Arbor House International Restaurant Talent, Oregon

This month my dinner club met at Arbor House International Restaurant in Talent, Oregon.  I have heard such great things about this restaurant over the last couple years that I've really developed an interest in trying it.  It definitely lived up to it's reputation.  The restaurant is quiet and clean.  the servers are knowledgable and amiable.  The food is TO-DIE-FOR.  And the staff works to prepare the food to the individual's taste.  Remarkable. 

About the restroom...my first impression wasn't the greatest.  When I walked in, the first thing I noticed where the 3 highchairs crowding the room.  As a self-acclaimed bathroom expert, I just don't think the restroom is the best place for highchairs.  But I must have been on some kind of high from the great food because after my initial response I kind of got over it.  I chalked it up to being a part of Arbor House personality....laid back.  The bathroom was immaculately clean and so were the highchairs.  The room was stylish in a cute, funky, 1970's hippie-ish way. 

There was nice, large mirror in the fairly large one seater facility.  There was also a chair crowded in with the highchairs.  Good for a place to store your purse or coat.

I thought the corkboard made from wine bottle corks was so cute.  The ceramics lining the bathroom window are a nice touch, too. 

 

The framed art work on the walls was of local events and things that the Valley is well-known for like A Taste of Ashland and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  The bathroom was well stocked with needed supplies & had amenities such as air freshener & hand lotion.  There are nice little touches like the decorative tile above the basin.  I am going to award this restroom 2 and three-quarters rolls. It hit the mark in all areas but must have a quarter roll deduction for the highchairs.  Not bad, at all.  I highly recommend this restaurant!

Paschal Winery & Vineyard, Talent, Oregon

Paschal Winery is a hidden treasure located in the country side of Talent, Oregon.  It is a very beautiful area of which I would like to spend more time in.  Pashcal has a lovely deck overlooking the vineyards and a pond.  We were lucky enough to get to see a big, beautiful swan gliding on the pond water while we sat and sipped our glasses of wine.  Paschal is a gorgeous setting for weddings and other events.  They offer fruit and veggie trays to accompany the wines.  Can't wait to go back.  I hadn't intended to do a bathroom blog on Pashal's but decided it was definitely blog worthy.  The ladies' restroom is

a one seater, as I like to call them. 

The mirror over the basin is very large and is encased in a carved and painted wood frame.  Very pretty.  The bathroom was well stocked with soap and papertowels and very clean.  The lighting was very nice & also flattering.  We all know how depressing poor lighting can be in a restroom!

 

The only thing missing were the toilet seat covers which are an essential part of a clean restroom experience.  The container was completely empty which leads me to believe that Pachal's just doesn't supply them anymore.  Guess if you want something between you and the cheeks of the last bathroom visitor youget to tear off some tissue squares!

 

The accents and wall hangings were pretty and kind of went with the wine country theme.

 

I give this restroom 2 out of 3 rolls.  It lost a half a roll for not having toitoi seat covers and half a roll for not giving the restroom quite as much attention regarding the decor and style as it did the rest of the tasting room/winery area.

Frau Kemmling's Schoolhaus Brewhaus

Frau Kemmling's is the old Jacksonville Elementary School (built in 1908) that's recently been converted into a restaurant.  The building renovations are well done & the restaurant atmosphere is comfortable and welcoming.  The staff was friendly and accommodating.  They messed up our reservation but worked us into our own private room which worked out nicely.  Our server had a great sense of humor and was very knowledgeable.  We even put her to the test on pronouncing some of the menu items in German.  Of course none of us speaks German so we wouldn't know the difference if she was BS'ing us or not but she was very convincing!  The servers wore traditional German garb...we especially appreciated the male staff in their cute little lederhosen.  The bathroom was one of my all time favorites.  The color scheme is bright and cheery.  It is very clean, in fact one of our dinner companions mentioned that it had obviously been tidied up and had paper products replaced while we were there.  Frau's "badezimmer" had a very cool feature...the built-in cushioned seat.  Very nice touch.  There was a speaker in the ceiling piping in German music, also.   

Flavor Flav kickin' it on the couch.

The baby changing table and extra paper supplies are nicely hidden inside cupboards in one of the bathroom stalls.  They made sure to install hooks in each stall for coats, purses, etc.  Loved the nice little added touches like the wrought iron legs on the basin, cool hardware on the bathroom stalls, etc.  This bathroom must have been designed by a woman!  Frau's seems to get it--a bathroom can make or break your experience at a restaurant and should not be treated as an after thought but as an important aspect of good customer service! 

