Brunch Review: Southern Railway Taphouse
Leanne, again!*
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...
Maybe I should start with where Taphouse and I begin? That could actually be summed up in a short list including, but not limited to: tequila, '90s-style dancing, and hugging people. I'm still doing a lot of hugging people and a small, but still embarrassing amount of the '90s dancing...but absolutely positively no more tequila...unless it's in a margarita...or chilled with a lime...
I digress.
Southern Railway, or "the Taphouse" as some call it, has been my "home base" bar since they opened in 2013 - mostly due to the fact that I obsessively love their "people": the owners, the bartenders, the waitresses... Not just because they serve up my alcohol (and food once or twice), but because I've known a lot of them for 10+ years and they make my heart all tickley-happy. (Haha, thank you!) I wouldn't doubt that they give all of their patrons the same feeling, though; they’re sweet, wonderful, smiley, great people.
Back on track… Mom, Dad, and I found a spot overlooking the canal on what’s definitely one of the best patios in town and made the Massey Mimosa order (P.S. They have $7 pitchers of mimosas… That’s dangerous, y’all). Remember to ask for a Massey Mimosa this weekend so you can drink for a cause. A portion of proceeds benefits VCU Massey Cancer Center.
Dad actually got a Bloody Mary, which I usually don’t care much for, but having snuck a sip of his, I may start ordering some after Richmond Brunch Weekend!
It’s my understanding that Southern Railway is working on a regular brunch menu that they’ll reveal soon and offer every weekend, but for now they've been doing Sunday specials to ramp up for their soon-to-be permanent brunch menu. And their Sunday special this Sunday is Richmond Brunch Weekend. Their special brunch menu for this weekend features French toast egg rolls, red velvet pancakes, a brunch burger (!!), or a smoked salmon plate - all for $10 with $2 being returned to Massey. (Keep an eye on their Facebook page for when their permanent brunch menu is unveiled!)
My parents and I sipped mimosas (…and my dad's Bloody Mary) and caught up with each other while we watched the day unfold in Richmond (runners, bikers, kids, dogs, and canal-cruises all on the move, unlike us) before we got down to business. When we started going through the menu, the pork belly breakfast sandwich looked kind of amazing, but because it was a nice day and my parents and I were talking about the beach, I made myself compromise and ordered the regular breakfast sandwich.
Mom had her eye on a Maryland Crab Flatbread that wasn’t on the brunch menu, and being that it was Mother's Day, I couldn’t really insist she order something that I could take a picture of for this post. As an aside though, holy smokes, that thing was amazing… save it for after the Brunch Weekend, but keep it in mind! Dad rebelled too and didn't order typical brunch fare. What can you do; I still love ‘em.
Even though I only have a picture of one brunch item, we all went home happy and full and it’s safe to say that whatever you order at Taphouse this coming weekend, it’s all going to be awesome. (Think of the Red Velvet Pancakes....) PLUS – it’s supposed to be a beautiful weekend, and one could easily sit on that patio all day finding a Sunday-Funday-reason to use that “Mimosas made me do it” motto I mentioned before.
I’ll be curious to see what comes of that, so let me know what fun adventures you find! Cheers to Richmond Brunch Weekend! I hope you enjoy it, and I’ll see ya out there!
If you're interested in brunching at Southern Railway Taphouse this weekend, then mark Richmond Brunch Weekend on your calendar for this Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15!
*Leanne's friends and family describe her as overly affectionate, hopelessly optimistic, a little naive, annoyingly happy, easily entertained, dangerously clumsy, and apparently "way too" nice. She spends her days working a career in marketing and advertising; her evenings happy-hour-ing, volunteering, and convincing strangers to be her friend; her weekends either pretending to be a grownup or to be 22 again; and her Sundays in church and with family. You can find her on Instagram as @LeanneTF. She previously reviewed Tarrant's West for us.
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