We spent a long weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina for our seventh anniversary this year. It had been several years since we’d been to Raleigh and we were both happy to visit again because we love this city! We explored some new places, returned to a couple of favorites and even made a surprise visit to Lindsey in Charlotte on the way home to Atlanta.
Raleigh is a beautiful, green city like Atlanta but much smaller. 
After checking in to our hotel, we walked to Mofu Dumpling Shoppe where we had early dinner reservations before The Black Crowes concert. This is a fairly new spot and we were excited to sample a few things from the menu.
We started with bulgogi dumplings with a kimchi BBQ sauce. Very tasty, especially the sauce.
Then we tried the popcorn mushrooms with an orange glaze dipping sauce and while a little salty, these were VERY delicious. The curry katsu was a bit off and not our favorite example of this dish – again, very salty and the rice was very dry.
The chicken ginger wontons were really yummy so I would say from our experience here that the smaller plates and dumplings are the way to go. Nice spot overall if you’re in the area.
Boy oh boy did we have FUN at the concert. The Black Crowes put on quite a show and the weather was perfect. I had bought us seats under the pavilion in case it rained but it was so loud and the weather was so nice that we ended up renting a couple of lawn chairs and moving out there. We also enjoyed our fishbowl cocktail! 😉
Since it was a kid-free weekend (thank you, Grandma!), we slept in the next morning and had a small continental breakfast with tea and coffee in our room. When we ventured out for lunch, we checked out Morgan Street Food Hall, a new addition to the already delicious Raleigh food scene. There were many delicious options and I opted for a lobster roll from one stall and a taro boba tea from another. Yum!
Sean found a nearby park with walking trails around a lake so we spent some time outside taking in the pretty scenery. I love the lush, green landscapes of the South. 
Back downtown, we stopped by an old favorite Brewery Bhavana. The space is so incredibly designed with pleasing aesthetics, lots of natural light, and lovely natural elements. 
The beers were phenomenal as always and we had a little snack of vegan dumplings that were INCREDIBLE. Definitely, by far, the best thing we ate on the trip. Hand-made dumplings filled with edamame, ginger, and mushroom, then pan-fried. Served with house dumpling sauce, they were flavorful and moist with a perfect balance of flavor.
We shopped, walked through a few squares, and rested up at the hotel before before going to Sitti for our official anniversary dinner. While we were excited for the Lebanese meal, the service was a little off as the food came out way too fast even after telling the server we wanted to take our time. Beyond the halloumi appetizer which was very good, the rest of the food was just ok. The meat was dry, the hummus didn’t have much flavor…in all, not the best experience but oh well. We made the most of it and stopped by the fun Greek restaurant by our hotel later for a nightcap on their rooftop. 
On our way back to Atlanta, we stopped by the Duke Mansion to visit Lindsey at work and got to have lunch together in the garden. This is such a beautiful place and I love seeing her work there as the Garden Director. So glad we got to do this even if it was for a short visit. 
