Brunch Review: True Food Kitchen

May 22, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Richmond Brunch Review

A few weekends ago, after Cherry Blossom Run, my friend and I brunched at True Food Kitchen in Fairfax, VA. Upon entering, the wait staff asked if we wanted a table or “communal.” They added that the wait for a table was 45 minutes, and I don’t love anyone or anything enough to wait for food after running 10 miles. So we sat “communal.”

What this meant was - besides removing our clothes, sharing heroin needles (do you use needles for heroin?), and discussing the blessings of socialism – we sat at a bar where strangers (OMG, strangers) could sit down beside us. But this didn’t happen until the end of our brunch. And then our seat neighbor asked what I had ordered because it looked so good (which it was), and I wanted to ask for her number, but is that awkward? Aren’t we all already married in the commune?

Okay, I’ve taken that joke far enough. I apologize.

Anyhow, eating “communal” is not bad at all, especially when compared to a 45-minute wait for eggs. I endorse you also making this decision.

Why You Should Brunch This Weekend

May 13, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Richmond Brunch Review

Do you really need a reason to brunch? We mean, maybe you need a bit of coffee to get out of bed, but once you're at brunch, do you really have any regrets?

But okay. We'll give you some reasons.

It's spring.

You don't have to do anything. (At least until after brunch.)

Brunch Review: Southern Railway Taphouse

Southern Railway Taphouse

May 12, 2016 by astoldoverbrunch in Guest Post, Richmond Brunch Review

Before I dive into another swooning-brunch-review, I have to give a shoutout to my super-cool-super-great Mom.

My Mom is the baddest (Mom, that means “the best”- proof here at UrbanDictionary.com), and she was happy to let me use her Mother's Day as an opportunity to review another restaurant on the Richmond Brunch Weekend list. Thanks, Mom, you really are the best and I love youuuuu.

So, this past Sunday Mom, Dad, and I hit one of my old favorite nightspots to see what it looks like during daytime, which we've never done...unless you count Shamrock festivities (That's right; Mom, Dad, and I have Shamrocked together...), which I don't really because it's essentially a night party with the sun out.

I don't even know where to begin talking about Southern Railway Taphouse...

Brunch Review: Continental Divide

Continental Divide

May 11, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Life In Your 20's, Richmond Brunch Review

When Continental Divide joined Richmond Brunch Weekend’s lineup, I had yet to be there, though I only live a mile away. I quickly looked up their menu, and besides craving brunch, their dinner menu looked like da bomb. Southwest Caesar salad? Thai chicken burrito? Yes, yes, yes.

So before I even went for brunch, I stopped by for dinner with a friend. Except my friend and I pushed back our meeting time by an hour because of some crazy thunderstorm, but I was starved, so I ate half a jar of peanuts by the time dinner actually arrived. So then I’m at Continental Divide, and the waiter asks what I want to order, and secretly I’m in my first trimester from those peanuts.

I asked for something lighter, even though I really wanted that Southwest Caesar salad, but I was imagining a plate of romaine sapped in heavy dressing, and the peanuts within me curdled. But my friend did get the Caesar salad. When the waiter put it down on the table, I wanted to crawl across the table and hold him back with a butter knife while I devoured it.

Brunch Review: Shockoe Whiskey and Wine

Shockoe Whiskey and Wine

May 10, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Richmond Brunch Review, Life In Your 20's, Cazey's Column

When I first learned that Shockoe Whiskey and Wine was going to be part of Richmond Brunch Weekend, I was super excited because I hadn’t heard of this restaurant that serves brunch, but all the more reason to try it! Well, there was a reason I hadn’t heard of them serving brunch; they weren’t serving brunch. At least they weren’t serving brunch yet.

I had to wait until last month to visit Shockoe Whiskey and Wine for brunch. But boy, the wait was not for nothing. I do not say this lightly when I say Shockoe Whiskey and Wine, with one single meal, leaped into my top three favorite Richmond brunch places (am I allowed to say that? Does that admit bias? Oops?). Keep reading to find out why!

(I probably don’t need to write that last sentence because obviously you’re going to keep reading. I mean, that’s why you’re here.)

My friend and I originally showed up to SW&W (I’m abbreviating now because my fingers are tired and I want to give SW&W a trendy abbrev) on a Saturday, and it didn’t look quite open. Well, it turned out it was open, but there were only serving lunch.

