Is a three-mile stretch of Lindsay Road in Gilbert becoming the Valley’s premier destination for great New Mexican cuisine?
The stretch already boasted La Ristra New Mexican Restaurant, which traces its lineage to the iconic Los Dos Molinos group, at Lindsay and Warner and the award-winning New Mexican Grill at Lindsay and Pecos.
Now it welcomes Blue Adobe Santa Fe Grille, which opened Tuesday night on the northeast corner of Lindsay and Williams Field. It takes over the space vacated by Jimmy’s of Chicago last July.
Jose Cruz Leyva opened the original Blue Adobe Grille near downtown Mesa in 2000. A second location, operated separately as Blue Adobe Santa Fe Grille but offering the same menu, opened in north Scottsdale in 2004.
Blue Adobe’s menu has a full range of tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas and other Mexican standards.
Specialty entrees, however, are divided into two groups.
So-called ‘‘Adobe plates’’ feature traditional New Mexican and Mexican dishes like stacked enchiladas, ‘‘lazy tacos’’ (pictured below), and carne adovada.
‘‘Blue plates’’ represent Southwest regional favorites like ancho seared salmon, meatloaf with chorizo gravy, and Southwest chicken pasta.
The key to Blue Adobe’s menu is a pecan grill used to cook everything from the smoky salsa to the Iowa-sourced tenderloins.
The bar offers 11 kinds of margaritas, including a flight. and three sangrias.
Blue Adobe Santa Fe Grille in Gilbert will be open from 3-9 p.m. for the rest of this week, then start regular hours (opening at 11 a.m. daily) on Monday, Jan. 29.