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Flavor Flav hanging out on the hook.



This bathroom is one of the few that is going to get a perfect score.  Three full tp rolls for excellent cleanliness, decor, and comfort!  Danke und auf wiedersehen!!

Madrone Kitchen & Wine Tavern, Shady Cove, Oregon

Madrone Kitchen is located in quaint little Shady Cove, right on the Rogue River.  From our dining table we had a magnificent view of the Rogue right outside the wall of picture windows.  Madrone Kitchen has a minimal dining selection but the meals were good...maybe a little overpriced.  The wine was really good.  The beer must not have been bad either since Van had 3...but who's counting?  The Madrone Kitchen is a very old house converted into a restaurant.  It looks like an addition has been made to the building to house the bar area.  The dining area is in the original section facing the river.  The restroom closest to the dining area was the one I located first.  

Either someone forgot to turn the light on or the bulb needed changed because the hallway leading to the bathroom was dark & a little eerie.  Especially in a 100 year old house..in October.  The bathroom doesn't look like it has had any type of updating since the 1970's.  It is fairly clean but come on, a public restroom can only get so clean looking after 40 years of public use.  It was pretty dingey. 

Here you can see the dimly lit basin area next to the dusty fake fern on brass plant stand...very retro.  Next is the cleaning supplies closet.  Not much to see here.  Now we come to the wall decor.  There is serious evidence that these wall hangings have been here, unmolested, since 1977.   I mean, who needs faux finishes when your decorations predate history anyway?  As you can see one wall hanging looks like it is trying to take flight.  The others were dusty & faded and had some water stains here and there on the matting.  The stall was okay as far as size but there was no place really to put your purse or jacket except the toilet tank(ew) or the floor(NOT gonna happen)

As you can see the handle area on the stall door is just...I mean...well, I have no words.  Except...blechhh.  The floors are grubby in corners and the lighting above the basin mirror is cobwebby.  This restroom is crying out for help!  To be fair, however, I also visited the restroom in the newer section of the building.  It is cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing.  I'm not sure about the comfort level because I forgot to really check that part out.

This is the first place I've visited that I will be giving a review on more than one bathroom.  The first older restroom I give 1/8 for cleanliness, 1/8 for style and 1/8 for comfort.  That is 3/4 out of 3 full rolls.  For the newer bathroom I give 3/4 for cleanliness, 1/2 for style and 1 full roll for comfort(by default).  That is 2 1/4 rolls.  I would highly recommend  Madrone Kitchen for outdoor dining during the warm weather months.  They have seating on decks right on the river.  Maybe by next summer the bathrooms will be better quality to match the restaurants other fine qualities!  

El Arriero, Medford Oregon

The best thing about El Arriero (aka The Areola) was that we all got to celebrate Dannielle's birthday!  We had a minor glitch in the beginning in that our reservation had somehow disappear from the planet but the hostess quickly pulled some tables together & had our party of 13 seated in no time.  The service for the rest of the evening was great and the food and drinks were average for a family style Mexican restaurant in the Rogue Valley area.  For some reason Southern Oregon is NOT known for its delicious, authentic Mexican restaurants.  We have many lovely features that we are very proud of here in Southern Oregon but we definitely got left out of the Mexican cuisine department.  Es no bueno.  However, El Arriero has a very relaxed, welcoming atmosphere & we managed to have a great time.  Of course, our group kind of brings the party wherever we go.  We should be paid, really.  We are to restaurants what canned laughter is to studio audiences.  Anyway, about the bathroom....as you can see, a lot of thought was given to the initial painting & decorating of  

this restroom.  It is colorfully tiled and painted.  It is rather unexceptional other than that.  Not particularly clean but acceptable.  The papertowel dispenser was empty as you can see in this next photo.  There were toilet seat covers laying on the tank in the small stall.  There are 2 stalls- one HUGE ass stall that you really could fit a cot, fridge & cook stove in and basically live in and  another tiny narrow stall that the door hits the toilet so you have to squeeze in one side to get the door opened or closed.  That must be for the human contortionist customers.   The best thing about this bathroom was that I ran into an old friend.  Recon Roy was hanging out on the counter between the 2 lovely, hand painted basins!  What a coinky-dink! 

So, other than running into a dirty little soldier in this banio, there wasn't anything special to report.  I give it 1/2 a roll for cleanliness, 1/4 roll for comfort & 1/2 roll for style.  1 and 1/4 rolls out of 3.  Arriba Areola!