New Spring Menu Items at Stonefire Grill

Stonefire Grill

3966 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92606

When I was a little kid, and my parents were having a party, I always looked forward to the food of course. I would park myself as close as I could to the table, and just gorge myself. Yes, things have not changed too much from today. Anyways, I would eat everything, but I always made sure to get my fair share from the veggie tray that would inevitably be put out. I'd eat the carrots, broccoli, and even a few sticks of celery, but would never touch the cauliflower. Even now, I'm a little leery of cauliflower, but that might just change after this visit to Stonefire Grill.

We were recently invited to Stonefire Grill, where they debuted their Spring menu last month. Not only does their new menu include a few dishes featuring my nemesis, cauliflower, but they also premiered some new sandwiches, a new salad, and a shrimp dish.

For those of you that have not heard of Stonefire Grill, they are a mini chain of fast-casual restaurants, featuring freshly made American favorites. Started in 2000, by sisters Maureen and Mary Harrigan, there are now seven locations of Stonefire Grill in Southern California, with two of those in OC, (this Irvine one, and another in Fountain Valley). Their menu is dominated by salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, and grilled items, but they are probably most known for their breadsticks and tri-tip, but I am very partial to their carrot cake. Of course dinner is before dessert, as I heard my mom's voice in the back of my head, urging me to try all of the cauliflower dishes.

We were at an event, so the serving sizes were portioned out as samples thank goodness, because there was lots to try. Starting things off was the Roasted Cauliflower Pita ($5.99). This pita was inspired by one of the sister's trips to Israel recently. In fact, the pita bread used here is sourced directly from a bakery in Jerusalem. Inside this very well made pita is roasted cauliflower, lemon tahini, chopped tomato, green onion, and a spicy cilantro-Serrano sauce. I was a little taken aback by this. I thought it was going to be very light and mild, but the cilantro-Serrano sauce really made this pop. It gave the cauliflower a good boost, I liked the slight citrus tinge, and the pita bread was excellent. If you like spice, this sandwich is for you.

Man can not live by cauliflower alone, so Stonefire Grill has added three slow roasted, hand-carved turkey sandwiches to their menu, the first of which we tried was the Traditional Turkey ($6.99). This November favorite included red leaf lettuce, cranberry sauce, mayo, and plenty of turkey, all on a whole grain bread. The turkey was nice and moist, and the cranberry added a nice sweetness. Brought back memories of Thanksgiving dinner, without the family squabbles.

Another turkey favorite at this media dinner was the Italian Turkey ($6.99). This time the thickly sliced turkey was placed inside a French roll with sliced tomato, shredded lettuce, red onion, mozzarella cheese, mayo, and a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. The bread used for these new sandwiches is from La Brea Bakery, which delivers fresh bread every morning to Stonefire Grill. The bread was a great vehicle for this tangy sandwich. Loved the red onion and mustard vinaigrette on this one.

Recently at another sandwich spot, I had a caprese sandwich, and I actually liked it. I have never been a big fan of caprese salads, but maybe I am more of a caprese sandwich fan, because this one was good as well. Stonefire's version of a Caprese Sandwich ($7.99) had all of the usual suspects you would expect from a caprese; grape tomatoes, pesto, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and arugula, all on a toasted ciabatta. Big flavors, which helped me forget that there was no meat on this sandwich.

Stonefire Grill added two new salads to their Spring menu, a Cauliflower Salad ($1.59 for a single serving), and a Keen Green Salad ($8.99). Both of theses salads were pretty solid, but I was surprised that I liked the Keen Green one the best. It included quinoa, chopped spinach, artichoke hearts, avocado, sun dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and fresh pesto. I think they definitely got the name right with all of these green items in this salad. Even with my disdain with quinoa, it did not get in the way of the other items in this salad. The avocado added a nice creaminess, the pesto added some moisture, and the spinach brought everything together. I felt pretty good eating these healthy salads, they made me feel like I could have two slices of the carrot cake that was to come later.

