8oz Burger Bar

1401 Broadway
Web / Yelp

You can tell a burger joint is good when you arrive at 6pm without a reservation and they won't be able to seat you for at least 20 minutes. That happened to me and my friend Brad. We had just come from happy hour at Lobby, so I definitely wasn't able to wait. Luckily, we were able to try again a few weeks later for lunch and were the first ones to arrive.

The food is delicious, and I like that they have so many sides available to order a la carte. I recommend going with friends and sharing them, and even trading halves of your burgers. Dining with people who are willing to exchange halves or at least bites is the best way to deal with menus full of awesome choices.

I think I found my new favorite urinal in Seattle. It's a keg, and the water shoots down from the top when you flush it. Awesome.



And I love the juxtaposition of the elegant bowl sink sitting on top of and old wooden barrel. You'd expect the sink to be a big cast iron skillet or something. But this is cute.



I've probably mentioned before, I hate chalk and chalkboards everywhere else but in bathrooms. Chalk is just dusty and gross, and the sound on the board is terrible. But I'm fine with it in a setting like this because I can immediately wash my hands. And being able to erase everything once in a while is good; when the graffiti builds up a little too much in a bathroom where it's allowed, you can't really read it any more.



I need to go back. They keep advertising a turducken burger on Facebook. I could go my whole life without eating an actual turducken, but I definitely want to try the turducken burger. Plus, they do a bloody mary bar on the weekends.

Columbia Tower Club

The Tallest Building in Seattle
The Tippy Top

Web / Yelp

I've been wanting to see the Columbia Tower Club for years, even though I've heard that the men's restrooms are not nearly as interesting as the women's. And I've tried to get a tour of the women's restroom the official way (rather than being snuck in by a member, as so many people have suggested) and they didn't even answer my inquiry. How rude!

Luckily, I have people.

I met Jen back when she was the Captain of Making It Happen at Hotel Max. She is now the Seattle Community Manager for Uber, letting us all know each week what's awesome to do in town and providing us with the slickest way to get there and back. I've been a big fan of their towncars since they arrived in Seattle a year ago.

What did I get in my Facebook messages today? Two excellent photos.



How could you sit on such a throne and not feel like the queen of the world? The master of all you survey? You couldn't.



I'm always saying restrooms need a little lounge outside, and it seems like with one this fabulous, there may not even need to be a main room to the club. Maybe someday I'll get a chance to see for myself. Thanks, Jen!

And if you haven't joined Uber yet, use the SeaWC referral for a $10 credit when you take your first ride!

Narwhal

Downstairs at Unicorn, 1118 E Pike
Web / Yelp

 

I'm a big fan of cool, dark basement bars, mostly because I am not a fan of heat and bright sunlight. That's why I left the desert for Seattle in the first place. Almost immediately after Unicorn opened, there was talk about a dance club eventually opening downstairs. Instead, we have Narwhal, which is an excellent lounge space with a large bar, video games, pinball, and a skill claw game with lots of naughty surprises inside.



I'm glad it's a lounge instead of a dance floor. It's sad that we've seen such a decline in the dance scene, but it's just as much my fault as anyone else's. I get up at 4am now instead of staying out until then, so happy hour is my favorite time to go out. Especially somewhere dark and interesting.

   

I could swear I sent a friend into the ladies' room with my camera on my birthday, but now as I review the photos, I don't see any pictures from in there. Sad. But I'm there all the time, so I should be able to get more soon. And that's not an exaggeration. I was at Unicorn three days in a row a few weeks ago, and I was also there last night and four nights ago.

 

My only critique of the bathrooms downstairs is that they're quite bright. That's not normally an issue, but if you're hanging out in a dark room, going into a bright bathroom and back out into the dark is pretty disorienting. But, of course, dark bathrooms are a little sketchy if they're for more than one occupant. The men's room looks great, though. Love the stripes and the color choices. Makes me want taffy.

 

One thing you should know before you choose where to sit is that they currently don't take food orders downstairs or bring food downstairs for you. It's not a huge deal to me to have to go up and get it, but if that's a dealbreaker for you, sit upstairs. Also, keep in mind that Unicorn opens at noon (11am on weekends), but Narwhal doesn't open until 4pm. Follow them on Twitter, though, sometimes they open early.

canon vs Canlis: Toilet Wars

I haven't been to either, but I'm having a hard time seeing how they won by watching the video. It looks fine, but it doesn't look like it's the best bathroom in all of Seattle.

Of course, lighting is everything, and this was obviously shot early in the day.

Fantastic and Tacky Bathrooms You Can Buy

I never really considered posting bathrooms from homes here, because nobody reading the blog is likely to ever get a chance to see them in person. And we're lucky if most people's bathrooms are clean; they usually don't end up decorated very well.

