It's a family affair.
The first Stonefire Grill was established in the city of Valencia in the year 2000, by the Harrigan family. Since then, they opened nine restaurants located throughout Southern California and counting. The family's goal is to share their recipes and values by creating a family friendly ambiance through a fast-casual dinning experience. The menu items are family recipes, made from scratch, and served family-style.
The menu is dotted with vegetarian and gluten free options, as well as, priced by serving size: personal, small, medium or large. They also offer take-out and catering services.
There are at least 18 salads to choose from. I really appreciate the abundance of fresh options done in various ways. All the salads seemed appealing, yet I only had three. I didn't want to over do it.
The three salads I tasted paired great with their freshly baked bread sticks. The first salad was the Caesar--made traditionally with romaine lettuce, croutons, parm, and tossed in a creamy Caesar dressing.
Then came the delicious Stonefire BBQ Chopped Salad. This signature salad can be ordered with quinoa, chicken breast, or tri tip. I had mesquite BBQ chicken with mixed greens, black beans,roasted corn, carrot, red cabbage, cilantro, jack cheese, crunchy tortilla strips, tomato, scallions and tossed in Buttermilk Ranch dressing. I could have stopped here because this salad could pass as a legit meal, but the tasting must go on.
The Golden State Kale Salad was actually my favorite... and my mother's too. It consists of chopped kale, red cabbage, cucumber, sweet golden raisins, crunchy roasted garbanzos, sliced avocado and tossed in a tangy Lemon Tahini dressing.
It appeared like the ugly duckling, rather than the swan of salads, yet it had crunch for days and the flavor was on-point. When you can make a healthy/vegetarian dish this satisfying--we have a winning situation.
Stonefire's Favorite Pizza and mine, as well. A bright homemade pesto sauce is layered at the base of the chewy dough. The pizza toppings include: avocado slices, red onion, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, and fresh basil. It was then when that I realized that baked avocado was just as good as the fresh. No crumb was left behind.
A bowl of all-America comfort food in this creamy Macaroni & Cheese is made in traditional style and offered as a side dish.
From the grill, we had Mesquite BBQ Trip Tip. The tender beef was finished over a live mesquite fire, then sliced and served on a platter. It was convenient that the meat came pre-sliced and ready to go. I could see charred marks on the meat and smoky flavors really came through.
For a side dish we had the Signature Whole Roasted Cauliflower. The large floret was coated with Lemon Tahini and topped with fresh parsley. The edges where charred which added to the presentation and to the flavor. If more veggies tasted like this, kids might not hesitate to eat them.
Boneless Chicken Breast can be prepared twofold--mesquite BBQ or as seen here,with lemon, garlic, and parsley. The chicken is sliced and served on a platter with juices running from the meat. Oh my... I'm delighted to be caught up in this juicy situation.
10680 E Foothill Blvd
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
909.243.7440