Well, that’s an odd place to have a bathroom review…and it would be, if it weren’t for over $3k in damages to the car. Ugh…oh well, that’s life, right? Kniesel’s (pronounced Kuh-nee-zuhls) does consistently fantastic work, and the car comes back tomorrow (this review took place Friday 10/02/09…three days’ worth of work seems reasonable). Anyway…onto the review!

You’ll see in the entrance shot (picture one) and the fourth picture they have a divider/partition in the bathroom. I’m not really sure why, this is a one-user bathroom with a lock on the door…I suppose if someone manages to get the lock undone it gives the poor sap on the toilet a chance to scream out “Wait! Someone’s in here!” without being too embarassed. Of course, you’d think the other guy wouldn’t have any issues with embarassment if it comes to picking a bathroom lock…

The car magazines in picture five and the painting in pictures one and six are a nice touch and keep in-sync with the fact that this is, after all, a body shop. I love to read while in the bathroom as much as the next guy, but I’m not really sure about public bathroom magazines (frankly, that’s what my Instinct is for…catching up on news—and of course taking pictures—while in the bathroom). Shared public bathroom magazines…that’s just wrong. Three stars for an average clean bathroom that’s got a few nice touches. I’ll add half a roll as a bonus for the partition; it makes me smile.

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I was here on 10/01/09, apparently that was an all-Mexican meal day (I skipped lunch…not purposely, but ya know how things can go). Don Quixote’s layout shares some similarity with Chipotle (so if you’re familiar with how you order at Chipotle, you understand how you order here). I really wish Mexican restaurants would stock some hotter hot sauces though (if there are any proprietors of Mexican restaurants out there reading this right now, please click that link and order some insane sauces!!!).

This is a really crazy bathroom. I was all ready to give it four rolls from the get-go, but doing all these bathroom reviews has really lead me to be far more detailed in my reviews. I get way behind pretty consistently, as you can see if you read through the reviews…every five or six days I drop a content nuke and put that last 6 days’ worth of content in one or two days. I’m really working on improving my timing…but it hasn’t seemed to have an effect yet. Way to get off-topic…

Like I mentioned, this bathroom is pretty cool (I think I said “crazy”…but when you’re me, there’s no difference—how would you know that though? you’re not me…I’m pretty sure anyway…) The walls are covered in a brown textured wallpaper that looks like leather grain. They put clear yellowish stones in designs, and even put a clock in (really helpful when you forget your cell and have people waiting for you). Seriously, more bathrooms should have clocks in them. Some of the stones broke off (came unglued?) and haven’t been repaired yet (I’m not sure how long, maybe someone stole some of the stones?). Overall, the intelligent and cool design and overall cleanliness give this bathroom four rolls. However, I have to deduct half a roll for the unrepaired missing stones (it just looks bad).

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I have a couple favorite coffee shops in the area. One in Loomis, that I’ll review one of these days when I get out there next, and one in Rocklin, much closer to my home. Being the timely individual that I am, I’ve finallly caught up, and this review actually occurred this morning (wow, amazing, huh?). On top of having great coffee drinks (highly recommended), everyone that works here, from the owner to the manager to every employee is pleasant. That’s really a huge deal for me, because it seems that people as a whole walk around miserable. Most people I see day-to-day don’t smile, and I’ve noticed that over the last few years (sorry, I don’t buy that it’s a “down economy” thing—of course that has an effect, but even when the economy was strong people walked around frowning). Maybe I’m imagining all this and I’m the one who’s crazy…but I walk into Sierra Roasting and employees and customers alike are enjoying themselves…what a novel idea.

Alright, so enough gushing about the coffee house, time to gush about the bathroom. Take a look at the pictures, they decorate with paintings, ornate mirrors, there’s a steamer trunk in there (I’ll get some more pictures next time I go in…someone was practically breaking down the door this morning so I didn’t have time to finish photographing). It’s a little on the dark side and my Instinct has no flash, so some of the pictures aren’t great (are they ever?). All told, someone actually put some time into the design here. I’ll give them my first four-and-a-half rating…this bathroom is cozy, warm, inviting, and well thought-out without being over-the-top or cluttered.

(edit 9/29/09: added pictures four through six)

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I’m not sure where the recent frozen yogurt (or “frogurt” as they so deftly call it on The Simpsons in episode 9F04, Treehouse of Horror III) craze came from, but it sure beats the Atkins’ craze (whoda thunk eating minimal carbohydrates while consuming lots of fats could harm you?). Remember kids…if it sounds too good to be true…you can buy it online (I still can’t make sense of these “grow 3 inches” emails—I know I’m slightly below average height, but what’s 3 inches gonna do?!?). For those of you keeping track, this review took place on 9/23/09 (and Treehouse of Horror III first ran on 12/17/94).

Anyway…I really wanted to give this bathroom three-and-a-half or maybe even four rolls. I really like their treatment of the bathroom (despite the fact that you have to go outside and around back) as another area to decorate interestingly. They do a good job keeping it clean, too…even including a Wallflower® to keep the bathroom consistently smelling better (they really do work…I use ‘em at home all the time for a nice even clean smell). The plant and paintings (in pictures four and five) also really improve the overall feel of the bathroom, and make it seem much more homey (yep, I have plants in my bathrooms). Then we get to picture six…where things fall apart a little. You’ll notice the toilet cover on the floor in picture two…the complex flushing system didn’t work right (remember the good ol’ days of simple valve toilets?), so in order to flush, one has to press down on the white plunger in the center of the tank. For the working-but-not system I have to deduct half a roll; I’ll go back again and review at some point, and if they’ve fixed it I’ll adjust accordingly.

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