Eat Up

It’s 6 p.m. You’re inching along in traffic when your ravenous kids yell, “What’s for dinner?” Unless you’ve got a 30-minute meal up your sleeve, you’d do well to chart a course for Irvine or Fountain Valley, one of the 2 Orange County Stonefire Grill (stonefiregrill.com) locations, where fresh, fast, family-friendly fare awaits.

Stonefire Grill offers everything from chicken, tri-tip and potatoes, to pizza and salads. You casually place your order and pay at the counter before filling your own drinks, picking up plates and utensils, and seating yourself. The brainchild of sisters Mary and Maureen Harrigan, Stonefire Grill marries fresh, high-quality food with scaled-back service to make it easier on the budget. You can easily feed a family of 4 to 6 for less than $30.

Kids’ meals include cheese pizza and chicken strips, plus original dishes such as macaroni-and-cheese and baby-back ribs.

Moms and dads, this is one restaurant where you’ll like the food as much as your kids do. Order a family meal with salad and breadsticks (starts at $22.99), and ask for doggie bags, because portions are enormous!

If you’d prefer to order separate meals, try Allison’s Creation pizza ($13.99 for a 12-incher) with feta cheese, artichoke hearts, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata olives. Barbecue lovers won’t be disappointed with the messy goodness of Stonefire’s BBQ Beef Sandwich ($6.99).

Whatever you do, don’t leave without making room for dessert. The Incredible Carrot Cake ($3.29), made fresh from an old family recipe, will keep you coming back for more.

S. Danyelle Knight is a contributing writer to OC Family Magazine.