Earlier last month, three of my guests & I were invited to a media dinner at Andretti Grill, Andretti Indoor Karting and Game's in-house restaurant located in the heart of Roswell (a HUGE thank you & shout out go to Austin & Brave PR and Andretti teams). Although I had driven past this location plenty of times over the last several years to visit family and friends residing in the area, I was always curious about it, but had regretfully, never found the need to make an actual visit. To fulfill my curiosity and to compare it to similar entertainment centers like it in my neighborhood, which include Malibu Grand Prix and Dave and Buster's to a certain extent, I immediately set up a reservation once I had my schedule laid out. Opening its doors in 2001, Andretti Roswell is the first of two locations in Georgia, with the Marietta location opening its doors just late last year in October 2015. Following 14 years of success at their first location & a cult-like following of fellow speed lovers, opening a second location in the former Burlington Coat Factory building on Roswell Road, right by the Big Chicken and across the street from Harry's Whole Foods, just made sense. With over 100,000 square foot of entertainment, you can bet this blogger was ready to abide by their first rule: TAKE THE CONCEPT OF FUN SERIOUSLY and enjoy a rainy Saturday evening with some of her favorite people! We were ready to get our minds focused, our hearts pumping and our stomachs full on this much needed night out!
Let's get started:
☆Front Entrance
☆Road Sign
☆Gaming Area
☆Fun Cocktails (Custom & Pit Crew Peach Passion)
☆Cookie Dough & Oreos Milkshake
☆Route 66 Platter (Combination of jumbo potato skins, quesadilla, chicken wings and creamy four cheese mac-n-cheese): If you're looking to get a bite of the variety of tasty appetizers that Andretti's offers, then you've got to get an order or two of the Route 66 platter, which lets you try a little more than half of their options. The quesadilla with pulled pork was my group's favorites, followed by the potato skins, mac 'n cheese & buffalo wings-for the 4 of us, which was just the right amount to get our appetites rolling!
☆Sky High Nachos (Tri-colored tortilla chips piled high and smother in queso, cheddar and monterrey jack with pico de gallo, sour cream, jalapeños and green onions): A delicious plate of nachos with no shortage of cheese or other toppings, Andretti's is definitely doin' it right! And when they say it's "Sky High," they really aren't kidding either-it's the perfect size to share with friends and family!
☆BBQ Chicken Pizza (BBQ chicken, roasted garlic, caramelized onions and red onions with mozzarella and Gruyere cheese): It's PIZZA-what's not to love about that already? If you love BBQ chicken and you love pizza, then this is a match made in heaven for you! Chunks of white meat chicken, cheeses, shredded red onion and a generous drizzle of sweet BBQ sauce on a wonderfully toasty and buttery pizza base, this one was a crowd favorite amongst my group of 4. Plus look at those beautiful colors! You really can't go wrong with any of their pizza offerings-I know I had a tough time deciding between this, spinach artichoke & buffalo pizza-oh my!
☆St. Louis Style Ribs (full rack) served with homemade fries: These ribs were mouthwatering, fall-off-the-bone, finger lickin' good! The ribs themselves were very moist, tender and had just the right amount of chew to them without being overcooked. The smokiness shined through and paired incredibly well with their sweet & savory BBQ marinade. To be honest, I was pretty blown away by the quality-it's definitely not something you'd typically find at other indoor entertainment/gaming centers, so that was a pleasant surprise! Oh & did I forget to mention, it's grilled on the Big Green Egg, too?!
☆Angry Italian Burger (Classic hamburger with mild Italian sausage, provolone cheese and fiery Boom Boom sauce): Take everything you love about a classic hamburger & fries, add a couple strips of crispy bacon, zesty Italian sausage & a tasty homemade 'Boom Boom' sauce, then you've got yourself a real winner! Besides my obsession with little attention to details such as the Andretti's Grill branding on the buns, the burger itself was grilled to a perfect medium well and my niece devoured every last bite of it, which coming from a picky eater like herself, is definitely worth noting!
