Vic's

Normally, I get a little nervous in a small restroom -- and frankly it takes away from the whole expereince if i feel the walls are closing in on me. Not at Vic's Pizzeria on Oly's westside.

First, a little back story. I hadn't intended for Vic's restroom to be the subject of my first review. I had somewhere else picked out, and I've been dying to go there all week long so i could survey it formally (I won't reveal where it is until I go there). Anyway, the girls and I went out for Pizza tonight and Allegra had to use the bathroom (which happens absolutely everywhere we go -- and now that I think about it -- she might be the perfect cover for future restroom visits). As soon as we stepped into the closet sized restroom, I knew it was right. A small room is normally not my favorite, but this one was cozy in a good way.

So Vic's has the standard wall coverings in a hip kinda place -- lots of music and event posters. I normally don't get off on that kind of thing, but the posters in Vic's restroom were mostly obscure enough to intrigue me a bit. Even though many of the posters were for events that already occurred, i got the sense that they changed them fairly often. It could be because the place felt VERY clean. That was my overall sense of the room -- clean. Even the graffiti on the papertowel and toilet paper dispensers seemed clean.

As far as the amenities themselves go: the toilet was sturdy and clean; there was a good soap dispenser; and the sink and mirror were in good shape. The one thing that I didn't like so much was that the lock on the door didn't inspire much confidence. I always prefer a restroom with just one toilet, so you can enjoy your business -- but a flimsy lock always puts me a bit on edge. I'm not too excited about having someone walk in on me. A good deadbolt always allows me some peace of mind.

So that's it, the first quick review. So my overall ratings for Vic's restroom are:

Decor -- B+
Amenities -- B (but only because of the less than inspiring lock)
Cleanliness and Aroma -- A-
Overall -- B+

Oh, and by the way, Vic's has the best pizza in Olympia (sorry Old School).

Here goes...

I guess this all started back in 1996 or 1997, when I was in grad school. I was in Mann Library at Cornell University, and nature called. I’m not sure how I stumbled upon it, but there was a bathroom in the stacks (not in the lobby, but right there in the stacks!). I walked through the door, and felt a bit like Alice tumbling into Wonderland.

Something struck me about the beauty of that room. Everything in the restroom was stainless steel (maybe it was really aluminum – but I remember it as stainless): the toilet, the sink, the walls, the floor – everything. Not sure why I found that to be so amazing because I guess it sounds kinda clinical. Anyway, the metal finishes seemed brand new. Either that or the custodian at Mann Library was a cleaning genius. The metal also made the environment feel cool, almost cold. And frankly that made it delightful to use the facilities. The room was small, maybe a little bigger than a walk-in closet – and there was something a little dangerous about the fact that the bookshelves surrounded the bathroom immediately on its outside walls. I could hear people rummaging through the shelves, which normally would have inhibited my bathroom activity. But somehow I think the metal environs protected me from what could have been a bit embarrassing. It was perhaps the greatest restroom visit I had ever made – and I visited it many times for my remaining 2 years in Ithaca.

Ever since that day I’ve been threatening to write a “field guide to public restrooms”. Frankly, public restrooms fascinate me. And let me stop right now to say that this fascination is NOT tied to any lurid desire to troll for romance or lusty encounters in the bathroom. I’m not a prude by any means, but I’ve always been a bit skeeved out by the thought of “romantic” encounters in the bathroom. I have just always admired the public restroom – we’ll leave it at that.

What I hope will follow over time will be a number of accounts about public restrooms I encounter. I’ll take a shot at rating them, describing them and hopefully publish a picture or two of each one. Yes, I know that this whole endeavor smacks of the scatological obsession of a 12 year old boy. I’m not sure how to respond to that other than to say – I am who I am.

I hope to have regular posts here (weekly, maybe?). Of course most posts will be from the greater Olympia, Washington area – since that’s where I live. But I hope to do my best to document some other restrooms when I’m away from home too.

Oh, and by the way, the title of this blog – “les affaires sont les affaires” – comes from the French saying that “business is business”. It’s also from a small water color painting that we had hanging in our bathroom as a kid. It showed a little kid sitting on the toilet, with his pants down to his ankles – and he was leaning over reading a book on the floor at his feet. The caption at the bottom of the piece was “les affaires…”