content: A pleasant Oasis of quality, affordable Mexican cuisine smack-dab in the middle of fast-food hell, I found The Blue Adobe to be a refreshing break from the seemingly endless array of franchise-clones that plague every corner of the greater Mesa area.\r\n\r\nMy first visit to Blue Adobe was immediately following a 14 hour drive from San Francisco with my ladyfriend Tassie and two drugged-out cats that somehow managed to howl most of  the way down.  We were tipped off to the place by another colleague of mine that had moved to Sun Valley about three years prior.  I was a little worried when I saw the establishments Howard-Johnson's style exterior, but all fears evaporated when we entered what I consider to be a first class effort at creating a great dining environment, and doing so without exuding the slightest bit of pretentiousness. \r\n\r\nThe menu was pretty interesting too....it was creative without resorting to obnoxious San Francisco-style creativity where the menu description gives little clue as to what you'll be served. To the contrary...the menu did a great job of describing traditional Mexican fare, skillfully presenting additional nuances that came across as tempting details rather than vague liabilities.\r\n\r\nThe food was great...tasty, and with several marks of distinctions that set it apart from anything else I've had in the Mesa area.  Skillful presentation, creative seasonings, and the absence of excessive fat were among it's strong points.\r\n\r\nWe went here twice, and both times we sung it's praises.  But Tassie returned here with her relatives one day, and not all went well.  The staff was friendly as usual till one party showed up with a infant/toddler.  It took eons to get a high-chair, and from that point on the level of service went from warm-and-fuzzy to cold-and-distant.  I still give it thumbs up for grownups....but reports from afar tell me that this place is anything but kid-friendly.