Courtesy Flush, The Bathroom Blog

People talk alot of smack about celebrity chefs. Bobby Flay sucks. Guy Fieri is a tool. Rachel Ray has man hands. But you rarely hear people talk smack about Mario Batali. Even the biggest smack-talking celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain, likes this dude.I never really cared either way until I went to Otto, which yes, I realize is his cheapy restaurant, and saw what a good time could be had eating pizza and drinking wine and not trying to be a hot shot. The wine list is more than Ill ever need and the pizza is like ten bucks. Based on the ridiculous cheese plate alone, I would say Mario Batali beats any TV chefs’ ass.  I cant vouch for his other restaurants, but if anyone wants to lend me a few bucks, Ill check it out and report back.

When you walk into Otto you will see the hosts and, behind them, the ladies room. It is tight in there at just 2 stalls. And its pretty messy due to the amount of ladies going in and out. The 2 flush rating it barely earns is not nearly enough to make me dislike the colorful bathroom or keep me from really liking to eat here. But one thing I do have to say is Batali needs to quit wearing those ugly orange Crocs.

couple more non bathroom pics after the jump…

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Why use a canvas when you can use the inside of a toilet paper roll? 

Check out many others like this on Anastassia Elias website. 

And of course the Twitter.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Where to start? Its huge, its diverse, and its always amazing. Its got artifacts, paintings, furniture, sculpture, music, the list goes on. For me the best part, other than the fact that it a few blocks from my apartment, is that you don’t have to pay the full admission because its actually a ‘suggested donation’. I’m a cheap bastard, I know. And while we’re on that topic, I’d like to let you all know, no matter where you live, Saturday September 25th is Museum Day and Smithsonian Magazine is promoting that by giving us free tickets to many museums for Saturday. The MET is a good choice and I guarantee you wont be able to see it all in just one day. When I say it is massive, I am not exaggerating. There are entire Egyptian tombs and colonial houses in there. So with that said, there are tons of bathrooms. I stuck to the one near the cafeteria, which is located all the way on the bottom level and straight to the back. It is quiet, big, and clean. I give it 4 flushes.

Art pics after the jump 

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The Creek & The Cave is a performance space slash bar slash restaurant in Long Island City. Yes, there are cool things to do in Queens. I came out here to watch Donald Glover, the dude from Community, do his rap thing. It was an interesting show and he definitely packed the place. When you come in theres a performance space to the left, or you can head to the right into the restaurant area, or you can head downstairs to the bar area or back patio. If youre in the area, the food is good and the cover for shows is like $5 most times. But then again, if youre in the area looking for a drink, youd be better off going to Dutch Kills. The bathroom here is unisex and single stall. Double fail. But its pretty big and not too busy. Its all the way downstairs and to the left. I give it 3 flushes.

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Few more pics after the jump 

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This Tiki bar thing is getting really big (again, or staying big, or its a revival, not sure) and there’s alot of history behind that style of cocktail making and consumption. Some have been around like Otto’s Shrunken Head and some are doing the renaissance thing like Painkiller. Reunion isn’t really that at all. Its still in keeping with the area’s lack of identity but its making an awesome effort. The music makes you think you’re in a Quentin Tarantino movie, the food is good, and the drinks are tropical without being totally lame. They infuse their own rum, if you’re into that sort of thing. The kitsch factor is high, starting with the buff dude standing on the sidewalk, pointing you down into the bar and ending with the surfboards. There’s nothing wrong with all the superfluous stuff, but it makes me take it all a little less serious. The bathrooms however are freaking amazing. When you enter, coming down off the bamboo stairs, make a right into a private room. You’ll see barn style doors with a bikini hanging off (for real). Its unisex area with two stalls. I can appreciate the filament light and the cement sink and especially the water spout fixture. I give it 5 flushes.

Here’s an interesting collection of bathroom signs collected from around the world and some ideas behind why they look the way they do. Seriously, check them out here: The Society Pages There are so many of them, some of which I have posted here before and tons of other fascinating ones. 

Thanks to Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader, which you can follow on Twitter and fill your head with more ridiculous unnecessary trivia.