| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
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A Great Tour for a Confirmed Foodie
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| Tue, Jul 21, 09 11:30 AM |
hcolleran |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Near North Food Planet Tour
My husband and I have beening traveling to Chicago on pleasure for 20 years and discovered wonderful "foodie" destinations that we will return to again and again. We had enough delicious samples to more than fill us up. From the deli sandwich to the pizza, eveything was a tasty surprise. Our favorite stop was Old Town Oil. The flavored oils and vinegars were incredible. We look forward to experimenting with our purchases from that store. Ditto for the Tea shop; so many new flavors to add to our tea selection.
Next time we travel to Chicago we will try the other Food Planet Tour. We can't wait! |
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wonderful
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| Tue, Jul 21, 09 11:30 AM |
kathymcgill |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| The food tour was the high point of my Chicago vacation.
Our guide Jessie was enthusiastic, knowledgable and outgoing. The portions of food were adequate- (you will not be hungry!). I've been on other food tours that were inside a market and although enjoyable it can not compete with being outdoors and learning about the neighborhood. I'm already looking forward to another tour by the same company! |
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This tour is a MUST!
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| Mon, Jul 20, 09 11:30 AM |
fraziere |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| My husband and I have visited Chicago many times, but have never seen it quite like we did during the tour. Being independent business owners ourselves, we appreciated the opportunity to visit some of Chicago's lesser known establishments. Our guide, Jen, was terrific. She shared so much about the neighborhoods we visited that it made us want to spend more time there. We enjoyed the food, but even more so the demonstrations about tea, spices and oils, which were very informative. The only thing missing was a Chicago hot dog, which would have been a nice addition.
We highly recommend this tour. Just remember that it's one way! It's up to you to find your way back, but that gives everyone a chance to stop and shop at the places you visited. |
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Good tour, good food, good guide
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| Mon, Jul 20, 09 11:00 AM |
jrod0520 |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| The tour was interesting, the guide was knowledgeable and the food and drink was delicious. I visited places I normally wouldn't frequent and learned more about spices, oils and teas that I didn't know before. The pizza was wonderful.
The walking was fine and it was fun to go by famous places and learn more about them. |
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Fun & Delicious Way to Get Acquainted with Chicago
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| Mon, Jul 20, 09 11:00 AM |
DianeFrye |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| I saw the description of the Near North Chicago Food Planet Tour on Trip Advisor and after checking out the website and reading more about it, I really wanted to participate. Unfortunately, the tour was sold out, but I emailed and asked to be put on the waiting list. Lucky for me space opened up, and both my husband and 15-year-old son joined me on the tour. Our guide was Arianna. Her enthusiasm for and knowledge of the neighborhoods we visited made the tour very enjoyable. We were able to have wonderful new experiences in a city we had visited several times before. From the Ashkenaz Deli to the Tea Geschwender, Spice House, Old Town Oil, the Fudge Pot, and Bacino's Pizza, all of our food stops were uniquely interesting and delicious. The only spot that didn't quite seem to fit was the Chocolate Catering place. Not sure why that's in there. We went back to three of the businesses the next day to scoop up some booty to take home. Three thumbs up for this tour! |
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A great way to see a portion of Chicago
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| Sun, Jul 19, 09 12:00 PM |
SSnozyk |
Female |
50-59 |
International Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| I took this tour with a group of work colleagues (3 women and 1 male spouse) while we were in Chicago for a conference. We all thoroughly enjoyed the tour. It provided some physical activity, some food, some history and factual information--yet not too much of any one of them. The tastings were well timed as far as washroom breaks and food intake mixed with walking and stopping to see points of historical/cultural or architectural interest. The tour started and ended on time. Our guide was very enthusiastic (almost over the top), friendly, knowledgable and able to manage the group. I would have liked the group to be a bit smaller in number in order to better fit into some of the smaller shops that we visited but it was managable. I also went back to 4/7 shops a few days later to purchase products as did another member of our group. Overall I would heartily recommend the tour. I had taken the Bucktown/Wicker Park tour 2 days prior to the North Town one and would also recommend that tour as it was equally well done. |
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Fun, Creative and Informative Tour
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| Sun, Jul 19, 09 12:00 PM |
shelleysaw |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| Great tour and our leader was very bubbly, enthusiastic and a tad of a drama queen, but in a good way. She was very into the history and enjoyment of the tour. Would highly recommend it to others and we even went back our last day to several of the shops and used our coupons to buy "stuff." Even used one from the booklet we got at the Fudge Pot for O'Brien's Restaurant next door. |
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Loved it!
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| Sun, Jul 19, 09 11:30 AM |
branson3 |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Kate, our host, was great. She was punctual and kept the group moving. She seemed very knowledgeable about the products offered in the stores and gave honest opinions when asked. My favorite spot was The Spice House. The spice smells, the very kind employees, and the building itself. I thought it was too far between Catering*Chocolate and Bacino's. The pizza was delicious but I was really tired from the walk and we had exceptionally beautiful weather to be walking--in the 70's. I can't imagine taking the tour in normal July heat. I think a trolley would be a nice touch through those neighborhoods and parks and also to bring you back to Old Town to shop after the tour. We felt the tour took most of our day (we got there early/the tour/returning to shops), and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We want to come back to Chicago and take the Wicker/Bucktown tour. Also, your website is very easy to navigate, very helpful honest information about the tour and buying the tickets. Thanks. |
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#1 Thing to Do in the City!
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| Sun, Jul 19, 09 11:30 AM |
ckittelstad |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| We had an amazing time and it was so worth ou money and exceeded our expectations! Highly recommend it for foodies, those who want to explore and see the real Chicago! |
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Culture, food, and exercise!
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| Sun, Jul 19, 09 11:00 AM |
AliRuss |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| This tour is great for anyone who wants to see more than typical big city tourist sites. Our guide Jennifer was well-informed and interesting, and she led us on a fairly lengthy walk while sharing history, architectural notes, and just tidbits of info that made us feel that we got to know Chicago a bit better than we did (and we've been there a dozen times). Take note that while food/drink is part of this tour, it's not really a "foodie" tour. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get more of a behind the scenes look at the stops on the tour and was hugely disappointed that we weren't allowed to make purchases during the tour (you are expected to return to your favorites on your own time so as not to hold up the group's progress). The stop at Old Town Oil was nearly worth the price of admission, but I was so bummed out that I had to walk back there the next day to make some purchases (and trust me, you will want to). I never would have believed that tasting various combinations of oil and aged balsamic vinegar could be so fun and so tasty. I'd recommend the tour if you want to see a different part of town and get some exercise, but don't expect a ton of food or much time at each of the stops. It's a bit pricey for what you get, but I did enjoy it. |
