Andy's Grill has a storied history in Institute. The former restaurant served WVSU students for years with its legendary wings.
"Andy's Grill: In 1957, Andrew Johnson opened his locally famous restaurant, Andy's Grill, on Route 25 in Institute. The business operated for over 40 years as a family restaurant that provided service to the Institute campus and the entire Kanawha Valley. The grill was best known for hot bologna sandwiches, ribs, shrimp, chicken, his secret sauce, and grilled honey buns. Johnson, affectionately known as "Mr. Andy," always greeted guests with a smile and made everyone feel at home."
I, however, knew none of this when I saw "Andy's Wings" from Brandon Johnson pop up on my Facebook feed saying they were having a pop-up and dozens of people commented that they were coming through. Let me first state that I do not encourage anyone to reach out to a stranger on facebook, drive to their house and pick up food, but that's exactly what I did. Do as I say, not as I do.
Brandon is the grandson of Andy and carries on the tradition through pop-ups at his home. He offers the wings plain or tossed in the famous sauce. He also occasionally does ribs. He also sells bottles of the famous sauce. After a little wait, I had a whole box full of wings and headed home to dig in. First of all, these are not tiny drumettes - these are whole wings. And the sauce is this sweet and tangy sauce that is addictive. I licked my fingers after each bite. The wing itself is good - but that sauce - is really tasty.
Grade: A
