The Airplane Restaurant

I finally got a chance to eat at the Airplane Restaurant, something I've been meaning to do for quite a long time. My friend Susana and her nine year-old daughter Isabella, visiting from out of state, agreed to give it a try with me. It was great! It's exactly what the name implies: a restaurant inside a decommissioned airplane. It's a 1953 Boeing KC-97 tanker, to be exact, and it was converted into a restaurant 13 years ago. The plane only holds about 42 people, but as you can see, it's butted up to a building with a large dining room that'll accommodate a couple of hundred more, so this is actually quite a large restaurant. The entire place is decorated with an aviation theme, with lots of cool posters, collectibles and photographs decorating every surface (there were even jet engine sound effects in the ladies room!). Obviously the plane is the most popular place to dine, so if you want to sit there, reservations are recommended. (Note: you have to climb up a flight of stairs to get into the plane, so I'm pretty sure that part of the restaurant isn't wheelchair-accessible.) The food is basically hearty American fare, nothing too exotic, and the service is very friendly and fast. The servers are called "co-pilots" and wear airline uniforms. We thought that was pretty cool! Our server, Daniel, even let Isabella into the cockpit to "drive" the plane. She got a huge kick out of that! Overall we had fun and thought it was a pretty unique dining experience, and a fun memory for my friends to take home with them.

The first thing you see when you walk through the door is a mannequin dressed in a captain's uniform, and a life-sized poster of an airline cockpit, among other aviation memorabilia.

If you're an aviation nerd, this place is for you. So much cool stuff!

Inside the plane! We got there very early in the lunch rush, so it wasn't full yet.

Our friendly "co-pilot", Daniel, posing with Isabella for Susana's camera.

A detail of the lunch menu. I believe the plane in the photograph is literally the plane we were sitting in! How cool is that?!?!

A co-pilot serves lunch.

My lunch. No, that's not a charred burger. It's a vegetarian patty made with black beans, and it was quite yummy. I really appreciate that they had a vegetarian option. It's not always easy being a veg!

One more look at the plane. I'll definitely be back!