☆Caramel Apple Crumble Pie (Caramelized Granny Smith apples cooked in a tender crust with a buttered brown sugar crumble. Served hot with vanilla bean ice cream, Heath bar crumbles and a caramel drizzle): Looking for the perfect way to balance out an already perfect meal? Then ordering dessert is the way to go! Fair warning though, it's the deciding part that's actually the most difficult! All of AG's dessert options looked absolutely heavenly, but my group ultimately decided on the apple crumble pie and we loved every bite! Warm, slightly crunchy cinnamon and butter sugar apples, caramel and a terrific scoop of vanilla ice cream to top it all of? SIMPLY PERFECT! And the fact that it's made in-house & to order doesn't hurt either ;)
As you can probably tell, my guests & I had an incredibly fun, action-packed time at Andretti's, along with the handful of other action goers that were there on a Saturday evening. From the moment we stepped into Andretti's, we could just feel the thrill and excitement of the other guests there, which escalated even further when we walked around and peeked at the ropes course, game room and race track prior to being seated for dinner. To the left of the main entrance is their in-house restaurant, Andretti Grill, which features a large, open dining room, a fully stocked bar area and a handful of flat screens that circle the entire perimeter. As we waited to be seated, the hostess brought us to our table, where our server (I didn't quite catch her name) welcomed us and immediately took down our drink orders. When she returned, she walked us through their menu and made a couple of recommendations based on what items were the most popular, along with items that were her personal favorites & go-to items. With her help, we ended up ordering a majority of the items she suggested, which included the Route 66 platter, Angry Italian burger, BBQ chicken pizza and caramel apple crumble pie. And I can tell you right now, she hit the nail on the head with all of those recommendations because each member from my party clearly loved their individual entrées as made evident by their almost clean to clean plates! I really regret and wish I would've taken note of her name, she did such a wonderful job with our party on that evening! Despite the somewhat max capacity of the dining room, especially the bar, she never once rushed us and went above and beyond to ensure that we always had our beverages refilled and napkins stocked, which certainly came in handy with all of the messy foods we had ordered, such as those addictive saucy ribs we were gnawing on. Additionally, she was friendly, incredibly attentive and very respectful, which is always appreciated no matter where you're dining out at! In regards to the interior, there's plenty of seating (low tables, high tops, booths and bar seating) available. The neutral toned walls offer a nice balance with the black furnishings and silver/red accents & the dimmed lighting provides a comfortable and relaxed environment, which lets your eyes rest from all of the neon/brightly-colored lights seen all throughout the entertainment room. Granted, if there's a big game playing on one of the many flat screens, then it's probably going to be a little rowdy, but would you expect anything different at an [upscale] sports bar such as Andretti's Grill (trust me, it's not your typical sports bar, but I hope you'll catch my drift~]? I hope not! Now, I'm not at all a sports head, but if my DAWGS are playing, you know that I'll be rooting for my team as loudly as I did at Sanford Stadium during my undergrad years when Matt Stafford & Knowshon Moreno were dominating the fields! Getting back on track, just when we thought the evening couldn't get better, Andretti's provided us with four complimentary $10 game cards, which we immediately put to use after dinner. Having played several shooting games, claw machines, 4D stimulators and our family's favorite, 4-way air hockey, we wanted to partake in some karting. Due to the long lines and wait time however, we decided to save karting for our next trip here, which will be very soon, since having dinner & indoor entertainment makes life a heck of a lot easier, allowing you to knock out two birds with one stone. Plus, it's a one-stop destination that attendees of all ages can enjoy, have a quality meal & an unforgettable time! So whether you're from the area or you're just looking for something new, fun & fast-paced to do, check out Andretti's in both Roswell and Marietta! You won't find an experience like this elsewhere in the city-they're the REAL DEAL! Bring some friends & your true competitive colors and have fun! Just one last note before wrapping up, thank you to Austin & the Brave PR and Andretti teams for making our first time here so enjoyable! We had an absolute blast and can't wait to come back again!
Have a wonderful day,
-Sandy
FTC: Although this was a media event and my meal was comped, I will always provide an honest review & experience of the restaurant.
If you'd like to invite Bella Vivere to cover & share your restaurant's media events, tastings or parties, feel free to shoot me an email at bellavivere {at} gmail {dot} com-Thanks!
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