Something invisible on my wok

I want to wok tonight but I'm already confused by what should be the easiest thing in the world. Apparently there is some sort of clear lacquer coating on the pan which, of course, I cannot see. So after washing and "seasoning the pan" how do I know that this invisible lacquer is gone? How?! No mortal being can see something defined as invisible. It is pure madness. I'm off to cook an invisible dinner but I misplaced the invisible vegetables. Hopefully I can find my invisible knife...

A Public Potty Map

Okay, so we all have to brave the often uncomfortable and sometimes rust-stained lavatories at one time or another. You just can't hold it all day. Thankfully, someone else cares a great deal about comfort in public places, so much that she started a website devoted to public toilets at thebathroomdiaries.com. It documents and even awards the best public restrooms worldwide. The current winner of the "World's Best Bathroom" is a little over the top. A billiard game in the gents room? Please tell me that they take extra care in keeping those balls clean. (Don't be dirty minded I am talking about the solid and stripe kind.)

It is true that when you learn of a good spot for a private moment, you tend to remember it. For instance, a friend of mine couldn't pass Harvey Nichols (the London department store) without taking a bathroom break. When I first moved to NYC, I used to love the alien spaceship style bathrooms of Bar 89 but not everyone enjoys the excitement of glass doors and walls, even if they are high tech. Elsewhere in Manhattan, the bathroom in the Gramercy Tavern in NYC is a fabulous one for their patrons. If you can't quite afford an entire meal in order to use the toilets, grab a drink at the bar or head to the nearby Punch on Broadway and 20th for a quiet squat. Public is a designer restaurant in Nolita with industrial chic bathrooms that remind me of a vintage health club. In Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill, we've got a relatively clean and comfortable loo in Floyd's bar but across the street at Last Exit, I would rather wait until my bladder can't take it anymore.

But sometimes we have to put up with what we find, especially when world travel is involved. I remember that the hole in the floor at Kenyan roadside market seemed a bit on the unhygienic side. In Istanbul, the public toilets in the fabulous Grand Bazaar charged extra for toilet paper. Still, some of the worst bathrooms I've seen have been in New York. d.b.a. is a great bar for the blokes but if a gal needs to go, it is difficult to squat over a dirty toilet that is no longer bolted to the floor. No kidding!