Picante, Berkeley California
Picante is the sort of "Mexican" food I love. It's not terribly authentic, but it's so much better than authentic that I completely forgive them. Good, freash ingredients. No weird combos or attempts to do anything nouveau with Mexican food. The result is great tasting food.
And then there's the service.
You may think it's odd to talk about service at a restaurant that has a walk-up ordering counter and a Darwinian seating arrangement, but it is important. Tables are bussed quickly and really cleaned, so when you do find a seat it's not covered with dried-up rice or sticky with spilled margaritas (did I mention they have a full liquor license?). Food comes out to your table lickety-split, too, so if you go in there starving you're not far from food (unless the line reaches out the door, which has been known to happen on fine summer evenings).
Even better, though, is that they have a bunch of special menus with very specific listings of foods appropriate for different folks. The vegetarian menu shows which foods have eggs, cheese, or other dairy. The kids menu seems appropriate for kids. And so on. If you've got a food allergy or sensitivity or are on some funky diet, they will accomodate it happily without making you feel like a whiney baby, and there's a lot to be said for that.