I Don't Want to Be Hungover Ever Again: A DrinkAde Review

December 07, 2018 by Sara Woznicki in Cazey's Column, life lessons, Sara's Column

Ever since I turned 25, I get really bad hangovers. Not like the ones in college, where I’d just lay around for an hour and then recover. I’m talking full-day, heartburn, headache, light sensitivity and desperately needing a nap.

Cazey likes to tell me that he doesn’t get hangovers, which is especially obnoxious when I’m lying around helplessly hungover.

What’s most annoying is that my hangovers are unexpected. Once I drank four beers over the course of five hours and woke up with a splitting headache. A few weeks later, I drank at least four tequila drinks before switching to a beer or two and woke up ready for the day.

Grab a Pick-Me-Up with Rob Keller MD's Glutathione Rapid Boost

December 13, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column

If you’ve noticed, I’ve taken to reviewing sports products (WIN Detergent, Fuel100 Electro-Bites, and c2 running gear), and today is no exception. I got to try Rob Keller MD’s Glutathione Rapid Boost, otherwise called GRB, which is what I’ll call it because I’m not sure how to pronounce “glutathione.” I should probably learn how to, because it seems like it might be on the up-and-coming, just like quinoa, pomegranate seeds, and other “super foods” featured in listicles I find on Twitter. What most excited me about GRB is, this sports energy drink is caffeine-free. I’m always looking for a boost without caffeine, as my last blog post hints.

GRB comes in a box of 15 “pixie sticks,” which you break open and add to 8 to 12 oz. water and enjoy. (I did more water than that because I am not good at measuring and thought it tasted fine. Go big, or go GRB!) The only flavor currently offered is “Citrus-Berry,” which is more accurately “Sweet Tart.”

WIN Detergent: Let’s Practice Safe Washing!

July 27, 2016 by Cazey Williams in Cazey's Column

By now, readers should know I’m a sweater. No matter what I do, no matter how slow I walk or the least amount of clothes I wear, I find my glands firing away at the most inopportune times. This is why I jumped at a chance to review WIN Detergent. WIN Detergent is a (wait for it) detergent that specializes in removing odors and oils from synthetic workout gear.

I used to simply wash all my clothes together. Sure, my mom taught me about separating colors, and new red clothes should never ever be washed with whites, but then you live in a college dorm, only have so much spare change, and definitely don’t have time for multiple loads.

Then a few months ago, my mom gave me a specialized detergent meant for workout clothes. Apparently, regular detergent doesn’t cut it for removing odors from clothes, especially the ones you work out in.

Brunch Review: City Diner

April 05, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column

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.

Brunch Review: Banditos

February 15, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Uncategorized

Brunch at Banditos = Better than Expected

Real talk: When I first think of Banditos, I think of a smoking bar with ridiculously cheap drinks and dollar tacos during happy hours. And a lot of company I would not usually keep.

But brunch at Banditos is super legit! They have a bunch of TV's for the sports lovers. Banditos has a big enough space to bring a crowd of friends. They have cheap drinks. And it's one of the only places I know of that serve chips and salsa as a brunch appetizer.

On the downside, if you do happen to take a large crowd, it does really cramp service time. However, if you're rolling that deep, that's probably an expected outcome anywhere. And the chips did help to fill the void.

UPDATED Brunch Review: Social 52

February 01, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara, Uncategorized

You may remember from my brunch reviews of On the Rox and Pearl that I seem to really enjoy hearty meat meals for brunch (which is definitely accurate). So it’s no shocker that I ordered the hearty brisket bowl when I went to Social 52. It fell way short of my expectations.

I had a really hard time deciding what I was going to order at Social 52, and usually that’s because there are several dishes that I’d really like to try. This was just the opposite, as there was nothing on the menu that I really was dying to eat. It’s a pretty limited menu, with no obvious shining stars.

