Mmmm…Hof Brau! Honestly, I had never been to a Hof Brau before, but I tell you I can’t wait to go back. It seems like it was years since I visited (in actuality, it was 5/6/2010…a post-Cinco de Mayo meal…and since I’ve been really bad about eating breakfast lately, that’s dead on…it was a post-Cinco meal!). The restaurant itself is warm and inviting, dark and decorated in a deep red and rich dark woods, with photos of the area on the walls. You can get an idea of the restaurant’s look and feel by the first picture in the series (a slight deviation from my norm, but I didn’t get a good “entrance” picture…and I like to mix it up to keep the excitement levels high with my readers!) I had a pastrami sandwich on a kaiser roll—I’d never had thick-sliced pastrami before, but it was goooood. I also had some mashed potatoes and cottage cheese…both were good and fresh. My eating companions had corned beef with mashed potatoes and vegetables and a corned beef sandwich with mashed potatoes…the potatoes were a hit! The restaurant was pretty full, not too shabby for having missed the 12 PM lunch crowd.

So onto the bathroom…to be honest, I expected something as grandiose as the restaurant. I was sorely disappointed! The bathroom was clean, but super-boring. They had an ad in there for Sam’s Hof Brau free Wi-Fi (which is pretty cool). That and the door were it. Bathroom was pretty standard, light colors with white tile; looked like it had seen better times. Sadly the economy isn’t booming right now, because I think a bathroom overhaul, getting it closer to the restaurant itself, would be great. However…Sam’s prides itself on providing good food at a relatively low cost…and the bathroom is very much what you might expect an older restaurant to be, where they don’t put a lot of emphasis on bathroom design. Finally, taking into account that a great deal of the patrons are senior citizens (at least when I went that seemed to be the case), it’s likely they’re far more comfortable in a “normal” bathroom…and at the end of the day, making sure the clientele is happy is what matters most! Three rolls for an average bathroom.

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So I celebrated Cinco de Mayo 2010 with a few friends at Cabos Platillos de México in Rocklin. I didn’t end up having any drinks, as I was a designated driver (seems like I get that a lot…hmmmmm…). I’m not a huge fan of beer anyway, but I do like my share of tequila. Were I not a designated driver, I would have tried a Dos Equis (being a fan as I am of The Most Interesting Man in the World). Cabos has become our go-to Cinco de Mayo tradition. I always enjoy the food at Cabos, this time I tried something new (to me)…an Enchilada de Carnitas. The pork was tender with a crispy outside, and the enchilada sauce had just a hint of sweetness. I topped it with their hot salsa, which had a good bite but wasn’t eye-blinding searing hot (there’s a time for that too, usually when I’m feeling masochistic or down in the weather). Nothing perks you up faster than eye-popping heat (it’s good for your immune system, too).

Overall, the bathroom was kept clean. This is pretty impressive considering how busy Cabos is, especially on Cinco de Mayo. Longtime readers know how much I value a good clean bathroom. That having been said, I wasn’t overly excited about the trash can overflowing in pictures 4 and 5…yes I know they were busy…but when you run a popular establishment, you already know it’s going to be busy. Every year for the last three years the line is out the door on May 5…there’s no reason to not take an extra couple minutes and go check to make sure the sinks are dry and the trash can not overflowing. They managed to keep the bathroom clean overall but it seems like this was an oversight…and while not as bad as a filthy toliet or dirty stall, it looks careless. I’ll give this one three-and-a-half rolls, it’s colorful and clean, and I’m going to deduct a quarter of a roll for the overflowing trash can.

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So on 2/20/2010, a couple friends and I visited Tugboat [London Style] Fish & Chips in Lincoln. The sign on the window says “and Sushi”…and we were a little nervous at the prospect of fish and chips and sushi. I ordered a piece of fish and a piece of chicken with chips, and they were pretty good. However…the sushi was very good! There are a few sushi places in Lincoln, so I can see why they’d serve both, but that was pretty freakin’ good sushi. I’d definitely recommend you check em out for the sushi, and give the fish and chips the ol’ college try!

The bathroom was pretty impressive…it was painted two-tone aqua and white and nicely decorated! I’m not sure what the deal was with putting the toilet paper so high (see picture #2), but that was really the only complaint I had here.  The art was pretty cool, too. Overall, I’ll give ‘em three-and-a-half rolls for a great bathroom (they would have gotten four except for that toilet paper height…I fail to see the logic in design when everything else was so well done!) I thought the flowers and bow-and-arrow set with quiver was certainly interesting. Cupid anyone?

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I last visited Dillian’s on 2/15/2010. The food is standard bar & grill food, I had a steak sandwich (which was fantastic btw) for lunch. The service was pretty quick (there were five of us total), the food served hot (and plenty of it!), and they were showing UFC and NFL highlights on the flat screens. Dillian’s is dark inside (as you’d expect a corner neighborhood bar to be) and is pretty much your standard bar from a decorative standpoint. They have a covered enclosed patio, separated from the main area, to allow smokers to enjoy a cigarette or cigar with their drinks or food. It’s probably been ten years since I’ve seen a “smoking” section, and I thought it was pretty cool they had it there.

The bathroom was not at all what I was expecting! Honestly, I was expecting dark and dingy…instead, it’s pink and white! The stalls are gray, and they have their upcoming events on the mirror. This is a clean bathroom and comes recommended (come for the bathroom, stay for the food!).

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