| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Fun afternoon!
|
| Mon, Aug 10 11:30 AM |
jguenther54 |
Female |
60-69 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| This trip was a great outing. Our guide was knowledgeable and fun, and our group liked all the stops on the tour. It was more than a sample of food all put together--we didn't have to eat lunch or dinner. The walk was close to 2 miles, but an easy pace. I'd recommend this for any adults. |
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|
Great Fun with Exposure to Some Hidden Gems
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| Mon, Aug 10 11:30 AM |
tpie26164 |
Male |
20-29 |
Combination |
Group of Friends |
| I thought the tour was fantastic and the tour guide, Nikki (?), was quite lovely, super friendly, and very informative. There were lots of interesting tidbits on history and architecture, as well as the food. The tour stops at a few shops that you may not notice otherwise and they are a wonderful revelation.
The only sour note for us was the atrocious level of service by the bartender / wait staff at the last stop, Bacino's. Our tour guide informed us of a "customer appreciation" deal being offered by Bacino's for a 3 flight tasting of some of the micro-brewed beers they serve after the tour ended. My friend and I eagerly awaited the tasting at the bar for at least 20 minutes with no service before walking out! This despite being seen by at least one waiter / bartender and mentioning to him that we wanted to do the tasting. Plus, there was only one table of people in the entire restaurant! This left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths, but it really had nothing to do with the tour.
In short, the tour was great and well worth the money, but Bacino's service was awful. This is unfortunate, because the pizza was tasty. |
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|
Loved it!!
|
| Mon, Aug 10 11:00 AM |
krutter |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| I was skeptical about whether this tour would be worth the price even after reading the rave reviews. But after deciding to go ahead with it anyway I can tell you that my husband and I loved it and highly recommend it. And we thought Caroline, our tour guide, was excellent.
A couple of tips for you:
I highly recommend going on the tour specifically if you are staying in this area and can enjoy the places again and make use of the information you learn. We felt like we belonged more than like tourists but we stayed in this neighborhood and visited the places along the tour several times later in our stay. If you have to travel from across town then you might not get all the benefits of the tour.
Do this first on your trip. It will greatly help you later.
Worried about the cost? Again, if you are staying in the area and make use of all the great coupons you get then you can easily recoup a lot of your costs. Here's what we calculated:
-- Tour for 2 people: $80
-- Cost of food you eat on the tour: @ $26 for two people (makes the tour itself around $50 - 55)
-- Amount we saved using the coupons: $8 for our 2 free cups of tea, $26 in discounts buying two miracle tea makers, $3 in discounts at the spice shop, $20 at a buy one, get one free dinner, $3 at the chocolate shop and 2 free chocolate covered and strawberries, $8 free cigar = $68. And we were only there for 3 days!! We could have saved another $50 at restaurants and shows had we been there longer.
My husband's favorite part of the tour was also the discounted flight of beer ($3 for 3 types equalling over a pint of beer) at the last place....) So if you like beer leave an extra 30 minutes of time at the end to do that after the tour is over.
Overall we thought it was great. We only live an hour from the city and plan to stay in Bucktown and take their other tour on our next vacation b/c we liked it so much!! |
|
Tastings hit and miss, great tour for locals
|
| Sun, Aug 9 12:00 PM |
tarabehrend |
Female |
20-29 |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| A few of the stops were fantastic, while others seemed like a total waste of time. I liked the stops that had an educational component, either a demonstration or some interactive element. Overall, though, the tour was a lot of fun, very informative about the history of the area. Not what I expected at all. We went on the hottest day of the year, but it was tolerable since we made so many stops inside. I think locals will enjoy this tour even more than visitors, especially since they can come back and shop at these places. Visitors would probably prefer some more things that they would not try otherwise. |
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LOVED IT
|
| Sun, Aug 9 11:30 AM |
hotchu |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Other |
| My husband and I loved this tour, so much so, that we can't wait to take the Bucktown Tour next.
Not only was it very informative and tasty, but we met very interesting people in our group.
Our guide, Caroline was wonderful and very 'perky'. Even though the weather was HOT, she kept things lively. I would highly recomment this tour to anyone, even if you've lived in the area for awhile. We learned so many things about the neighborhood that we hadn't known before and now we have new places to eat the next time we're in Chicago! |
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Well organized, fun, unique and a great guide
|
| Sun, Aug 9 11:00 AM |
donnapayne |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| I thoroughly enjoyed the walking tour and highly recommend it. I took my 17 year old and his girlfriend, they enjoyed it too but not as much as I did.
Our guide was excellent! very knowledgeable, enthusiastic but not overly so and made it a great experience. The "locally owned" unique shops were a real plus. The history/architecture of the neighborhoods was interesting. I will do this again in another city! |
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Nice Insights into Chicago Food Scene
|
| Sun, Aug 9 11:00 AM |
zmud2162 |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| Wonderful tour guidel whose energy and knowledge made a good experience into a greatl experience. Highly recommended way to get to know some of Chicago's more food-oriented neighborhoods ... and to learn about architecture as well |
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Great Fun
|
| Sat, Aug 8 1:00 PM |
sandras520 |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| We really enjoyed our tour. It was something different to do. We live in the suburbs and wanted to learn more about the city
Our guide was great! |
|
|
Fantastic way to experience Chicago
|
| Sat, Aug 8 12:00 PM |
jules1967 |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| I have already highly recommended this tour to a number of people who will soon be visiting Chicago. Our tour guide, Caroline, was excellent, informed, friendly, and enthusiastic. I loved visiting the local stores owned by 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation families. It was a great combination of culinary experiences. The next time I am in Chicago, I look forward to trying the other walking tours you have to offer. One suggestion - would love to see a food and wine pairing tasting tour - that would be much fun! |
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|
Our guide Caroline was great!
|
| Sat, Aug 8 12:00 PM |
Mcallahan7 |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| I think it was a very good tour but I would take off the Catering place off the tour I along with others in the group thought that was a waste of time to go there. I also thought that people in the group would have like to spend a little more time in the spice store instead of outside.The demo by our guide about cinnamon was also a waste of time and way too long with 90 degree temperatures.
The pizza place was too far for some to walk and it wasn't worth it when we got there, it was just okay pizza. I thought the place was dirty and had terrible service. I can't believe that the pizza ovens and the counter where they make them are right by the door with no protection!!! Can't believe that is not a Health dept. violation...
I also think that you should put more places to eat at on the tour. Perhaps swap out the catering place with Adobo grill or the Irish Pub in Old Town. |
