Planet of the Grapes

55th Street and 2nd Avenue

The Manhattan Arts and Antiques Center, much like it sounds, consists of numerous showrooms where vendors sell things to the wealthy, such as brass elephant statues, Ming Dynasty door mats, and perhaps even Chaucer’s thigh bracelets. It is a center in that many vendors rent small store spaces and sell their wares, right next to each other in rows. The restrooms are in the center of the downstairs hallway lined with said shops. Considering its central location and the surroundings, we entered the restroom with high hopes. Would we finally happen upon mahogany stall doors, one of the holy grails of restroom assessment? Or at least perhaps be greeted by a four foot tall Buddha made of some precious material, sitting contentedly in the corner in lieu of a bathroom attendant?

We would not. However, we did find a respectable bathroom. Upon first entering, one word comes to mind: cream. While that word may have a negative connotation in many restrooms (see: Penn Station) we refer here simply to the color scheme, thank you. Smooth marble floors, cloth wallpaper, and grained marble sinks make the choice of light beige for the stall color, normally an uninspired decision, fit in perfectly to create a clean and crisp neutral palette. The peculiar toilet bowels here are more round than the typical oval, which certainly provides an interesting variation, however the men’s room loses points for not having dividers between the urinals (which also boast an interesting shape due to the exaggerated jut-out “jaw”). An unsightly paper sign regarding towel politics also detracted from an otherwise pleasant experience.

Rating: 6.5