to experience it again..... which of course says perhaps a little too much about my opinion of my hometown Lexus dealership, which isn't bad but just not even remotely in the league of this establishment).

The bathrooms here are palatial and luxurious on many levels. Inside, you'll find cool marble tiles along the floor and walls, with a regal blue pattern set in to change up the monotony some. The two urinals are separated by a granite divider, and the two stall doors are separated by both granite (for the divider's foundations) and wood (for the doors themselves).

The stretching vanity counter is composed of a single piece of black granite, and the sink stations are well-spread out, offering the using lots of room (perhaps even too much) for use. Sinks and toilets are sensor-driven, though the soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers are not.

I'm not so much bothered by the latter, since automatic towel dispensers can be kind of a pain (especially in trying to get that second strip after you've already got your first). The soap dispenser is another matter, however -- and that's really the only flaw I found here. They are built into the walls on each end of the vanity, so that they bookend the structure. Because the vanity is so long, you have to stretch a good ways just to lather up your hands -- and because of that, the chances of spilling soap on your return trip are increased. Why not place automatic soap dispensers by the sinks instead of manual ones away from the sink? Seems like an awful long way to travel to get some soap.

Still, the place is spotless, everything is in working order (which is more than what I can say about my last visit to Lexus of Orlando) and the cleaning crew here pumps in a delectable air freshener. As Lexus dealership bathrooms go, this one is tops.

Marks out of 10:

9. Would have been a perfect 10 were it not for those soap dispensers.

Comments to the Management:

Great job here. The place is a true oasis. If you fix the issue with the soap dispensers, you'll be among the Where's the Toilet elite.

Toilets at Wake Forrest Chick-fil-A are Teutonic But Clean

Chick-fil-A
11730 Retail Dr.
Wake Forest, NC USA 27587
www.chick-fil-a.com

Where is it?

From the front entrance, turn right and head down the stretch of the dining room that's to the right and behind of the order counter (as opposed to the dining area that has a clear view of the order counter). The bathrooms are in a small enclave at the end of that dining room.

What's it like?

This is a relatively new Chick-fil-A in an up and coming area of Raleigh. As a result, everything here from the dining room to the parking lot looks -- for the most part -- barely used.

The dining room comes filled with booths and cafe tables, and nearly all the seats here are covered in a maroon vinyl that, I'm assuming, is spill-proof. The floors are covered with thick, easy-to-mop tile that's been laid out in a semi-decorative pattern, so that people won't realize right away it's easy to mop. The walls are bare for the most part and the lighting -- much of it coming from the ceiling-high windows lining the perimeter of the dining room -- is inviting, to say the least.

For those who've yet to visit a Chick-fil-A: It's a fast food joint that specializes in fried chicken breast sandwiches. They are decent sandwiches for the price, consisting primarily of whole white meat chicken instead of processed chunks that have been pressed into cutlet shapes, and they best the quality of most chicken sandwiches at more popular chains like McDonald's, Burger King or Wendy's. Great for a quick comforting sandwich meal when you're on the go, though certainly nothing to plan a trip around.

The bathrooms, like they are are most American fast food joints (including Jack in the Box and McDonald's, to name a few), are Teutonic but clean. Don't expect much personality here, just the basics; and considering the place is still relatively new, it's yet to have the traditional fast-food-restaurant bathroom wear and tear grime starting to settle in. (Clearly, fast food chain designers have yet to visit our favorite fast food restaurant bathroom, Tacos El Rancho. We hope they do soon, though, so they get an idea of how to lift a bathroom a cut above the standard design.)

Visitors here can expect to find a modestly sized facility. Two urinals, one roomy bathroom stall, one standard white sink, bland grey dividers and stall doors, white tile on the walls, black and gray tile on the floor (again, easy to mop, and it covers mildew stains better than while tile) and no wall decorations.

As mentioned earlier, it's not exactly a place brimming with personality (the only quirk I found was that the automatic paper towel dispenser was placed too closely to the sink, so that each time there was any movement from that area a towel was dispensed), but it's clean and odor free (the only flaw in this was that I found a stranded piece of toilet paper by the commode -- nothing to get excited over, though) and seems well-kept and regularly policed. Like with the food, it's a great place to stop if you're in the neighborhood and can't make it home before the inevitable accident, but it's certainly not worth planning a trip to experience.

Marks out of 10:

7. In the same league as Jack in the Box, really.

Comments to the Management:

The toilets here are what they are, so I'm imagining there isn't much I can say to change things. Given that, you've done what you've done well, and that's about all I can say to that.

Full-Bodied Stink with Hints of Grossness at Total Wine Raleigh Toilets

Total Wine & More - Raleigh Triangle
Triangle Plaza
6105 Capital Blvd
Raleigh, NC USA 27616
www.totalwine.com

Where is it?

Proving that they must be for customers only, the toilets here are found near the exit, on the other side of the cashiers.

To get to them, you need to enter the store through the main entrance, go left, pass through an empty cashier line (or, if they are blocked, wait through a full one) and then take an immediate right, and go down a hallway composed solely of drywall. The bathrooms are down that hallway.

What's it like?

This mammoth wine and beverage warehouse (part of a chain throughout the southeast U.S.) on Raleigh's bustling Capital Boulevard offers a classy, comprehensive environment that wine, booze and beer lovers will find hard to hate. Aisles upon aisles of wine varietals, plenty of unique and commonly found spirits and a great beer selection (the only place I've been able to find the fine Latvian lager Luksus, believe it or not!) -- as beverage store selections go, this one is near the tops.

I wish I could say the same about the bathrooms, though. Housed in that aforementioned drywall corridor, the toilets here feel cheap, almost tacked on. These are colorless, even classless, facilities.

The walls are white, bare and porous, allowing you to hear just about every sound possible by the nearby string of cashiers. The floors, covered in rough-looking black and gray tile and dark grout, are dour-looking and appear dingier than they really are (or at least probably are). The fixtures are your standard white porcelain variety; clean and in good shape but boring and bland. There are no decorations on the wall or any sense of color anywhere.

Even worse is the sharp smell of urine that permeates the air in here. Really stinging, rivaling the stink more commonly associated with poorly kept gas station stalls. (What is it with fancy-looking stores that have foul smelling toilets? I'm looking at you, Fresh Market Orlando and Bed Bath and Beyond Waterford Lakes, for an answer here!) The smell was so bad, it rivaled the pungency of the toilet I visited at the Riverside Walk trail head in Zion National Park -- and that was an outhouse!

Marks out of 10:

4. Bland environment through and through -- with a smell that lingers long in the nose and palette. Great conceit for wine, not great for bathrooms, though.

Comments to the Management:

For starters, how about putting something on the walls here -- like a circular or some of those general wine vine decorations you can pick up at any dollar store. Next, put some air fresheners here -- you really need it!