Restaurants in Stafford

Trios Downunder's fresh wraps successfully pile on the best parts of the food pyramid in one holdable package. Choose from four tasty, fiberful flatbreads for the Laffe-wrap base (white flaxseed, wholemeal, thin, or thick), and select from a menu including classic, grilled, breakfast, and panini-style options. With neatly folded falafel patties, cucumber, and hummus, the vegetarian falafel wrap ($5.99) is a smart choice for herbivores. Meat eaters can try the ragin' Cajun chicken wrap with seasoned rice, hot chicken, sautéed red onions and bell peppers, and aioli dressing; or the chicken schnitzel wrap loaded with cheddar, coleslaw and sweet chili sauce ($6.49 for each). Trios also serves salads, such as the walnut chicken ($7.49) and the Mediterranean feta ($5.99), and decorated spuds like the barbecue brisket ($6.99) and the spicy Mexicana ($5.49). You can complement your wrap with potato wedges or a fruit cup for $2.29.

Before dinner, peruse tempting antipasti options like the goat-cheese flan with roasted beets and watercress salad resting in a refreshing reservoir of balsamic syrup ($14), or the hickory-smoked quails nestled between warm asparagus under the pour of fig-grape-must dressing ($16). The bold spaghetti and sea bass, dressed in garlic oil, gray-mullet roe, and arugula ($16), harnesses the power of spoon, fork, and slurp, while pasta purses stuffed with steamy lobster and heightened by a spicy vodka sauce can be scooped up with ease ($20). Heartier plates include buffalo-tenderloin medallions amidst a vincotto and onion medley ($40), or roasted duck breast accompanied by butternut squash in a fig demi ($37). Like the temperament of an unlicensed clown, menu pricing and availability may change without notice.

Both Crapitto's lunch and dinner menus were constructed from Old World Crapitto family recipes for the best Italian fish, meat, antipasti, and propastas. Appetizers include jumbo lump crab cakes drizzled with lemon wine sauce ($15) and sautéed shrimp Nellie coated in a garlic cream sauce ($12). The eatery's signature dish, a succulent 16-ounce grilled veal chop, comes with parmesan-dusted asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes, and is topped with Roquefort butter ($34). Other favorites include the grilled snapper Red Griffin served with artichoke hearts and capers in a lemon-white-wine sauce alongside linguine marinara ($27), chicken grilled in a rosemary-Dijon cream sauce ($17), and the caliente Pasta Diablo, with grilled chicken, linguine, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños ($18). Seal in flavors with one of Crapitto's signature desserts, or a goblet or carafe from its extensive wine menu.

As a working mother, Stephanie Allen was constantly racing against the clock. One timesaving endeavor she quickly mastered was preparing meals ahead of time from raw, fresh ingredients and popping them in the freezer for a later date. Stephanie eventually amassed a book of recipes and began sharing her culinary secrets with friends. With the help of Tina Kuna's business savvy, Stephanie's personal practice burgeoned into a nationwide phenomenon known as Dream Dinners.

Today at shops across the country, busy matriarchs and patriarchs shuffle around meal stations, each stocked with recipe cards, ingredients, and scratch-and-sniff tinfoil to construct meals that serve three or six. They tick off recipe components as they add the proper amount to meal containers, ferrying the uncooked dishes home and tucking them into freezers. Then, throughout the week, they simply thaw, heat, and serve these dinners to eagerly waiting eaters.

Though Dream Dinners does not cater to specific diets, the company does offer nutritious meals with antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken. Customers can survey all nutritional information before selecting dishes.

Frank's Chop House has menus full of soulful offerings at both lunch and dinner, allowing the taste buds to nestle into flavors as familiar and enveloping as a well-worn beanbag chair. Do Frank proud with a lunchtime pork chop and potato, green beans, and a tomato salad ($15.95), or have the local favorite, a chicken-fried steak ($15.95). To start a dinner right, have a jumbo lump crab cake ($12) or ahi-tuna tartare ($15). Then dive into some home cookin' with fare such as the Chop House burger and fries ($12) or a fried gulf-shrimp and oyster platter ($24). Comfort food isn't complete without a side of green beans or mac ’n’ cheese ($7 each).