So I went with their brisket bowl because my roommate once got the brisket sandwich for dinner at Social, and it was hot and spicy. Almost too hot and spicy, which is a problem I usually enjoy. The brunch bowl is a total letdown, especially in comparison to the sandwich brethren I was mentally comparing it to. It was a big, unflavorful bowl of baby vomit grits and meat. I should also throw them a bone and share that I don’t usually love grits, so me not liking the grits that much isn’t surprising. The lackluster meat though, is really surprising. It hardly tasted like anything at all. Also, just a non-cherry on top, the menu online says you get a biscuit with this meal, and I certainly did not get a biscuit with this meal. I did not bring it up at the time, because there was no need for more subpar food at the table. I’m not blaming anyone in the case of the missing biscuit, our waitress was a waitress and did her job as you’d hope she would. It just didn’t exist on my plate ever.

Brunch Review: On the Rox

January 11, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Social Media, Tweets and Mascara

This week's brunch review features a very special lady and her opinions: my mother. When my family came to visit me in Richmond, I brought them to On the Rox.

On the Rox is one of the least busy places you can probably go to for brunch in Richmond, and I never really understand why. Sure, their service is not the fastest, and sure, if you actually show up at 10am (like they advertise they are open at), you'll make it there before their wait staff, but their food is absolutely wonderful.

And they give you an entire bottle of champagne in the mimosa pitcher. AND they have those fancy windows that they swing all the way open on nice days. But most importantly, they have a great brunch menu!

Brunch Review: Pearl Raw Bar

January 04, 2015 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Life In Your 20's, life lessons, Richmond Brunch Review, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

In lieu of our new blog name, I thought it'd be fitting to actually do some brunch-themed posts. On top of that, I've ALWAYS wanted to be a food blogger, so basically there's no way I couldn't now do brunch reviews from around Richmond. So look forward to that happening every Sunday!

Here goes nothing. Up first, we've got Pearl Raw Bar.

A bit about my relationship with Pearl: I've been there three times. The first, with my roommates. We were all hungover as hell, and the waitress treated us as such. The second time I went with my sister and a roommate. 2 out of 3 of us were not hungover, and it was my favorite Pearl experience yet. The third time I went with a group of friends and the service was on par, but not memorable.

My First Food Review & It's Fall Themed

September 27, 2014 by Sara Woznicki in Leisure, Sara's Column, Tweets and Mascara

I've always wanted to be a food blogger because it combines my two favorite things: food and writing. I even went so far as to sign up as a food blogger from some offer on Craigslist. Shocker that one didn't work out. But I'm not taking no for an answer, so here's my first food review. In celebration of the first week of fall, it's pumpkin flavored.

I'm reviewing Dairy Queen's Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.

What you get in stores looks nothing like that.

So if I were to give this pumpkin blizzard a rating, it would be a one out of five stars. And here are all the reasons why:

The pumpkin pie is composed of two elements: the pumpkin pie filling and the crust. I know this because that's what a real pumpkin pie consists of. But here's what it tasted like in blizzard form:
- The crust tasted like, shaped like, looked like, and probably were oyster crackers.
- And the pumpkin pie filling tasted like (if I had to guess), looked like, and had the exact same consistency of pumpkin baby food.
So pause while you picture those two elements, wrapped up in some melty vanilla ice cream.
Then, add in the excessively sour taste of the baby food, coupled with the stale cracker crust, and it's just a depressing combination of food.
The worst part of the whole experience was that this isn't even what I wanted. They had run out of cookie dough. And they ran out of chocolate ice cream the previous time.
So clearly it's not meant to be, but let's get back to the most depressing thing about this whole bit:
I have been trying pumpkin everything lately, except for the fact that everywhere runs out of it. I went to Dunkin Donuts and they ran out of pumpkin flavoring for coffee. Then I went to Starbucks and they ran out of pumpkin scones. So by the time I make it to Dairy Queen and they actually have pumpkin flavored foods, and it's terrible.

But let's be honest, this set-back won't stop me on the quest for pumpkin flavored everything this autumn.