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.
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.)
Read MoreWhen 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.
Read MoreLast month I had the opportunity to go up to Boston to visit my friend Petrina who was previously mentioned on this blog as someone who doesn’t believe in free pizza. Petrina is not typically a planner, but for my visit, she set out to create an itinerary for our weekend together.
Knowing I run a brunch blog, she knew we had to get brunch upon my arrival Saturday morning, and I wasn’t going to object. She sent me three options. She described them as 1.) “$$ hipsters,” 2.) “$ (if you do brunch special) and yuppie socialities”, and 3.) “$$ normal young people.”
I Googled the options. Number two’s website had a broken URL for their menu, so that was out. And number three sounded boring. Normal young people? Who wants that?
Read MoreYou 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.
Read MoreThis 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!
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