El Camino Restaurant & Lounge

Went here after seeing July 4 fireworks at New Mexico Tech. I didn't expect much going in, and the food was okay. I had the double burger (forget exactly what it was called) Christmas style, but then red and green chili were completely separate in their smothering. The bun was too soggy, and the burger was overall okay.

Also, the hot chocolate costs $2 and had no free refills like Norms (a 24 hour diner in California reminiscent of Denny's). Wtf, I mean, the mug they give it to you in is really really tiny.

Pumpkin and Hunny Bunny would feel right at home at this diner and lounge that appears to have been built somewhere between 1955 and 1970 and was never renovated.  You probably won't be pulling up in a '66 T-bird, but you'll wish you were.

The food is standard Mexican with green chili as a nice local touch in addition to the  usual lone red sauce option.  The fajitas are served all on one plate with soft fresh tortillas on the side.  The avocado salad is a large portion with a full avocado sliced and laid atop a generous bed of lettuce, green peppers, tomatoes, and finished off with cheese and a hard boiled egg.  The 3 item combo runs everything together on the plate, an effect made worse by the slightly watery green sauce that serves as a unifying force.  In this case, the tamale and chili relleno--normally two very distinct menu items-- could be distinguished mostly by texture.  

Portions in general, and in particular for salad and pie, are large.  

Pies at dessert time are excellent and did not show any telltale warning signs of coming from a freezer.  (I'm guessing they're made fresh locally or in-house).  

Coffee is good, moderately strong, and served in small brown thick-walled mugs that
almost certainly date back to restaurant's inception.

The service was fast, cheerful, and attentive.  The waiters and servers are literally running at times.  

As another reviewer has noted, the men's room is not somewhere you want to linger.  It's kept clean, but after a few decades of use it could stand to be stripped down and rebuilt.    The women's room does not appear to have the same well-worn feel, according a woman who used it.

Good diner food, good menu variety (except the salad dressing choices), friendly attentive service, and great prices. Can't ask for more!