Below, my sister (Sad Robots) begins her guest blogging series entitled Lunch Downtown with her favorite lunch place, The Embassy.

Maybe you have jury duty. Or maybe you have to go to some lame corporate meeting. Or maybe you just have the genuine misfortune of having to work in Downtown Dayton. Either way, you’ll need some good lunch suggestions so you don’t end up at Uno’s.

I should explain that there are a ton of places to have lunch downtown, but I’m only going to recommend a few of them because I have stupidly high standards for eateries I would consider my favorites. For example, one requirement is that they have to know my name and greet me when I walk in. See, lunchtime competition is so fierce, that this is what you should expect from the service at these places. It’s the only way they can stay in business. The other qualifications are, of course, amazing food, good prices, and being able to get me in and out of there in a decent amount of time, so I’ll be commenting on the success of those three aspects of each place I review. I have several honorable mentions that do not meet all of these qualifications, but may meet some of them, and are definitely worth a try.

The Embassy

Note: The official name is “Moraine Embassy” even though it’s not in Moraine and no one calls it that. It’s usually just shortened to “Embassy” at my work.

The first lunch place I was introduced to when I got my job was The Embassy. I like to describe it as a fancy Waffle House with better food. So not Waffle House at all, really. It’s kind of a hole-in-the-wall place with a mix of nice and not-nice decor, with CRT televisions in the corners that always play the Weather Channel. There’s a full bar, too, even though it’s mostly a lunch place.

Food

I only go to The Embassy on Mondays and/or Fridays. Mondays are omelet day and Fridays are macaroni and cheese day. My usual routine is walking the block and a half from work to The Embassy on Friday, sit at the bar, order whatever the special is with macaroni and cheese, and watch the Weather Channel while listening to 90s alternative on my iPhone. It’s always very peaceful. My recommendation, of course, is to order the special. It is indeed always very special, kind of like Sunday dinner at your grandma’s house. The Embassy’s specialty is homestyle cooking of the Midwest, with a little bit of Hungarian food thrown in there for kicks (the restaurant is owned by Hungarians). If you’re not into whatever the special is, the sandwiches and salads that they have every day are good too. The best part is that if something on their menu doesn’t go over well, the servers will be the first to tell you that you probably shouldn’t order it. It is impossible to get a bad meal there (although I’ve never enjoyed their desserts, but that’s okay because usually the food is too filling to order dessert anyway).

Price

If you get the special, expect to spend around $10 for the whole meal including tip. If you get a sandwich or salad, it’ll probably be around $8.

Service

The flow of this restaurant is different from other sit-down places. Their priority is speed because everyone comes in on their lunch between meetings and calls and whatever else they have going on. The second (quite literally) you sit down, someone is at your table getting you water and asking what you want to order (because you either always get the same thing or you always get the special. You usually only have to go there a few times to get your order down). Don’t worry, they’re not trying to rush you, they’re trying to make sure that they are serving you on your schedule. They give you your bill with your food, which is always out in about five minutes. Generally, you can go there for a sit-down, homecooked meal and be back to work in a half hour.

In closing, The Embassy is the first place I recommend to everyone who has to eat lunch downtown. Most people haven’t heard of it. There’s no website where you can look at the menu (which is a piece of paper they make copies of every day and highlight), no Facebook page to like or Twitter to follow. The servers are all older than 50 and so are the owners. When you get back to work, you still smell like somebody’s grandma’s house (in a good way) and are just the perfect amount of full. It’s close to everything but hard to notice unless you’re looking for it, so try it out and enjoy your lunch!

Moraine Embassy
25 South Ludlow Street
Dayton, OH  45402