There Goes That Theory

Here's my theory: a really good theme restaurant will even include that theme in the restroom. I have two examples to back me up on this.

1. On my first trip to Macaroni Grill, I was enchanted by the fact that the waiters would periodically burst out in full-fledged opera. The mood of the place was enhanced when I walked in the bathroom and discovered that, if I stayed in there long enough, I could learn to speak Italian.
   
   English Voice: Hello
   Italian Voice: Ciao
   EV: Thank you
   IV: Grazie
   EV: Have I told you lately that I love you?
   
   I am not making this up!


2. My last summer in Indiana, a few friends and I made a road trip to Indianapolis to do a little shopping. We stopped at an Irish pub that boasted an extremely authentic Irish menu. Ferskner excused herself to go use the facilities, and she came back later extremely excited. "You guys," she exclaimed, "you have to go use the bathroom!" The bathroom walls were decorated from ceiling to floor with various pictures of Sean Connery and Ewan MacGreggor.

Fast forward to last weekend, when I went home to help my sister celebrate her recent engagement.

We went out to eat at a place called Gloria's; a lovely little Italian restaurant that my sister's fiance claims has the most authentic Italian pasta in the valley. My sister was the only one who'd been to the restaurant before, and even she was taken slightly by surprise to find that there was an accordion player there.

The accordion player wandered from table to table, playing and singing whatever he wanted, whether it was Italian or no (usually no). When he made it to our table, he announced that he was going to play a song he played for all his female guests: "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera. On his next circuit around the room, we were serenaded with the love song from Lady and the Tramp. And toward the end of the evening, he and all the waiters gathered around the table to sing "Many Wishes to You" in Italian (that's "Happy Birthday") and placed a giant piece of cake in front of my sister.

Not sure whether I was in Italy (that pasta was good), France (the Phantom lives in Paris, after all), or America (Ah, Disney), I headed to the bathroom to see if I could get an idea. Nothing. Nadda. Zip. That bathroom was the most boring, generic bathroom I've ever seen. To make things even more confusing, as we got ready to leave the accordion player started playing the final song of the night: "Danny Boy."