I think this was the first time I had ever tried French cuisine, at La Provence Restaurant & Terrace in Roseville on 4/15/2010 (for all you Americans like me…the dreaded TAX DAY!!!…ugh). Anyway, I’m off track (surprise surprise eh?…nope, not Canadian, still American). I had a kobe beef burger (yeah, I know that’s kinda weak for a French restaurant, but I got overwhelmed and couldn’t decide)…the rest of my group ordered swordfish, filet flambeed with cognac, and an open-faced lamb sandwich (tartine for those in the know). The hamburger was still pretty darn good…I don’t think it was imported kobe beef, because it wasn’t hundreds of dollars. But really, who cares…the food was excellent, the service on top of making sure we had bread, water, drinks, etc. We also had their lemon-drop martini (btw, I am single and looking for cute women that are into potty humor and bathroom reviews…ping me if you wanna join us on one of these excursions!). No wine with this meal, mostly because I’m really the only one who enjoys it, and well…I’m not so single I need an entire bottle of wine to myself!

The restaurant itself is pretty cool, with high vaulted ceilings and a warm cozy feel. If you’d never been in a French restaurant before, and your whole idea of the French is based on stereotypes (sorry people, stereotypes are still alive and well), you wouldn’t expect the restaurant to be at all like it is. Should you go, don’t feel that you have to dress to the nines, there were people in there dressed in football jerseys and flip flops (mostly us—but in all seriousness, it’s laid-back enough that no one stresses it much…and  the staff is welcoming either way).

Onto the bathroom…it’s dark and very relaxing. It’s nicely appointed, with dark tiles, dark wood around the mirrors, and a very cool wave sink. I think between Mercedes-Benz of Rocklin and La Provence, I’m gonna have to redo the sinks in my house. When I get the cajonés to do it, I’ll take pictures and put em up. Aw come on, who am I kidding…I couldn’t put in sinks to save my life! So I have to give this one four out of five rolls…it would get three-and-a-half for being an above-average bathroom and being clean, but I have to give half a roll for just that sink.

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One of my all-time favorite “Italian” restaurants is Buca di Beppo. The food is always good, it’s served “family style” (one entrée typically serves 3-4 people), and they have a lot to choose from. Price-wise, it’s pretty good, too; a solid value for what you get. I was here with friends on 2/12/2010, and we had their specialty pizza, Gnocchi al Telefono (I’m a huge fan of gnocchi…especially gnocchi bolognese, but I’m pretty sure that’s not a traditional way it’s served…or if it is, it’s just hard to find), and the Spicy Chicken Rigatoni, with their standard Mixed Green Salad (personally I prefer the Apple Gorgonzola Salad…but I’m just one person, can’t eat that much, and pretty much the only one of the group that likes apples, walnuts, and cranberries in his salad). To clarify, Buca is not high-falutin’ Italian food…it’s meant to be fun and kitschy (and yes, it is a chain). If you have issues with Italian chain restaurants, or are expecting gourmet or food like your grandmother used to make…don’t go! It’s not gonna be your kind of place.

Part of that kitschy thing…is the Pope Room, seating up to 15 people and the bust of a Pope (I believe it’s John Paul II…here’s a photo of the Pope Room, and I know the photographer credits this as John XXIII, so I may be wrong). The other really cool place to eat is the Kitchen Table (literally in the kitchen), where you can watch the food being made, dishes being cleaned, etc. The only down side is the kitchen room (not surprisingly) is the warmest area in the restaurant.

The bathroom is full of photographs (just like the rest of the restaurant), and even features a [locked] cabinet full of hair products. I thought it was pretty funny that the door to the bathroom stall has a painting of the volcano at Pompei erupting. Thanks to the creative bathroom design, Buca gets 4.5 rolls. Sometimes they even have a recording of women talking in the mens’ room (and I assume men talking in the womens’, but I don’t know) so it’s like you can hear the conversation in the other bathroom.

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Mmmmm…Claim Jumper. In my series of “wow-I-can’t-believe-I-waited-this-long-to-post-a-review” reviews, I visited Claim Jumper October 17, 2009. Yes folks, you read that right…I’m still…ahem…behind…

I honestly can’t remember what I had that night, but I can say without a doubt my bread choice was a sourdough roll. Sourdough bread has to be on my all-time list of favorite breads, very near (if not at) the top—and Claim Jumper does a great job on their sourdough. I even tried to become a fan on Facebook, or join a group, or something…but there weren’t any good ones (well, there was one, but it was for bakers intersted in naturally leavened breads, pretty outside my scope of “sourdough bread tastes good, I like to eat it…”). If you’re interested, you can see it here.

Okay, enough food talk…let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this review!

Their bathroom utilize dark woods and dark-colored tiles (dark green and a purple-red), and offsets that with bright lighting and a white floor (although there are dark green tiles in the floor). The result is a warm inviting—almost cheery—bathroom that’s not overly intimate or too cozy. Claim Jumper keeps their bathrooms clean, which is pretty amazing since it’s hard to even get a seat in the bar area (where we ended up sitting) on a Saturday night. Add to that generous portions and a stacked bar and if you weren’t on top of things…well, I’ll leave that to your imagination—Enjoy!

Claim Jumper gets four rolls for cleanliness and design…and I still don’t really get why bathrooms need to have AC adapters…hmm…maybe I shouldn’t ask…

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Mmm…love steak! Steak, steak, steaky steak…to paraphrase the great Ron Burgundy.

Thanks to my consistency (for those of you who know me personally…gotta be consistent in something )…I can safely say I had medium rare filet mignon. Thankfully, the steak was properly cooked (yes, I can remember whether my steak was cooked correctly all the way back to October 16, 2009 when I last visited…). I remember the food—and even the company—was great! People get weird sometimes it’s sad that I remember when everyone is in a great mood, but hey…you do what you can with what you have.

As you can see by the entrance (and pic #5), Cattlemen’s puts advertisements for their own products in the bathroom…as a side note, their drinks are pretty good…so I can’t blame em.

I like coming here in general; the bathrooms are clean, understated (nicely accented with the gray tiles you’ll see in the entrance pic), and bathrooms are cozy and inviting without being too inviting; they’re well-lit and the stall is at an odd angle.

Three-and-a-half rolls for the nicely-designed clean bathroom—and I’ll add half a roll for that advertisement.

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