Brunch Review: Tarrant's West

Tarrant's West

May 09, 2016 by astoldoverbrunch in Life In Your 20's, Richmond Brunch Review

Hi there! Leanne here!*

I'm guest-blogging for Sara and Cazey in the name of Cancer Research and the upcoming Richmond Brunch Weekend, which I’m super, super (SUPER) excited about!

Brunch is my thanggg, as I'm one of those people who 100% ascribes to that whole "mimosas made me do it" thing as a kickoff for Sunday Funday (Saturdays too, really). I’m also one of those people who considers most of life’s everyday events to be a grand adventure: “Let’s go on adventure to the grocery store!," “Let’s go on adventure to clean my car!," “Let’s go on an adventure to check my mail!” ...I wonder how many of my friends have wanted to kill me at one point or another?

Today’s brunch-day was no exception and, in fact, ended up being more along the lines of what might more generally be considered adventurous.

Brunch Review: Back to The Camel

The Camel

May 08, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Richmond Brunch Review

Sara brunched at The Camel this past December when The Camel first got involved in Richmond Brunch Weekend, but since then, they’ve updated their brunch menu, which called for another visit. I showed up a few Sundays ago with my old college roommate.

We decided to walk since it was a gorgeous (read: warm and sunny) Sunday afternoon. We went late, i.e. we started walking over at 1:40 PM. I figured it was a mile stroll. Just in case brunch stopped at 2 PM, I told my roommate we had to hustle. Inevitably, we showed up after 2 PM, but brunch was still going, praise be to the tater tots or whoever.

The Camel is also a music venue. This was technically my second time there, but the first time had been to see a high school classmate perform in a show at night. (We actually never stayed for the show because he didn’t perform until 10 PM on a Sunday, and grandpa me had to be up at 5:30 AM Monday. Sorry, we’re not all rockers here.)

Brunch Review: Tarrant’s Café

Tarrant's Cafe

May 07, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Richmond Brunch Review

I have never brunched so much in my life as I have in the last month. In the lead-up to Richmond Brunch Weekend, we have tried brunching at each of the 23 participating restaurant locations, or at least the ones we haven’t been to yet. Which is quite a feat considering how many restaurants that left us, whether we would be in town to brunch (brunching out of town doesn’t count), and finding friends to accompany us. Brunch is a group activity after all. Oh, and also money. Brunch is not cheap, people.

Brunching off of a list also has me being inflexible when it comes to brunching. A friend says we should get brunch, and I give them choice A or B: where would you like to go today?

Last Saturday I presented my friend Alyssa with option A.) Tarrant’s Café or B.) the Betty on Davis. But B.) doesn’t serve brunch on Saturdays (a tragedy that is all too common these days), so that brought us back to Tarrant’s.

Brunch Review: The Savory Grain

The Savory Grain

May 06, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Richmond Brunch Review

Two Saturdays ago, my friend and I set out to brunch at a certain place only to find Google was totally wrong and they only serve brunch on Sundays. Uh. That seemed very day-ist to us.

Thankfully, the next stop on our bucket list of restaurants to “conquer” for Richmond Brunch Weekend was The Savory Grain, and they brunch both days of the weekend as everyone should. My friend and I even called to double check this fact.

I wanted to sit outside when we arrived, but my friend pointed at the sky. Sure enough, as soon as we were seated, we looked outside to see horizontal rain. It doesn’t sideways rain often, and it would have been unfortunate if we had been sipping mimosas in that.

Brunch Review: Cary Street Café

Cary Street Cafe

May 01, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column, Richmond Brunch Review

For the last month, Sara and I have had to up our brunch game. Richmond Brunch Weekend is fast approaching, and we’re trying to dine and review at all participating locations – or at the least ones we haven’t been to before.

On a recent Saturday, we decided to hit up Cary St. Café. I’m surprised we’ve never been here before since it’s so close to our current residence, but it’s like the time I tried going to the Rodin exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The VMFA might be 100 yards from my front door, but I never made it to that exhibit.

I went running before our brunch, because I’m toying with the idea of running the Richmond marathon in November, but thought I’d be done in time for brunch. Which I was done in time, but Sara had to meet someone at 1 PM, so I didn’t have time to shower before brunch. I literally ran into our apartment, yelled, “I’m ready!” while I chugged water, and then followed Sara out the door. I insisted we sit outside at Cary St. so that my smell was not restricted to enclosed quarters.