786 Northwoods Blvd. Vandalia, OH 45377 937.264.0100 website
It’s a shame to see that World Cafe has closed. There are a lot of sandwich shops in Dayton, but very few of them operated as World Cafe did. Opened in 2010, this small Vandalia operation made lunch in many creative ways, specially-arranged for convenience. It can be easy to get bored with the same sandwich shop classics. Fortunately World Cafe turned the idea on its head. You could try this menu time and again and never get tired of it.
The cuisine of the Americas includes a Hawaiian barbecue chicken sandwich, a veggie wrap evoking San Francisco’s progressive culinary dining scene, Brazilian steak and the “Texas two-step,” roast beef topped with Munster cheese, salsa, and chipotle mayo. My personal favorite was off the Asia menu, the “Thai Steak Wrap,” which is an ingenious combination of grilled steak, green chilis and green peppers with a Thai-style mayo. The result is a very tasty, slightly spicy wrap with the distinct Asian spices but the same ingredients you’d find in any other wrap. There’s also a mandarin orange and chicken wrap, a curry chicken-salad sandwich and a lamb and beef gyro on Pita bread. Second best was definitely the Brazilian steak; it had a nice mayo to go with the seared steak and toasted bread, very tasty.
Also great was “The Bavarian,” from the European menu, a pretzel roll topped with ham, Swiss, whole grain mustard and lettuce and cucumber. The sandwich features the traditional hardiness of Swiss cuisine, but the secret really lies with the vegetables; that crunch of cucumber is like a breath of fresh, crisp air, like climbing to the top of a mountain and taking in the view for the first time. It blows my mind.Dining in international cuisine can sometimes mean dealing with ingredients one may find uncomfortable, but that’s not the case here; the menu items rely on familiar meats and vegetables, so even your squeamish friends can enjoy a meal without stepping out of their comfort zone. What’s better, the café represents each of the cuisines spectacularly. I tried the chips and salsa too, but they don’t make these in-house so I won’t review them either way.
The interior is accentuated with skylines of landmarks worldwide, and the clocks adorning the walls give a great sense of the global emphasis; truly it’s a great concept. There’s so much to like about this place, and what it accomplishes for a minimal cost, especially for lunch and with a friend or two. World Cafe is the kind of small place that you’d never notice unless you heard about it from a friend or a newspaper, but I’m happy to see it has come so far on word of mouth alone. I really like this place.
Recommendations
- The sandwiches come in a “two-thirds” option if you have a smaller appetite.
- There are a ton of great options for sandwiches and wraps, so I’d consider this place great for healthy eating.
- The atmosphere is great, well-suited for groups.
Another Food Critic 