Dayton restaurants

Now that I’m officially a grad student, I’m trying to be cooler and more interesting to the general public. One step on my trek to coolness is to dine at locations besides the Chipotle on Brown.

So when two of my best friends, Maggie and Allie, came for a visit this weekend, I asked them if we could go somewhere new and chic. The Oregon District of course has a lot to offer – and we soon decided the new Lucky’s Taproom & Eatery, 520 E. Fifth St., was our best bet.

Lucky’s is open from 11 to 2:30 a.m. Monday through Sunday. The owner, Andrew Trick, opened the store on March 11, of this year.

“This was his life dream to have this bar,” Teresa Jetton, Trick’s niece who also works at Lucky’s, told me.

Jetton said her uncle planned to open Lucky’s with his father, who recently passed away. Trick continued to work toward his dream of owning a restaurant and bar, and Jetton said it has been a big success since its opening earlier this year.

The trip to Trick’s new hotspot started out a litttttle rough for me. I decided to lounge for a while in my apartment before feasting, and soon woke up to Mags and Allie beckoning me out the door. I was definitely a zombie for the first hour of our night, but woke up just in time to enjoy a delish chicken salad sandwich and fries with a side of honey mustard — always a staple of any meal I eat.

Lucky’s, in my opinion as a food aficionado since age 1, was excellent. The menu is full of appetizers, soups and salads, and sandwiches at affordable prices, especially for a student like myself on a budget. My chicken salad sandwich complete with lettuce, tomato and mayo came to a grand total of just $5.50. Not only that, but Lucky’s also offers vegan/gluten free bread for just $1 more on all sandwiches. Allie, a vegetarian who used to be a vegan herself, was immediately impressed. The healthy options don’t stop there, either. Want a burger? Choose between beef, turkey, soy, gluten free vegan or fish meat to top your bun. Is the grilled ham and cheese sandwich not for you? Go veggie for just 50 cents more.

At Lucky’s, I feel like I couldn’t have made a bad menu decision. The $6.50 quesadilla with Anaheim/poblano and bell peppers, onions, cheddar/jack cheese, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa, for example, was hard to pass up. I could have even made it vegan with cheddar-style vegan cheese for just $1.50 more. The cordon blue sandwich also was a close second for me. The sandwich comes with grilled chicken and ham, swiss cheese, dijon mustard, mayo, lettuce and tomato. Onions, pickles and sauteed mushrooms are available upon request. Even the simple spinach salad — with bleu cheese, chicken, bacon, candied walnuts, craisins, sliced pears and raspberry vinaigrette — was enticing. Decisions, decisions!

If these tasty selections sound right for you, be sure to stop in soon — All through June, the restaurant and bar’s Facebook friends will be treated to 10 percent off lunch, Monday through Friday.

One of the top highlights – besides the diversity of food options – was the beer selection. The phrase, “Try a new one, samples are on us,” at the bottom of the beer menu immediately caught our attention. As a recent college graduate, anything besides Natty Light is like gold to me, so watching Allie try out three different baby samples (in adorably small glasses) was super exciting. Allie chose the Maharaja – despite my pleas for her to get Le Freak just for the name –and thoroughly enjoyed it as a complement to her beer battered fish and chips. Maharaja – a product of the Colorado-based Avery Brewing Co. – is an orange, sweet, seasonal beer with a hint of fresh citrus that we all just had to try.

Lucky’s draft list changes, but other options this past weekend included: Dragon’s Milk (New Holland Brewing Co.) for $6; Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (Lexington Brewing Co.) for $5; and Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (Great Divide Brewing Co.) for $6. This listing alone was enough to get me in the door!

Highlight number three: the service. I have a strong, long-held conviction that everyone who works in the Oregon District is super artsy and musically-talented, and this one proved me right. I finally got up the courage to ask the hip waiter about his rocker tattoos, and he revealed that serving us french fries wasn’t in fact his primary passion. By night, he’s in a band. He explained the meaning of the tattoos that laced his arms, admitting he would show us the rest but wasn’t allowed to remove his shirt at our table.

All smiles after our tasty meals! (Photo taken by our musically-inclined, tattooed waiter.)

Regardless, my first excursion was full of success.

Bon appetit!