All Season’s Bistro in Lansing is one of the five finalists for the 2006 America’s Best Restroom award. Check out the link to view and vote for All Season’s Bistro. You can view a short description of the bathroom as well as some pictures. This bathroom looks a lot nicer than most restaurants.

The majority of people will not return to a restaurant if they believe the bathroom to be less than satisfactory. What I can not believe is the number of really nice restaurants with great food that have horrid bathrooms. Whether it’s the primitive nature of them (i.e. exposed plumbing, cracked fixtures, or the bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling) or the extreme filth level, it is surprising to see the neglect that restaurants show to their bathrooms.

While on the subject of the best restroom, where have you found the worst public restroom?

The worst one I have had to use (due to lack of options and necessity) was on I-75 south of Mackinaw City. It was this little hole-in-the-wall gas station off the same exit as Sea Shell City (I believe it is anyway). I walked in to the bathroom (I use the term loosely) and stumbled because the bathroom floor was actually about 4 inches lower than the floor of the gas station.

The walls were bare cinder block and the floor was rough concrete (just a step above a dirt floor). The exposed plumbing, dirty fixtures, and good old hanging light bulb only added to the primitive ambiance. I scrubbed my hands quite thoroughly (at least they had a sink) and thought that if ever I was up this way again and in the same situation I would stop and visit the woods instead.