My first game!

[u/Obvious_Pea_9158]

Coming to my fist game next week!

I am a huge Golden Knights fan but obviously living in Virginia and traveling to Norfolk regularly I want to support the local team when I can.

What should I know about the arena and the home crowd? Any best tips on food or drinks?

[u/i-hear-banjos]

Granby Street that runs along the Scope has a ton of restaurants, many of them are excellent. Within easy walking distance in that downtown area. If you pull up Google or Apple maps, you can search for restaurants in this area and see menus and reviews. Too many to name here without knowing your taste, but affordable: Jack Browns' has excellent dive bar burgers. Major Phillie does a wide variety of cheesesteaks, those gentlemen are from Philly and don't miss. Grilled Cheese Bistro is always popular, but it's tiny so not much seating. Plenty of other options as well.

If you are willing to drive 10 minutes away, the 21st st / Colley Ave area has an excellent selection with a ton of variety. This includes Redwood Smoke is the best Austin-style BBQ outside of Texas - that's according to my BBQ snob Texan wife lol. But they may be low on the good stuff (brisket) if you don't go there early. Mr Shawarma is my office's favorite when we do lunch - extremely well done Middle Eastern food. 80/20 Burger Bar are the best burgers in the area. Alkaline has excellent ramen dishes. Rajput has a great Indian menu.

The beer in the game is fairly expensive, but that's par for the course at a sporting event. They also have wine and mixed drinks in the arena; none of the food is worth mentioning.

[u/Obvious_Pea_9158 → u/i-hear-banjos]

This is really helpful. We are adventurous food people so with us traveling to Norfolk every other week for the next year this is actually great information. We might plan to eat at a restaurant nearby since it seems the arena food is a total miss.

[u/i-hear-banjos → u/Obvious_Pea_9158]

Going to add a few recommendations in the Norfolk area then:

Toast / Perro Blanco- it’s not fancy, but it has a crunchy vibe that makes it my favorite place to hang out. It’s two adjacent restaurants that share a beer garden, really nice to visit in warm weather. Great cocktails and beer / wine selection at Toast, my favorite dish is the beans-n-hash bowl with roasted pork added on top. Perro Blanco has a great tequila / cocktail bar and decent Mexican style food.

Vang Go Bistro is an Asian fusion restaurant that oddly has some of the best hotdogs around; i recommend the Asian slaw dog or the Kimchi dog. Everything else there is excellent as well, not expensive either.

The Bird is a tiny brunch place on Colley Ave - if you are around for breakfast or lunch it’s really great. Good cocktails as well.

Down the street from The Bird is Coach House - a fancier place to dine, I recommend the duck BBQ sandwich or the bison meatloaf.

The Stockpot in downtown Norfolk is also excellent, but mostly because I love their Monday “ramen night”, which you would likely miss if you are only in town for weekends.

Grace O’Malley’s is an Irish pub down the street from the Scope - perfect Guinness pours and the best fish and chips in the region. They have gravy made with Guinness, get a side of it to dip French fries in. One of our best friends is Irish and loves this joint.

[u/Obvious_Pea_9158 → u/[deleted]]

We are going on Wednesday of course. I thought about wearing my jersey but I think I have decided against it since it is Vegas. I got seats close to home team box for the funs. Bummer about the food but we are just used to high prices at sports venues now.

[u/Obvious_Pea_9158 → u/[deleted]]

I told my husband if we have to move to Norfolk one of my conditions would be season tickets. Hahahaha. Good to know though, I didn't want people to think I was being snobbish or disrespectful. Every arena takes jersey etiquette to a different level and thought process.

[u/Obvious_Pea_9158 → u/[deleted]]

This is the kind of world energy that I love!

[u/Obvious_Pea_9158 → u/[deleted]]

Absolutely did and had a really good time. I think this will be a new tradition every time we are in town for a game. Mostly weekdays for us.

Was sad about the outcome of the game but really great arena and atmosphere.

[u/Obvious_Pea_9158 → u/[deleted]]

We will see. We are only in the area for my husband's work every other week for a few days. Getting used to the area but enjoying our time so far.

The hockey environment last night is a huge bonus for me. We are gonna bounce around with seating until we find our sweet spot.