Nail salons sometimes make us shudder with their tendency to reek like a hot-chemical EPA violation. So it was surprising to walk into Country Club Nails on the Plaza and hear the gentle sounds of little fountains (instead of being assaulted by the scream of nail dryers) and to smell air fresher than the Brush Creek-tinged air outside. The shop has half a dozen chairs for pedicures, which fill up fast on weekends. The owners and employees have been in this location for two years, says our nail technician, Anna, while using a scalpel-like instrument to hack the reptilian scales off our soles. She doesn't act grossed out when the hot white towels she uses to massage our legs come back orange with rubbed-off fake tanner. "Happens all the time," she says and winks. Here, walk-ins are welcome, the water's hot, the back massagers are humming, and there are plenty of up-to-date scandal rags lying around so you can get your Lindsay Lohan fix while pretending to be only vaguely interested. Anna won't tell on you.
