| Rating |
Date Attended [^] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Wonderful Experience
|
| Sat, Oct 14, 06 11:00 AM |
perlman |
Male |
20-29 |
International Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| Original, fun and wonderful way to get to know Chicago. Restaurants and tastings were ver well selected, neighbourhoods were great looking and guide was pleasant and knowledgeable. |
|
|
Wonderful Food Tasting Tour!
|
| Sat, Oct 14, 06 11:00 AM |
Sirnesto |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and thought our guide, Shane, was knowledgable, enthusiastic, and a great ambassador for Chicago's food and history, It was nice to get off the Miracle Mile and see some of Chicago's neighborhoods and visit places that locals frequent.
All the "tastings" were excellent, and I particularly enjoyed the "spice" store which was very unusual and to which we returned to after the tour to make purchases. If I had to complain about something, it would be that we went to too many "sweet" places - started at Ghirardelli Chocolates, had potato pancakes at a deli, sampled tea, visited the aforementioned Spice store, ate chocolate at a fudge/candy store, had fresh baked artisan bread, wonderful pizza, and ended up at a "chocolate lounge." I would have been happier with more savory food samples, but it's hard to complain about too much chocolate. I also liked the list they gave us of local restaurants to try, although I was surprised that Shane had no recommendations for a good place for Italian Beef sandwiches - seems like any foodie going to Chicago would want to know where to go for deep dish pizza, Chicago dawgs, steaks, and Italian beef sandwiches.
All in all I would highly recommend this tour for anyone wanting to do something a little different in Chicago and to have some good food and see some local neighborhoods, |
|
Great way to discover Chicago
|
| Fri, Oct 20, 06 11:00 AM |
KellySkin |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| Checkout my full review, photos and comments on my blog at http://community.myfoxmilwaukee.com/blogs/WITICommunityGal
|
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|
Must do in Chicago
|
| Sat, Oct 21, 06 11:00 AM |
sarahlilibit |
Female |
20-29 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| Tour guide is extremely knowledgable about the city's culture and history. Food locales are well chosen, along an excellent route, and offer a variety of items to sample. |
|
|
Great and Interesting day
|
| Thu, Oct 26, 06 11:00 AM |
mushroom |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Unspecified |
| The weather was rainy and we still enjoyed our day. The walk was so interesting. We learned as tourists that there is more to Chicago than Michigan Avenue and Navy Park. Most of the success was because of the interesting and personable young man that was our leader. He was just great. |
|
|
Eat, Walk & Learn
|
| Sat, Oct 28, 06 11:00 AM |
camross |
Male |
40-49 |
Combination |
Group of Friends |
| The tour was great. Our guide, Shane, is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his city. He provides a list of restaurants and resources with lots of "extras" that we used on this trip and will use again when we come back. A few Chicago locals even asked for photocopies.
There's plenty to eat, but we didn't feel too bad 'cause the walk offsets the indulgence. But it's not only about eating...you'll learn a lot about Chicago history, architecture and culture along the way.
Although we'd all been to Chicago numerous times, this was a great activity...highly recommended. |
|
|
What fun!
|
| Sat, Oct 28, 06 11:00 AM |
kathyham5 |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| Our guide was great! We found shops and restaurants we hadn't known about, but will definitely return to; and it's just so interesting to check out the architecture in nieighborhoods we seldom visit. |
|
|
Wonderful way to spend a Saturday in Chicago!
|
| Sat, Oct 28, 06 11:00 AM |
cmclaughlin |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| Shane was a wonderful tour guide. The tour was very well balanced. The business and restaurant stops were outstanding! There was not one that I would eliminate. If you are from Chicago, you will find some real treasures to put on your "visit again" list. |
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|
| Sat, Apr 7, 07 11:00 AM |
nnussenb |
Female |
20-29 |
Combination |
Couple on a Date |
| |
|
Food tour is interesting, but not Chicago-specific
|
| Sat, Apr 7, 07 11:00 AM |
hagia00 |
Female |
20-29 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| Having lived in Chicago for several years, I decided to try out this tour with my dad on his recent visit. I'm always looking for new ways to show guests the city. I have good and not good things to say about the experience.
Pros:
The guide is very friendly and excited about the places he's taking you to. He has a great rapport with the owners of the stores/restaurants and also with the tour group.
The owners of the establishments are incredibly kind and patient with the tour and create a very welcoming and behind-the-scenes feel to the experience.
Cons:
The places on this tour don't have much to do with Chicago. They are all locally owned and operated, which is great, but they don't really have anything that specifically feels like Chicago-style food.
The food pieces really are samples (whereas on the NYC food tours, very generously portions are always distributed).
There is a lot of walking on this tour, which is great when the weather is nice but chilly when it's not. Be sure to plan accordingly.
Seven places are visited within a 3.5 hour time period (for about 10 minutes each), and no visits are made to places other than the sampling locales. The rest of the tour time is spent walking through neighborhoods. Bathroom breaks are scarce and bottled water is additional.
The tour ends in a very different spot than where it originates, which means making your own cab, bus, or el transportation arrangements back to the beginning.
All in all, this tour has a lot of potential. I know we were one of the first groups for this season and I'm sure a few kinks will be worked out along the way. But if anyone is looking for an experience similar to the NYC food tours, this will be a disappointment. |
