DECEMBER 17, 2009 -- One party guest at the new El Camino Mexicana in northern Little Italy seemed a bit confused about the venue. He approached a pair of pretty party-goers on the al fresco back patio and asked if the planes would still be flying overhead. Seems he’d been to this site when it was called Airport Lounge and back then, it was directly under the Lindbergh Field flight path.
That reveler was advised to have another cocktail and just wait a couple minutes. The décor has changed, but indoor-outdoor El Camino is still under the flight path, and you still have to freeze your conversation while each Southwest 747 roars down from above.
When it was Airport Lounge, the interior was made to look like the inside of an airplane. The bar was sleek and white, and bartenders and waitresses dressed like pilots and stewardesses.
Now, the décor is muy Mexican. Day of the Dead-inspired paintings cover walls, and Virgin Mary candles are everywhere. The bar has been paneled over with dark wood. For the opening party, about a half dozen actual El Caminos were parked outside—hopping up and down on hydraulic lifts.
Mauricio Couturier and partners still own this El Camino, and another in South Park. Had Airport Lounge outlived its “in” image?
“Airport Lounge still had a strong following,” says Couturier. “But we opened the El Camino in South Park as a test for opening one in Little Italy. It’s working out in both places.”
El Camino will be open for dinner seven days a week. A Mexican brunch is served on Sundays, starting at 10 a.m. If a demand arises for lunch, Couturier will give it a go.
And yes, the airplanes will still be passing overhead.
