First Impressions

John: If you’ve never heard of Cold Brew’s, don’t worry, you’re not crazy. The place just opened about a month ago. I found out about it when I called Ray’s Pizza (where Cold Brew’s is currently located) to order a large mushroom and pineapple deluxe only to find out that Ray’s was closed and they took their mushroom and pineapple deluxe with them. After sulking for 10 minutes, I got over the loss of my favorite pizza. So let’s get back to Cold Brew’s. If you’ve driven down Holcomb Bridge in the past month and you’ve seen a restaurant with a bright yellow and red sign color scheme, it was probably Cold Brew’s (Although I suppose it could be McDonald’s, I think they’re Red and Yellow also, but I haven’t been there since I was 12, so I’m not sure). Cold Brew’s is a sports bar and when you walk in, it’s got everything you want in a sports bar: a huge bar, attractive girls behind it and more flat screen TV’s then a Best Buy distribution center.

Copsey: We at The Beacon liked Ray’s. A lot. So Cold Brew’s has some ‘splaining to do as to why they gave Ray’s the boot. The interior is much the same, only all the artsy-fartsy decorations are gone, replaced with uber-manly things like TV’s on almost every wall. The bar was very well stocked, with plenty to offer every customer of drinking age. So far so good, Cold Brew.  

John: A-
Copsey: A-

Appetizers

John: When you think of sports bars, it’s easy to think of bar food. You know what I’m talking about: buffalo wings, nachos and chicken tenders. Well, Cold Brew’s has that stuff, but they also have a few other things that a normal non-drunk person might enjoy (I’m not judging, I’ve just noticed that drunk people really enjoy wings, nachos and chicken tenders). We ordered Santa Fe Egg Rolls, Baja Potato Boats, Garlic Mushrooms and Tenderloins Beef tips. I was most intrigued with the egg rolls and beef tips, mostly because these were two of the last things I expected to be on the menu. The beef tips were amazing. I’m talking, “any restaurant amazing,” not “sports bar food amazing.” They were covered in a BBQ sauce that someone needs to bottle up and sell. The sauce was tart and tangy and it had a hint of sweetness (Which I find ironic because my mom says I have a hint of sweetness too).

Copsey: I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms, but when I saw the garlic mushrooms on the menu of a sports bar, I was just daring the chef to make it good. Luckily he did. They were covered in a garlic sauce and then battered and fried. Somehow fried mushrooms just tasted perfect. Like the beef tips, these little ‘shrooms would be comfortable at a high-end restaurant. The potato boats were a nice mix of potato skins, cheese and spices. Very good. Bonus: the appetizer menu serves as the late night menu or small meal menu, so no matter when you come or how hungry you are, you’re in for a treat.

John: A-
Copsey: A

Entrées

John: For the main course, we decided to see how versatile the Cold Brew’s kitchen was; we ordered the Half Rack of Ribs, the Cajun Pasta, the Diablo Burger and the Santa Fe Chicken Wrap. I don’t know if we showed up on “Awesome Rib Night” or if this is what the ribs taste like all the time, but I can only describe these things as a half rack of heaven. I’ve been eating ribs since I was about two (if any pediatricians are reading this and thinking ‘it’s not OK to feed ribs to a two-year-old,’ you’re probably right, I’ll pass that along to my parents) and I know a good rack when I taste one. The ribs alone make the trip worth it. I was so enamored with the ribs that I really couldn’t accurately gauge how everything else tasted. The wrap was tasty, but probably not super healthy as it came with ranch and spicy mayonnaise, although if you’re going to a sports bar for health food, you probably have other things to worry about.

Copsey: I have to agree: I like a good rack, and those at Cold Brew’s were absolutely perfect. The Cajun pasta was a great blend of creamy tomato sauce with spicy sausage and shrimp. Kind of like a very thick gumbo with pasta instead of rice. The Diablo Burger would have tasted like a typical blah burger if it wasn’t for the very spicy jalapeños and other spices topping it. The heat was very strong, but then it is called Diablo.

John: A-
Copsey: B+

Dessert

John: Warning, please read what I have to say before ordering any sort of dessert from Cold Brew’s. Copsey ordered a piece of triple chocolate cake and I ordered the house specialty; ice cream cake. First of all, the slice of triple chocolate cake was twice the size of basketball. It was huge, I had to restrain myself from asking to see where the slice came from. If they tell me that the cake has its own orbit or zip code, I would believe them. The ice cream cake slice wasn’t much smaller. It was topped with Heath Bar bits and had an Oreo cookie crust, two things which when combined never taste bad. I am not kidding at all when I tell you that one dessert will feed 2-4 people. Trust me on this, do not order your own individual dessert, you would only be setting yourself up for failure. On the other hand, I apologize to Cold Brew’s for telling people this, it may slice (pun intended) into dessert sales, but I think you’ll more than make up for it in rib sales.

Copsey: Chocolate covered, chocolate dipped, chocolate infused, chocolate cake. That’s a lot of chocolate. I was sold after the first bite.

John: A
Copsey: A

Final Impression

John: Sports bars seem to be few and far between in Roswell (I can think of three), so either there’s no market for them or Cold Brew’s is going to have the market cornered. They seem to have a good thing going on over there thus far, so I hope it’s the latter. Oh and you’re probably not wondering, but our server looked like what I think Punky Brewster would have looked like if her show would have lasted 12 more seasons, you know, until Punky turned about 20-years-old. With the NBA Finals in full swing and the Braves looking like they may contend for at least three more weeks, it might be the perfect time to check out Cold Brew’s.

Copsey: I thought about inviting any number of my many, many lady friends along for the dinner, then thought better of it – as good as the meal was, I just cannot imagine a woman eating much of anything other than the salads. So guys, be warned: this is probably not the best place for that first date. However if your lady enjoys high quality bar food and plenty of booze options (including fishbowl drinks), this may just become a regular watering hole.

John: A-
Copsey: A-