You probably do not believe me, but this was my favorite item of the night. Even I was shocked when I found myself up at the buffet line getting seconds of this Whole Roasted Cauliflower ($5.99). I had never had roasted cauliflower before, and the roasting gave the tips a tinge of crunchiness, while the inside was very tender. The cauliflower was topped with a lemon tahini and parsley. I added a little extra tahini, which made the cauliflower sing. On our next visits to Stonefire Grill, I can see Katie and I splitting this side item.

The last of the entrees that we tried was this Shrimp ($12.99) dish. The plentiful shrimp is seasoned with lemon, olive oil, garlic, and chopped parsley, then served atop a big mound of quinoa. I stayed away from the quinoa on this one, but the shrimp were seasoned very nicely. Since everyone had filled up on the other items here, and this one was bought out last, I pretty much had as much shrimp as I could handle.

This of course was the moment I was the most excited about, the time when the desserts hit the table. At Stonefire Grill they have three deserts offered. They offer cheesecake and fudge brownies, which I am sure are good, but for me, it's all about their Incredible Carrot Cake ($3.29). This is one of the best carrot cakes we have had. It's moist, but still firm enough to stand up to the good amount of cream cheese frosting that tops this. The frosting is not too sweet, and does not go overboard with the cream cheese flavor. Just like Goldilocks said, "it's just right." A very good end to a wonderful night.

Stonefire Grill and their new menu surprised me on this night. I was surprised that I enjoyed all of the vegetable dishes and salads as much as I did. I even managed to take down some quinoa, although I am still not a fan of it. The turkey sandwiches were pretty good as well. Stonefire Grill is the kind of place that you can bring the family to, and everyone will be happy with their selections. For families, they have plenty of Family Meals that will give you a night off from cooking. They also have several Crowd Pleasing Meals for bigger groups of six or more, at pretty affordable prices starting near $7 per person. A real bargain. Stonefire has helped me get over my cauliflower aversion, and now I might even eat some off of the next veggie tray I see.  

We would like to thank everyone at Stonefire Grill for making us feel so comfortable during our visit on this night. From the servers, the cooks, and the hostess staff, you all made this a wonderful night. We would also like to thank Elly Salter and Allie Briscoe for hosting this great event, and answering all of our questions about Stonefire Grill. You guys were awesome. We would lastly like to thank Erick Martinez and Jenna Satariano of the fabulous PR agency, Groff-Hinman, for thinking of inviting us to this great event. It was great seeing you both again.

For more information about Stonefire Grill and all of their menu options, go to their website here: http://www.stonefiregrill.com/

Satisfying Situation at Stonefire Grill?

Stonefire Grill

3966 Barranca Parkway

Irvine, CA 92606

It was time to go out with Chuck and Stephanie. This time I did not have to decide where we would be eating. Thanks to rave reviews from Chuck's Dad, we were headed to a place I had heard of before, but never been to, Stonefire Grill.

Stonefire Grill has been in business since 2000. In those twelve years they have opened seven locations. OC is home to two of these locations, with the other one situated in Fountain Valley. Sisters, Maureen and Mary Harrigan opened this place as a tribute to their Mother. She was a mother of 11, and the sisters wanted to create an atmosphere where families could congregate around the table, share conversations, and create special memories.

Stonefire is a fast casual restaurant. Ordering is done at the counter and then brought out to you. The restaurant really reminded us of an updated Sizzler, without the salad bar, or a Pat and Oscars. The menu is pretty large. They have plenty of family meals or individual meals to choose from. Salads, sandwiches, pizzas, and four proteins dominate most of the menu here.

We got to Stonefire Grill at about six on a Wednesday night. The restaurant was pretty busy, but we had no problems finding seats. We perused the large menu, ordered at the counter, and waited for the food to come out. The restaurant is pretty loud, but that just helped drown out some of Chuck's ramblings. After about a five minute wait the food started to make its way to our table in waves. Let's see how it all came out.

