| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
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Fantastic tour!!
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| Tue, Jul 7 11:00 AM |
Baumgardner |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Touring Chicago and visiting the unique shops and restaurants was the best part of out trip!! The people were so friendly and helpful. The food was fabulous. Can't wait to go on another tour. We only went to the North tour, but wish we had also booked the Bucktown tour. We definitely will go on our next visit to Chicago!! |
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Absouletly wonderful!
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| Mon, Jul 6 11:30 AM |
marcia_nagy |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the walking tour. We learned about the different stores and products these stores provided. I never knew that there were so many different types of oils and vinegars! The taste sampling at all of the stores was great. The chocolate sampling at The Fudge Pot was delicious. Of course, I love chocolate. The explanations given at all the stores was very informative and our tour guide, Nicki, was a wealth of information! I have already recommended this tour to friends who will be going to Chicago. |
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Interesting day of food and fun
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| Mon, Jul 6 11:00 AM |
DavidSamulen |
Female |
40-49 |
International Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| We had perfect weather to spend a few hours walking around the north end of the city of Chicago.
Our guide was informative and enthusiastic.
The venues we went to were varied and very good.
We had a great time and have told friends that live in the US that they should certainly consider doing it if they are in Chicago.
We will also tell friends at home if they come to Chicago to do this tour.
Our favorite store was the Tea shop, in a time where coffee gets a lot of promotion the staff at this store are doing their best to educate people on the benefits of good quality tea. The variety of tea is great and we purchased some to give to friends in the US so they might become Tea connoisseurs as well.
Thanks for a great day, we loved it. |
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Outstanding, educational and fun!
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| Mon, Jul 6 11:00 AM |
cellalot |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| What a great way to spend a day in Chicago. The walk was pleasant and very scenic. The locations visited were fun, educational and delicious. The guide was extremely knowledgable and friendly. I would strongly recommend this to anyone visiting Chicago! |
|
OK but forgettable
|
| Sun, Jul 5 11:30 AM |
Leakmaster |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| The Guide was friendly and very knowledgeable, however, if you eat normal size meals, you won't find a big lunch here. When they say a taste tour, they aren't kidding. The deli, the first stop, had cracker size sandwiches. The caterer had hummus and crackers, despite the fact his food cases were full of every kind of food, you did not get to choose anything to try. The Tea Shop was, by far, the most informative stop, but we got the bum's rush to finish drinking our tea and leave by the guide. The Chicago Pizza place at the end was really disappointing. I have had better pizza from my frozen foods section of my store. Tasteless and understated. . By the way, it is only a cheese pizza, no toppings, and you get just one piece. When we left the tour, we had to stop for lunch. They also don't tell you the parking is $24.00 for the day, no matter how long you stay.One stop was an Olive Oil and Vinegar store, which should be on the "Condiment" tour. I don't know how snooty you have to be to Have your own special Olive oil and Vinegar mix, but if you are into buying expensive Olive Oil and Vinegar, this is your place. As far as tasting, If you have Olive Oil, you can add your own flavors at home, if you like that, and skip this place. My take: try the Bucktown Tour. |
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Good, but more "food" would be better
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| Sun, Jul 5 11:00 AM |
pzinser |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| The architectural/historical part of the tour was very good. However, about 1/2 of the tastings were tastes of iced tea, spices/oils. Hence, "food" tasting is a bit misleading, but overall would still recommend. |
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Enjoyable & Informative
|
| Sun, Jul 5 11:00 AM |
GailEE |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| We really enjoyed the tour. We learned things about spices & tea that we never knew before! It was great to be able to taste & sniff various spices. The smell from outside the store was amazing! It was also fun to taste different combinations of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My only regret is that we weren't able to shop. Since the tour ends a fair distance from where it started, going back to shop is a bit of an inconvenience. We'll make a point of going back to this neighborhood on a future visit! |
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Different and interesting
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| Fri, Jul 3 12:30 PM |
ajayleo |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| The tour was different and quite interesting. Must for the absolutely mouth-watering fudge and the pizza ! |
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Great way to see Chicago
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| Fri, Jul 3 12:30 PM |
slanphere |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| The tour was a great way to see the neighborhoods of Chicago. Our tour guide Nikki was from Chicago and was so enthusiastic as if it was her first time doing the tour but knowledgeable enough as if it was the 100th time she had done the tour. I would recommend anyone visiting Chicago to take this tour! |
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Fantastic Tour- highly recommended
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| Fri, Jul 3 12:00 PM |
mrkenlewis |
Male |
30-39 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| Great guides make great tours, and our great guide made our tour great. Her name was Jennifer, and she had the perfect attitude and personality and even world-view to make us all feel constantly engaged, interested, and excited about what we were doing.
Part of the attraction and enjoyment of this tour was the walking. If it was a bus tour, we would never have chosen to participate. Chicago is great to walk in- so inviting and interesting and fun.
They started off by getting a little substance in our bellies, a well strategized move. Then we went to a tea house made fascinating by one of their seasoned employees. We got iced tea and an education.
We continued with educations and tastings of oils, vinegars, spices, chocolates, and pizza.
I write the following for them more than for you the reader. If you are reading this, I say "go for it, and stop questioning if this is worth your time/money. Just do it." But feedback for them:
The one stop, at a store-front for a catering company was uneventful. It was the only place that I felt no value from directly. They spoke of why the place is significant/renowned, but our experience itself was nothing special- tasting some average gourmet cheese and some unnoteworthy hummos.
The only other stop that was a bit disappointing was the pizza place. The pizza was certainly tasty, and it was nice to taste another variation on Chicago stuffed pizza, but it came out just warm, without the signature melted cheese. And, the wait staff there practically avoided us which had a negative impact on our experience. Waters, and an extra pizza that we ordered (our 6 year old had no interest in the garlic bread he was offered, so we ordered a thin cheese pizza for him), were a battle to get.
So, I'd suggest dropping the chocolate-catering business stop, and adding something more welcoming (the owner was a jerk) and with some educational value. And, I'd suggest sitting down with the pizza place management and discuss how you might get the waitstaff to feel more invested in serving us. In the end, with the treatment we got there we certainly are less likely to return as patrons.
Those comments aside, Jennifer and the tour were great. And, although you are rocking busy with 16,000 people per year, if you are ever looking for more tour opportunities, I'd recommend walks around Argyle and Chinatown for Asian herbs, teas, tofu factories, asian bakeries, dim sum, bubble teas, and markets. A solid Asian American guide could really shed much light on neighborhoods that most Chicagoans have little idea how to navigate and penetrate. Possibly even with glimpses of migrant's apartments (with bunk beds?), little stitching factories, welcome center, etc.
Thanks! |
