Asking a girl out via email: legit or not

[Ibrahim]

Man I never thought I'd be making one of these kinds of threads.

So I want to ask this girl out to lunch as a first date, but I don't have her cell phone number. She's an intern at the place where I'm the web admin, and so I'm very rarely actually on site (and I don't have an excuse to go visit). When I have been there I think we hit it off but I'm a big dumb idiot so I didn't ask her out then and there. I do have her work email address, but I really don't know how appropriate/inappropriate it would be to ask her to lunch through that. It seems really impersonal and weird but I can't think of another solution besides like asking her (and my) boss for her cell phone number, which seems equally questionable. Any advice?

don't be a coward. period. I say this because, even if she says no, at least she can't fault you for being one; one person (well, the only person), while she said no, did at least give me credit for not being a chicken.

as everyone else says, ask her her number, not for a date. then ask her in person.