Individual meals come with your choice of salad, so we selected the Garden Salad and the Caesar. Both of these salads were big enough to share, although I did not share too much with Katie, sorry about that. The Caesar was pretty basic, but I really enjoyed it. It was probably one of the best I have had in awhile. I liked that there was plenty of dressing here, and it kind of had a little bite to it. It could have just been the pepper, but it really was a nice surprise. Stephanie went with the Garden Salad. This salad came with mixed greens, chopped tomato, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage, and your choice of dressing. She opted for the blue cheese. I really liked that they tossed the salad for you. I wish more places would have their salads come out this way. It really coats the greens better.

Each salad came with two Breadsticks. I am not wild about breadsticks. These ones were good though. They came out warm, and were soft on the inside. The outside had a nice garlic/butter taste. You can tell these were freshly made.

Katie had been here before and wanted to try their Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwich ($7.99) again. This sandwich came with caramelized onions, mozzarella, pesto sauce, tomato, and greens, on a French roll. As you can see from the pictures, this sandwich was dominated by vegetables. Katie liked the toasted bread, but felt there was way too much pesto on this. It really detracted from the chicken. She would forgo this sandwich on her next visit to Stonefire.

Both Chuck and Stephanie got basically the same thing, just prepared differently. Chuck ordered the 1/4 Chicken and Tri-Tip Combo ($10.99), while Stephanie got the Boneless Chicken Breast and Tri-Tip Combo ($13.99). They both really enjoyed the tri-tip. It was cooked a perfect medium rare. Very tender and it had a great meaty flavor. The chicken was another story. It was very tender, but lacked any flavor at all. The mesquite BBQ sauce really failed here as well. Chuck even ordered an extra side, and it helped just a little bit.

I knew exactly what I was going to have before I got here, and it was the Tri-Tip and Rib Combo ($14.99). I liked the tri-tip very much. I got it with pepper garlic and Gorgonzola butter. The butter was pretty mellow, from what I was expecting, but it still added to the meat. The baby back ribs were very tender. They separated from the bone very easily, and the taste of the meat was spot on. I thought the BBQ sauce was a little weak because it was a little too sweet, and kind of on the thin side. Not a bad plate of food though.

We also got some side items to try. We got the small Macaroni and Cheese ($7.99), and it could have easily fed three people. Everyone really liked this mac and cheese, except for me. I thought it was kind of plain tasting. They all liked the cheesiness, but I needed a little more bite from the cheese. The Nutty Coleslaw came with Katie's sandwich. I really enjoyed this version of slaw. The cabbage was crunchy, the nuts added a little earthiness, and the dressing did not overpower the other ingredients. The Garlic Mashed Potatoes ($2.99) were a pleasant surprise as well. By looking at them I was not expecting much, but they had lots of garlic flavor, and there seemed to be a layer of cheese running through them. Sure they could have been a little creamier, but the garlic flavor more than made up for this.

Okay, it was finally time for dessert. At Stonefire they offer three desserts, and we tried two of them. The Famous Chocolate Brownie ($2.79) was just okay. I would have liked this brownie to be a little sweeter. It was moist enough, but was kind of plain tasting. The Incredible Carrot Cake ($5.49) is the dessert to get here. The serving size was perfect to split with four people after dinner. The cake was moist and had a very good spiced flavor. The cream cheese icing was sweet, without taking over the cake. There was also not big hunks of things in this cake, like in other carrot cakes. We would all get this again.

I liked Stonefire Grill, but I am not sure it is destination dining for me. If I were in the area again I could see myself eating here though. The food was all pretty good, but nothing really hooked me. I liked the concept though. The restaurant was pretty comfortable. We were here at a peak hour and there was plenty of room, so we did not feel like people were right on top of us. The service was pretty good for a quick service restaurant. They had a lot of dining room runners, and they checked on us frequently. I did not feel the prices were outrageous here either. Glad Chuck's Dad gave me a night off from choosing where to go for dinner.

Out of five eagles, (because this restaurant is located in the same city as Concordia University, and their mascot is the Eagles),  five being best to zero being worst, Stonefire Grill gets 3 eagles.

For more information about Stonefire Grill, click here: http://www.stonefiregrill.com/