THE BEST TRIM JOB IN TOWN

October 16, 2006 by PT Rothschild.

HAIRCUTS – The Bel Mondo Salon & Spa Reviewed 

Growing up as I did like any male, I got haircuts. You went, to a small shop, where a group of good ol’ boys, be they black, white, Mexican or any other ethnic group, sat around passing their views on what was wrong with the world and what to do to fix it. You got a cut, then the blow-off with a hairdryer and a brush-off for the loose hairs on your clothes and neck. That was how I remember them until I got to So Cali. Immediately the price shot up to $10 or more for a haircut. I was astounded but ‘FVE’ Bill, my ‘guide’ to life in Southern California when I first came on the scene, assured me that haircut rates had gone up in the time I was getting free haircuts on the back porch at sundown in Iowa with the last wife. 

Resigned to reality, I was mildly surprised to find out that now a haircut came with an included head washing. I thought, ‘hey, what’s not to like’. But recently as I’ve gotten more into the Super Clips, or Future Cuts, or Hair Hackers, whatever, for whatever, the head-to-suds ratio has declined drastically everywhere but Killarney’s Pub. A visit to a clip joint in the ‘hood’ only brings a $15 haircut, no head wash, the same stale hand-wringing opinions concerning ‘the man’ b/w how a ‘brother should be helping a brother’, AND a look, when I hesitated over how much I should tip him, like I owed him something for being the last customer of the day. Contrast that to my latest good fortune by way of serendipity. 

At the ‘Growing The Arts’ festival just past here in Temecula, I had the delight of winning a free haircut at the Bel Mondo Salon and Spa, located just a few doors down from the Macaroni Grill, facing the inner drive of the Bel Villaggio section of the Mall. I must say at this point that I was the worse sort of customer. I made a six o’clock appointment and then had to call and say I was running late. When I pulled up on my bicycle, the lady barber was walking out to her car, equipment bag in hand. This lady not only came back into the stylishly modern and spacious shop, but she was kind, gentle, and friendly to someone who was going to make her late for dinner. Her clippers, even at the end of the day, were sharp, showing me that she appreciated the tools that made her ‘daily bread’. After I was done, she walked me back to the wash basins and I got a good hair washing, so good in fact, I didn’t have to shower when I got home. The price of this regular haircut is $17. Besides the first class haircut, the salon offers full nail service and these other features. 

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