Brunch Review: Bay Local

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Here goes nothing: yet another non-Richmond brunch review. I promise I'll be getting back into Richmond restaurants soon. We're keeping it semi-local at least this time with a review from Virginia Beach. When we went to this place, I was already amped. Mainly because I was in Virginia Beach, but I was convinced it was going to be a good brunch. We waited about a half an hour for it, and after eating it, I am wholly convinced I would have waited even longer if needed. It was that good.

Now would probably be a good time to tell you what it was called, which is Bay Local. The atmosphere was awesome, with a very elegant beach theme. If I could decorate my kitchen like it, I would. Our waitress was also phenomenal. I went to Bay Local months ago at this point, and I still vividly remember how awesome she was. So check plus for both of those categories.

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Brunch Review: Richard Walker's Pancake House

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Week two of my San Diego brunch reviews! If you missed last week, I was at Queenstown Public House for one meal. For my other brunch, I went to Richard Walker's Pancake House. My grandparents used to live in San Diego, and my mom recommended Richard Walker's to me. She even gave the the inside scoop: go Friday because it'll be too busy Saturday. Good thing I actually listened to her this one time, because I went around 9:45am on Friday, and it was still busy.

They are so busy in fact that it's totally normal to queue up a line outside, hand out menus and have people wait their turn to dine. Why? Because Richard Walker's is delicious and totally worth it.

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Brunch Review: Queenstown Public House

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Last week when I was alone in San Diego, I had set myself some goals. One of which was to brunch. I was so committed to that goal, I did it twice. I approached the situation with some trepidation, because one facet of brunch, which seems essential to the enjoyment of it all is the camaraderie. When I was, "Sara, party of one," I was definitely missing some (or all) of the socialization of brunch, but the food was on point both brunches.

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Brunch Review: Pepper Pot

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My love for brunch is universally known across all my friends and family. So much so that my parents knew they needed to bring me to brunch when I was at home in Connecticut. The only problem there is that some places are better at brunching than others are, and Connecticut falls into the latter category. However, my parents discovered a great brunch location, and decided to take me there. Yes, this is a travel-inspired brunch blog post, because all my current traveling is making me more opening minded about promoting places outside of Richmond. Here's to you, new perspective.

The last two times I was at home, my parents brought me to Pepper Pot, a quaint brunch eatery in Southington, Connecticut. If you had to imagine a place where old Connecticutians dine, this would be your place.

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Brunch Review: City Diner

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We used to live two blocks away from City Diner, which means we'd go anytime we were in a hurry, hungover or lazy. The restaurant itself is rather small, so if you go with a crew, be ready to divide and conquer. They get you in and out quickly, and you can tell you're surrounded by a lot of regulars. Bonus points, because they do have a very small alleyway, which is surprisingly nice to sit in during the summer months.

I've been to City Diner a multitude of times, and I've had generally positive experiences. Keep in mind you're at a diner, and you'll definitely be satisfied. My favorite meals are their omelets because they're cheap, delicious and come with a ton of sides. If you're looking for economical, the omelet is definitely where you want to look. My favorite is meat lovers, because meat, duh.

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Brunch Review: Gus'

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My favorite buffalo chicken sandwich in Richmond comes from Gus'. And they have cheap beer, a ton of TV's and is half a block away from our house, so it was the most idyllic place to go to watch the World Cup final, or to just grab a quick, reasonably priced meal on a weeknight.

Gus', however, is not the place for brunch.

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Brunch Review: Urban Farmhouse

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If there is one brunch review that's been a long time coming, it's the review for Urban Farmhouse Market and Cafe. Why, you might ask? Because that iconic (can I say anything about our own blog is iconic? Probably not, but anyways) image in the header of our entire blog is from Urban Farmhouse (see below -- well and above).

We should probably begin this review with the reason we selected Urban Farmhouse for our blog launch (and subsequent blog image). Cazey frequents Urban Farmhouse often due to its proximity to other locations he goes, so he suggested it because it's well-lit and there are couches and outlets, which makes it a good place to post up for a while and work. The trip for our blog re-launch was my first time, and I was definitely impressed. It really was a wonderful place to hang out for a while, as they had a free water stand with lemon (love that I don't have to ask anyone for refills) and there were a ton of windows, making it a really picturesque area to sit. The space itself was comfortable, airy and ideal for sipping on some tea and working

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Brunch Review: Godfreys Drag Brunch

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This is going to be a tough brunch review to write, because when you go to Godfreys' for brunch, you almost forget that you're there for a meal. Sure, they serve food (and sometimes serve it directly to you, as you can see on the right), and you 100% have to buy food, but it was just food. So instead of writing a review where I document exactly what I ate and show how delicious it was through close-up Instagram-worthy images of my meal, this review is going to be a little bit different. Here's what you need to know about Drag Queen brunch at Godfreys.

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Brunch Review: Helen's

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I've been to Helen's three times in my life: New Year's Eve 2014, New Year's Eve 2015 and the weekend after New Year's Eve. The two New Year's Eves were totally alright, but the brunch was really alright. Pretty awesome, in fact. But it didn't start out that way.

We rolled with a total of 7 of us, which I get is a number. I walked in first to see if they could accommodate, and the lady replies with, "We don't usual take that big of a party," to which I replied, "You can totally split us up and that's fine." And not in a way that indicated it wouldn't actually be fine, because it would have been 100% fine. They also were not crowded.

She goes to check with the chef to see if they are allowed to seat 7 whole people at one table. I turn around and give my crew the half-shrug indicating we may or may not make the cut.

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Brunch Review: Duck Donuts

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Apparently Duck Donuts are a big deal in another state, so they built it into a chain. One of these new shops is right here in Willow Lawn of Richmond, Virginia. Naturally, we had to go while I was still eating unhealthy things a few weeks ago.

When you walk into the store, the sweet, sweet scent of donut hits you automatically. It's like a giant, aromatic hug of donut. And they have free samples. However, the menu is confusing, with you being able to make your own donut, but then there's also specials. The specials are labeled like, "Monday's Special: Reeses Cup," so you'd think you can only get it on Monday, but you can actually get it any day you'd like.

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