This is my friend Justin, you may recognize him from his great work at Food & Wine Magazine. Last time I was in New York, I met Justin for drinks in midtown and afterwards we decided to grab dinner somewhere in Hell’s Kitchen. On the fancy end of the spectrum is Esca, one of New York’s best seafood restaurants (an appealing thing for someone who was about to become a pescatarian) but instead of the high road, I suggested a low road… a road informed by bathrooms. Specifically, my favorite restaurant bathrooms in all of New York, the bathrooms at Vinyl.
Vinyl is the only restaurant I choose to eat in because of the bathrooms. There are four of them and each has a different theme.
You might call Vinyl a gaystaurant, meaning a restaurant frequented by gay people. One day I’ll do a post or write an article about gaystaurants because they’re a fascinating, often ignored part of the larger restaurant landscape; restaurants that serve a very specific community almost always situated in the heart of a gayborhood (see: Midtown Atlanta, West Hollywood, the Castro in San Francisco, etc.)
Hell’s Kitchen is a gayborhood and Vinyl is its centerpiece gaystaurant. Two of the bathrooms reflect that, two don’t.
The ones that don’t are…
Which, when you open the door, looks like this.
And…
Which features this work of art when you go inside.
But I don’t go to Vinyl for the Nelly or Elvis bathrooms. When I go to Vinyl, I go for either…
Which looks like this inside:
(The glass case features a Dolly doll.)
And, the bathroom that rules them all…
Which, when you go inside, looks like this.
You might be thinking, “Ok, the bathrooms are decorated like famous musicians… is that all?”
No, jaded reader, that’s not all. It’s not just how the bathrooms look, it’s also the music. Each bathroom pumps in music from that specific artist. Here’s a video from life inside the Cher bathroom.
Now you get it. See, I told you.
New York is one of the greatest restaurant cities in the country, probably the world, and most people who travel there choose their restaurants based on the food. I do too, only sometimes I choose restaurants for the bathrooms. On my list of the city’s best, Vinyl trumps them all.
I always check out bathrooms at restaurants, usually more from need than anything else. I once insisted that we leave a Chinese restaurant, having just ordered drinks and placed an order. The bathroom was so disgustingly vile and filthy that I instantly had no confidence in the kitchen’s hygiene. Scruffy décor is one thing. Hanging off toilet seats, grubby floors, etc are inacceptable! The best bathrooms are at ‘Seven’ in Ascona, Switzerland. : )
I seriously clicked on this link with the SOLE purpose of commenting, “This ain’t no restaurant bathroom, VINYL is the ultimate restaurant bathroom!” So thanks for saving me from having to be a snarky jerk. You know… just this once.
If the Cher or Dolly bathroom is occupied do you wait for one of them or use the Nelly bathroom?
That’s a really good question. It really depends how bad I have to go.
I definitely judge any eating establishment by it’s bathroom – it’s such an obvious indicator of how they run the restaurant, including the kitchen. So many resto. bathrooms are appalling, which is a total turn off to eating there, esp. after watching a few episodes of Kitchen Nightmares.
I knew that would be the Cher song playing! It’s the gayest!!
You have to see the urinals in a Sydney restaurant called Ananas!! They were removed as some people thought they were offensive! http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/sydney-restaurant-agrees-remove-sexist-urinals-article-1.1181326 I love the Dolly, Elvis & Cher bathrooms though – I think I’d have to go to all three!!