Firehouse Broiler

Jackie Dean and her vintage fire engine welcome diners to their establishment on Main Street, where generous portions are status quo and no one goes away hungry! The beef and chicken dishes are grilled to perfection and the broiled hamburgers are big and juicy. For lunch try the delicious “Big Old Cheeseburger” for $6.95, which includes a choice of fries, salad, beans or coleslaw.

The Firehouse Salad is a delicious choice for lunch or dinner ($7.95/lunch, $8.95/dinner) and is served on a bed of lettuce generously garnished with barbequed chicken, croutons, sweet red onions, diced tomatoes, carrots and a large beer-battered onion ring. Many ‘chicken’ salads are more lettuce than chicken, but this is just the opposite. The homemade ranch dressing brings the salad and chicken together with an extra zing! The Firehouse Broiler not only makes their own ranch dressing but their tangy barbeque sauce and salsa as well.

The restaurant actually housed a fire station at one point. The metal building was formerly a welding shop owned by Bill Thurber, and in 1947 Fallbrook’s Bucket Brigade was up-graded with more advanced equipment and they took over the welding shop. However, the firehouse bays were small and the engines had to be parked against the wall.

The owner has done a great job in preserving the old firehouse atmosphere. Firefighter memorabilia hangs on the corrugated aluminum walls. Boots, helmets and old photos of fire engines decorate the rooms. A bright red fire alarm box hangs on the wall. Although the majority of the decorations are firehouse-related, patrons will also find a propeller to a single-engine airplane bolted to one wall and a line of Western saddles that are used as stools. Young diners (and adventurous older ones) can don a cowboy hat and sit on one of the saddles or make themselves comfortable on a wide metal tractor seat.

The Firehouse Broiler is a fun place to take a look at Fallbrook’s firefighting past and also be served a hearty meal. They even have nightly specials and a “To Go” menu. The food is vigorous — the kind of food that would satisfy a powerful firefighter or even a hungry little cowboy.

You can’t miss the Firehouse Broiler, located at 1019 South Main Avenue — the vintage engine outside looks like it is ready for action. Please call (760) 728-8088 for hours and “To Go” menu items.