Coffee and a Conversation
As Told Over Brunch is a home for intelligent discourse from the twenty-something perspective - so the stuff you gossip about over mimosas on Sunday morning or over takeout on your friend's couch when happy hour ends too early. We love chatting about our lives, whether it be the relationships we’re building (or destroying), lessons we've learned at work, struggles at school, growing pains we've felt, or even the food we’re talking over.
What’s more clichéd than saying you’re addicted to coffee? It seems every person who holds down some sort of a job or responsibility, and who likes to stop at Dunkin’ on the way, says they have a coffee addiction.
Read MoreI am a Starbucks aficionado. This is no secret. I have been a Gold Card-holding member since I exited the womb. And my membership doesn’t expire until Trump ends his presidency.
I love to collect stars. That’s the points you collect for drinking overpriced coffee. Every 125 stars, I get a free beverage. And it can be anything. My typical order is a $3.26 iced venti Americano with blonde espresso and light soy. When it’s a reward, I order a milkshake made with almond milk and two pumps hazelnut, five pumps millennial.
When it’s a Double Star Day, I’m there. Every month Gold Card-carrying members are designated a day where whatever they order earns them two times the normal number of stars. Again, we’re trying to get to 125 so we can order a free drink that is made of myrrh and gasoline at summer prices.
Read MoreUsually, when you get pills in the mail that you didn’t order, you throw them away and/or call the police. Not me. I decide to take them.
Last year I ordered something online, and when it arrived, it was accompanied by a promo sample of “Sculptify capsules.” The packaging included no ingredient list, only the words “No Crash, Rapid Fat-Loss, Explosive Thermogenic.”
Sane, rational me was initially going to toss the pills, because you don’t take mystery pills – that is how people die – but then I Googled. Besides seeing the pills contain toothed clubmoss (what the f**k is that?), I discovered they were caffeine pills. Okay, technically, they were a pre-workout, but that translates to caffeine. And I had been looking for a new power-up on my caffeine intake.
Read MoreI’ve been to Lift Coffee Shop three times over the last two years, and none of my visits has been disappointing. This last time was the first time I went for brunch, so I’m glad to finally be able to review it. But I’ll also review the coffee since I’ve had that more times than brunch.
So, anyway, the coffee is good. My first time here I got a hot Americano, which is very not my style since I normally only ordered iced drinks. But it was a cold March day. I was on a date. She had asked me out. Conversation was good. Coffee was better. I never saw her again. Well, at least formally. I’ve run into her once or twice while walking in the Fan, but we just smile and keep walking.
This past summer I met Sara and her family at Tarrant’s Café on Broad for brunch. After brunch, I had a whole day ahead of me and I had no special plans. Instead of driving home to do whatever, I decided to walk down to Lift since I remembered it from over a year ago on my date and I also wanted coffee.
Read MoreWe all have those friends who we’ve known for years, but we go months without seeing one another until we think of them randomly and say, “Hey, how are you? Let’s get brunch soon!”
That’s my friend Alyssa. We’ve known each other since undergrad, and we’re both in grad school (well, she’s in dental school), but we go eternities without seeing each other - and then we get coffee.
Alyssa was supposed to drive to me in the Fan, but her car broke, so I had to make a choice: No brunch, or do I drive to her? Since I’m so selfless, I drove to her. This also changed our destination. She gave me two options: the place we didn’t go and Café Caturra.
Read MoreAs we are all aware, the campaign for America’s 45th president is in full swing – full of gossip, scandals, lies, and more lies. Cazey and I frequently discuss the hilarity (and absurdity) of it all, even if it is reality. Most recently, we conjectured what it would be like if Hillary, Trump, and Bernie all walk into a Starbucks together, because, why not?
(Probably because we’re addicted to caffeine actually.)
Picture it: A bustling Starbucks on a busy NYC street corner (appropriate since all three candidates have ties to New York). There’s probably a five-minute wait to talk to the cashier and another 10-minute wait until your drink is ready; most people ignore your presence.
The baristas are all starving, high school- and college-aged millennials (or maybe they’re actors), each equipped with iPhone 7S’s and tattoos because everyone else has one, duh!
Read MoreSenior year of high school we had to choose a topic to debate in my dual enrollment English class. I elected to debate the merits of men paying on the first date. That is, I defended why men shouldn’t pay on the first date. I cringe when I think back on my arguments, because they were rudimentary and based more on wit than wisdom (what’s new?), but I still stand by the assertion: We need to recall the age-old notion that men pay on first dates.
The rule should be either:
a.) Whoever invited you on the date pays (which can be the man then), or
b.) You split the check.
Read MoreThere was a time when I used to laugh when (old) people made that joke about not knowing what to order when they go into Starbucks, let alone what size to order. But gone are my days of ignorance. I’ve become one of those people who can order “an iced venti vanilla macchiato, nonfat, no whip” and know what I’m asking for. Not that I order that!
I also always keep my wallet and waistline in mind when I order. Here are my tips for beating the (mer)man:
Read MoreLast Friday, 3:30 PM. I’ve been up since 6 AM. I’ve already had too much coffee for the day, accomplished nothing at work, and have spent the last hour staring at Facebook and praying someone sends me an email that isn’t 20% off at JCPenney’s this weekend.
I decide to run to the grocery store before I meet up with some friends for happy hour. At least I’ll feel somewhat productive then.
Read MoreThere’s a lot to love about The Daily Kitchen and Bar. They locally source ingredients, serve a plethora of vegan and vegetarian dishes, have a beautiful patio in the heart of Carytown and pretty much only employ the happiest people on earth. When I went there for dinner last time, I got a pig and fig pizza, which was not only delicious but incredibly unique.
After Cazey and I did our TV spot for Vegetarian Awareness Week, we knew the only place that would be right to brunch at would be a place with a ton of vegetarian options, so to The Daily we went. Despite the cooler temperature and my lack of a jacket, Cazey asked for a table outside anyways. It ended up being perfect because we both ordered hot coffee to warm us up from the cooler temperature.
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