But I just saw this blog post about an amazingly awful-looking condo for sale, and couldn't resist posting the bathroom.

I kinda love it. I have an issue, though. Everything that's white should be gold. I don't even like gold, but it would be so appropriate here. I'd have a hard time showering in there because it seems wrong to enter without wearing silken robes and a large hat. And there should probably be a hookah next to the toilet. The gold toilet.

I don't normally look at real estate listings much, but this one has haunted me for a while. It's a dream condo for me, and when none of my Mega Millions tickets were winners a couple of weeks ago, I was crushed to learn that I wouldn't be moving in. I really wanted to cook in that kitchen and especially wanted to drink wine in this bathtub.

I'm not even a bath person, but I would be in that one. From what I can tell, you can look straight up and see reflections of the streets below. It'd be like flying, only warm and wet instead of cold and windy. Alright, flying is probably way better, but I still want to do it.

Oh well. At least there's a nice big box of wine waiting at home.

Anyway, go check out these bathrooms while you can if you've got a few mil laying around or are good at pretending you do.

The Saint

1416 E Olive Way
Web / Yelp


It's one of those places I'd meant to go to for years. I could tell by looking through the windows that The Saint was making much better use of the space than Wing Dome did years earlier. About twice as much seating, I'd estimate. My hairdresser had even told me I should go in to see the bathroom for my blog.


We were actually supposed to meet some friends at a different location before seeing the Dina Martina Christmas Show this year, but got a text on our way down saying that there was a strange odor there. I had them meet us at The Saint instead, and it was the first visit for all four of us. Coincidentally, a good friend's girlfriend I've met a few times was working there. And! My hairdresser walked by and I managed to jump up and meet him outside for a minute, though he wasn't able to join us for a drink.


The Saint will always make me a little sad because my ex who passed away really loved tequila, and it's a tequila lover's dream. He would have really loved it. So when I go, I'll have some tequila in his honor. And of course I'll feel much better, because that's what tequila does.


We had some excellent drinks and snacks, and then I had to get to work because it turns out there are two bathrooms. Impressive for a venue that size.


 


My favorite bathrooms have tons of mirrors and shiny surfaces. They're also really hard to photograph. I shouldn't have even used the photo above, but it illustrates my point. Hard to focus, you can see me four times. I couldn't find anywhere to stand where I wasn't in the shot. But it's really pretty.


 


There I am again. Sorry. So, there are two bathrooms and one's pink and one's blue, but they're both unisex. I really do prefer single occupant unisex bathrooms in bars. It's easier to take pictures in them, among other reasons. The blue bathroom's got storage in it, and I always like that. It just feels so organized and smart. 


 I need to go back. A margarita (rocks and salt) sounds really good.

22 (formerly 22 Doors)

405 15th Ave E
web / Yelp


I'm not sure when the name officially changed from 22 Doors to 22, but I'm having a hard time with it. I'm all for brevity, but "22" is just a little too succinct for my tastes. It's like when Prince changed his name to O(+>; it feels better to say "the artist formerly known as Prince" than it does to say "22". And just as recently as a couple of months ago, one of their chefs said "22 Doors" on Top Chef: Texas.





Which brings me to the food. It's really good! Happy hour is a great time to make a meal out of a few shared appetizers, and 22's got one of the better happy hour menus around. Tip: split the burger with fries with someone because it's big enough that you'll regret getting one of your own, and by splitting it you'll have enough room for some roasted cauliflower or a miniature skillet of hot olives. Or, of course, deviled eggs.




I'd love to know how the bathroom was decorated, because the walls are a huge collection of cool black and white photos. If it's not, say, a wallpaper you can buy, then whoever assembled this collection did an amazing job if it was done specifically for one space. Most of the pictures I took were from the center of the bathroom while I turned, because I hoped to get the whole thing documented so I could look later. Nothing's worse than taking too long in a bathroom and find people waiting when you come out.






There's also chalkboard up above the photos, and those are always fun because they're interactive and people can get a little bit of that "I want to write on the walls" energy out without doing any damage. I like it even though chalk and chalkboards have always grossed me out a bit. I guess I'm ok with it as long as I get to wash my hands immediately after I touch it.






(A couple of years ago, I accidentally used the women's bathroom instead of the men's. It was also very nice and I'll have to send a woman in or just ask if I can go in sometime if I'm there early and nobody's around. If I do, I'll add another post.)


Not that it matters much this time of year, but 22 has a nice patio, which is pretty rare for this neighborhood. Enjoy it if you can manage to get a spot out there. If not, the barstools inside are some of the most comortable in town.