Delicious Food and a Game: Review of Hockey in Raleigh, North Carolina
The food at Bida Manda was excellent! Photo by: Evan Berman
In March, my family and I visited Raleigh, North Carolina. The focus was seeing the Tampa Bay Lightning play the Carolina Hurricanes (which turned out poorly) and we had a blast. The food and drinks were great and the time spent together even better.
This review of Raleigh is part of the Hockey in Raleigh trip. For more details, follow these links:
Hotel: Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena
Visiting Beautiful College Campuses
3 Days in Raleigh (This Article)
Overview:
March was a busy month for me! After staying at home in January and visiting Dallas in February, it was off to Raleigh, North Carolina the first weekend of March. My family and I visited Raleigh to watch our Tampa Bay Lightning play and visit friends who live there. We had a great time, despite the embarrassing loss of our team.
The Trip, Visualized:
As with the previous two trips, this adventure had a simple itinerary featuring no flights, just a drive from Charleston to Raleigh.
Highlights from the Trip:
This trip was packed full of good times and great memories. The top 4 moments from this trip were:
- Watching the Tampa Bay Lightning play the Carolina Hurricanes in hockey
- Tasting great food and tequila!
- Visiting the University of Chapel Hill, a beautiful campus
- Catching up with friends and spending time with family!
This was just a quick weekend trip, which was plenty of time to enjoy Raleigh and catch a hockey game as well as spend time with both friends and family.
Price:
I always include the prices I’ve paid to give an idea of what it costs to go on these trips. While there was no flight this time, there was once again a hotel stay. Without further ado, let’s dive into the numbers:
Transportation:
- Raleigh: $75.08 (including gas)
Flights:
N/A, no flight taken.
Hotel:
- Raleigh: $654.08 ($327 per night)
Follow the link for the review of the Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena.
Activities:
- Raleigh: $263.13 ($87.71 per person)
The activities were the main focus of this trip. This trip looked a little different than most as the highlight was the hockey game.
Total Price:
- Raleigh: $992.29 ($330.76 per person, plus food)
In all, the trip cost $992.29 ($330.76 each) including a hotel room and tickets for the Tampa Bay Lightning game. This was a reasonable amount to enjoy the benefits of a lovely city and metro area! While the food would have added more to the total, it was also quite reasonable.
Points Earned:
Transportation:
- Raleigh: 44 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points and 325 Wyndham Rewards Points
Flights:
N/A
Hotel:
- Raleigh: 1,962 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
I earned 10,000 AAdvantage Miles and Loyalty Points (for status) from this stay. For more information on how I earned this massive amount of miles, check out the hotel review.
Activities:
- Raleigh: 263 AAdvantage Miles and 526 AmEx Membership Rewards Points
Total Points:
In total, I earned 2,006 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, 325 Wyndham Rewards Points, 10,263 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles, and 526 AmEx Membership Rewards Points. This is a terrific set of earnings!
Evan’s Recommendations:
I’d like to give my thoughts on what was good, bad, and so-so on this trip. To do that, I’ll list 3 categories: can’t miss items, avoid, and if you have time. The options come from the entire trip, so it’s possible 1 place has all the recommendations or none of them. Unlike most trips, some of the can’t miss items are more about the experience than destination. As always, what do you think? Let me know if you think I’ve omitted anything or have overrated an experience.
Can’t Miss:
- Eating at Brewery Bhavana
- If you at all enjoy dim sum or just like being in a fun restaurant/bar environment, you have to visit Brewery Bhavan! We had a terrific Peking Duck to go along with other dim sum items.
- Touring the North Carolina State Capitol Building
- Both in terms of history and architecture, this capitol building is very striking. I’d highly recommend you check out this building, right in the middle of town. I can’t guarantee you will see a communist protest as we did, but you never know!
- Tasting tequila at Gallo Pélon
- If you at all enjoy tequila, this is a great place to try new types and variants that you may have yet to try. The outdoor patio out back is a great place to sit and enjoy your drink (minus the loud construction noise)
- Eating at Bida Manda
- This tasty Laotian restaurant was a great way to start our time in Raleigh. The food was excellent and offers an authentic experience. Everything we tried was delicious!
If You Have Time:
- Visit UNC’s campus
- The only reason this is not listed as a must-visit is that you need a car or need to take an Uber/Lyft as it is 30-40 minutes outside of Raleigh in, you guessed it, Chapel Hill!
- Watching a hockey game
- I will reiterate what I said after the Dallas trip. While I’m a huge Tampa Bay Lightning fan, there is nothing better than seeing hockey in person. If you’ve never seen a game live, you should do so!
Avoid:
Nothing! This was a quick but enjoyable trip and there was nothing to avoid that we did. Well except for our team losing in an ugly manner!
Summary:
We have a great time in Raleigh with tasty food, great mezcal, and good company. While the primary purpose for our visit (to see the Tampa Bay Lightning play) ended poorly, it was nonetheless a great experience and I’d soon return to Raleigh! Next up: A month-long adventure split into 2 trips. First, 2 weeks in Eastern Europe, then 2 weeks visiting family in New York and Arizona. As I said, it was a busy March!
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