| Rating |
Date Attended |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age [v] |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
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Highly recommend this great walking tour
|
| Sun, Apr 22, 07 2:00 PM |
EWiesner |
Female |
70+ |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| Everything we'd read online had indicated to meet at Michigan and Pearson at Old Water Tower. So that is where we were 20 minutes before time of the tour. Kept looking for someone who looked like he/she might be the guide. Finally it was 2 o'clock and decided we'd try to call someone. Looked at the actual voucher to find phone number and then saw the more specific instructions to meet in front of Ghirardelli. So got off to a bad start. But it worked out ok.
But joined Sean, the guide, with total of five on the tour. Enjoyed the peace and quiet when we turned off of Michigan Av (away from the traffic) and then again when we left State St. The buildings were most interesting and Sean told interesting stories about many of them. He introduced us to the people working in the shops where we sampled the various food items. Had wonderful chocolate and toffee. Enjoyed learning about all the many spices at the spice shop, and about the many teas at the tea shop. The samples of cheese and bread were excellent. And the pizza was really great too---what a treat.
Guess the shop operators all knew that we didn't have time to shop while on the tour but it surely would have been nice if we'd been given at least a few minutes for shopping during the tour. I know that's a difficult thing to do, especially if there is a large group, for then it would take way too much time. We were just glad there was another tea shop close enough that we could stop there before leaving the area.
Thank you for providing such a walking tour. We really enjoyed the whole afternoon. |
|
divided opinion
|
| Mon, Aug 14, 06 11:00 AM |
LSolway1 |
Male |
70+ |
International Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| My wife loved it all. She was drawn to the comments about the architecture and enjoyed the food visits, especially the pizza and chocolate at the fudge place. (She is especially attracted to the city because she can see another of her dearest cousin's work: the bandshell at Millennium Park.)
I share her enthuisiasm, however, I did find that the walk between "events" was a bit tedious and long without too much along the way to reccommend it. e.g. -we were shown a handsomely carved red door and told it was "the most photographed door in Chicago," we were not told why or what the door was about. Learning about the neighbourhoodfs was good - Lincoln Park., Gold Coast, Old Town - all worth the time. I was not sure about standing outside a restaurant and being told it was the best of whatever style of cooking it held. Good. But it might have been nice to step inside and experience why.
On the other hand our guide was warm and entertaining and demonstrated what is most needed in a guide: enthusiasm for his subject. He really loves the city. Finally I would like to have travelled less and seen more.
Someone please tell him what the Manodnack (I may have spelling it wrong) building is and why it is important to the understanding of why Chicago is the founder of American architecture.
Finally, the upshot of the tour is that my wife can't wait to return to Chicago. |
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|
Spectacular!
|
| Thu, Nov 12 11:00 AM |
Topper2011 |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| Twelve of us with a variety of backgrounds and interests without exception said this was the highlight of our two day visit to Chicago. Most of us like to cook, all of us like to eat but we were impressed with the details of the family run businesses, the neighborhoods, architecture and history. Our guide Jen was so much fun and quickly related to our enthusiasim. |
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|
It was a terrific experience.
|
| Wed, Nov 11 11:00 AM |
AMaremont |
Female |
60-69 |
Local |
Individual |
| I thoroughly enjoyed the 3+ hours of the tour - - it was informative, interesting, entertaining and a lot of fun. The tour guide, Jen, was delightful, enthusiastic and very well informed. |
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|
Fantastic
|
| Thu, Oct 22 11:00 AM |
FERGDTPM |
Female |
60-69 |
Local |
Other |
| I live in the suburbs of Chicago and when my brother came to visit from California, I looked for activities that I thought he and I would like. We were extremely pleased with the tour. Our favorite stops were the oil and vinegar shop and the tea shop, mainly because we learned something at both shops. I will revisit these stores. We also enjoyed walking in the three different neighborhoods. But mostly the tour ended up being so enjoyable because of our tour guide. She was very friendly and made everyone feel at ease. |
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This was fun, informative, "off the beaten path"
|
| Tue, Oct 20 11:00 AM |
npilotte |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Unspecified |
| The guide (Nicky) was enthusiastic and very well informed, kept things moving, and introduced us to real gems of shops. The only downside was that there was no time to make purchases at each shop, and the coupons provided did not include online sales. However, if I am in Chicago again with free time available, I would not hesitate to take another tour from Chicago Food Planet. |
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|
Thoroughly Enjoyable.
|
| Sat, Oct 17 12:00 PM |
SLMiller |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| This was the highlight of a weekend get-a-way for my husband & me. We chose Chicago for the variety of entertainment options and this was, hands down, the most fun. Jessie was our guide and she was very knowledgeable, professional, and enthusiastic. She showcased the cultural aspects of the 3 neighborhoods and did a outstanding job in the 7 food establishments. There was plenty to eat. We didn't even eat dinner before the theater that night. I can't wait to go back to Chicago and take the Bucktown/Wicker Park Tour. |
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the selection of shops was varied and interesting
|
| Sat, Oct 17 11:30 AM |
gallagher200 |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| The tour leader for the 11:30am tour was wonderful, happy and informative. Each of the businesses from the Jewish Deli, the Spice shop(with explaination of spices and their useful life), the tea shop was informative, choclate shope was great, and the Pizza was wonderful as a last stop. The explaination of the buildings along the tour was fun and interesting. I highly recomend it. |
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|
Excellent guide
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| Sat, Oct 17 11:00 AM |
mkuetemeyer |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| Really enjoyed our enthusiastic, knowledgeable tour guide, Jen. She kept things going while providing lots of interesting info. |
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|
outstanding glimpse of 3 wonderful neighborhoods
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| Mon, Oct 12 11:00 AM |
davidstedt |
Male |
60-69 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| nothing like going to food shops that are quaint, quality, and now a discovery to be revisited for that specialty food. the neighborhoods walk with the history and tidbits of the latest were educational and entertaining. I can't wait to do the other tour in Bucktown as I'm done the north one twice now. I bought tickets as birthday gifts to my 2 daughters and brother, what a special out of the ordinary gift and way to enjoy an afternoon with them. Your tours are great and conducted by excellent guides. |
