Where the going is always good this Thanksgiving weekend.

Last night we began to celebrate Kate's birthday with dinner at Casellula, a few beers, flight of Domestic Delights, a Pig's Ass sandwich and the second great autumn dessert we've had to date this season, following Bar Boulud's sacher torte, Casellula's apple cheddar pandowny with bourbon caramel sauce and brown butter ice cream, basically a giant cheddar biscuit stuffed with apples baked and served in the pan under a drizzle and a scoop. (But pass on the egg nog.)

Afterward, well, we don't know if the restaurant has a bathroom, but we didn't want to find out, we wanted to head to the opening of the Charmin Restrooms & Duracell Power Lodge in the old Barcode space next to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square, a three story fantasia of flushing and plugging. The second-story megabathroom provides a stroller valet, Timber Treehouse, the Grin and Bear It photo station a bear packed sleigh in which you can have your photo taken for free, the Bear Boogie Stage on which you can learn the Charmin dance, and more than a dozen clean stalls, one into which you'd be escorted to discover three kinds of toilet paper to wipe with. All while a late 90s technopop track, think Aqua, plays ad nausem, "Charmin, where the going is always good..."

   

Afterward we ascended to the third floor for this year's newest addition, the Duracell Power Lodge. This is the first time Duracell's collaborated with Charmin and all the, um, fun, doesn't start until December 2nd when the snowmobile bicycles are unleashed, but in the meantime there's a gift shop, a faux fireplace, charging stations for all manner of device, and Wii Fit boxing and tightrope walking. Also, maybe it's because the first day, we don't know, but no one could be friendlier if they tried. It's so unnatural we can only hope one of them is so observant so they can write The Charminland Diaries when it's all over.

  

Out of there we made our way home, caught up in the throngs outside Macy's rehearsing for Thursday's parade. We were wondering where all the kids in matching windbreakers were last night, and sure enough they were holding their pompoms high in front of the department store for a considerable crowd while going unnoticed on a darkened stretch of Broadway a dozen or so dancers were rehearsing their routine.

 

Casellula is located at 401 West 52nd Street. The Charmin Restrooms and Duracell Power Lodge are located at 1540 Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets. And the 82nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade starts at 77th Street and Central Park West on Thursday morning at 9am.