| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Fabulous idea, but needs some tweaking
|
| Sun, Sep 30, 07 1:00 PM |
dwwomack |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| THINGS I LIKED ABOUT IT:
The price was reasonable, the distance walked was about right, and the duration of the trip was good. The concept is wonderful; eating and then walking to another place to do some more eating. The guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The meeting place was perfect: near a nationally recognized landmark, in front of a chocolate store (how great is that?). The neighborhood history and the various building architecture styles that were pointed out were excellent.
SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS:
1) DELI - We got a cooling, rather greasy potato pancake with no sour cream or apple sauce for dip. I suggest something more exciting at this, the first stop. Say, a pastrami and cream cheese roll with chopped green onions.
2) TEA - Here, I would like to see 3 or 4 small samples of different kinds of tea, rather than one large cup. Most didn't finish it; they dumped it out along the way.
3) CHEESE - There was one cheese stop; everyone loves cheese. Maybe expand upon this.
4) CHOCOLATE - Now, make no mistake; I love chocolate. But we had 3 chocolate stops, plus we started out with chocolate (at Ghirardelli's). That's too much chocolate (I didn't think I'd ever say that!), especially for those who may not share my love.
5) SPICES AND OILS STOP - Great! Keep these.
6) REALLY WEIRD STUFF - I suggest a stop that only the most adventuresome would like: Spicy Indian, or raw fish, or killer hot sauce, or black eel soup, or pig's-blood-cake, or something comparably nasty. It'd give the tour a full range and a point of base comparison.
These criticisms are intended to be constructive--I've already recommended the tour to my daughter. |
|
Highly Enjoyable!
|
| Sun, Sep 30, 07 1:00 PM |
cblayney |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| Nicki, out tour guide was very outgoing and well informed. We were a little surprised at first that the focus was not on eating, we showed up hungry! But it all balanced out in the long run and we really enjoyed all the stops we made and the things we learned about the city.
I would suggest extending the tour time and allowing people 10 minutes in the spice, tea and oil shops to make purchases. We were lucky in that we found a taxi right away and called the shops to make sure they were still open. The oil shop was closed, but stayed open for us when we told them we were with the tour.
Thanks for a lovely afternoon! |
|
Chicago Walking Food Tour Rocks!
|
| Sat, Sep 29, 07 11:30 AM |
ndburden |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| The Food Tasting and Cultural Tour was awesome! Our tour guide was fantastic! We truly enjoyed ourselves! I am trying to get a larger group of friends to take the tasting tour again! If you have the opportunity to go on this tour, take advantage of it! Great food, unique information, cultural history, and great exercise!! |
|
Great way to get in some exercise and taste Chicag
|
| Sat, Sep 29, 07 11:30 AM |
peggyfoley |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| My daughter and I spent the whole day learning about Chicago and it's neighborhoods, tasting foods we may never have stopped to try.
We had a great time, would highly recommend it for the locals and your out of town visitors. Our tour guide Shane was knowledgeable and entertaining! It couldn't have been a better day! I would highly recomend it!! |
|
Great Tour!
|
| Sat, Sep 29, 07 11:30 AM |
caryncaryn |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| Really enjoyed this tour! Got to see neighborhoods in Chicago that I would not have seen on my own. Tour guide (Shane) was informative and entertaining! |
|
Less than satisfying
|
| Sat, Sep 29, 07 11:00 AM |
dwdepew |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| While the guide was enthusiastic, she was only in her 4th week as a guide. The tour started with Ghiradelli chocolate (available anywhere), went on to latkes (which were greasy), then to a tea store (one of the interesting stops), proceeded to a spice store and an oil/vinegar establishment (both very interesting, but no food), moved onto a catering establishment (cheese tasting), then to a fudge shop (mediocre), then a pizza parlor (in Chicago, but not Chicago pizza--when asked why, the guide responded that no native Chicagoan really eats Chicago deep dish pizza--good thing she didn't tell that to the other patrons in the restaurant who were enjoying what looked to be FANTASTIC deep dish pizza), and finally to another chocolate shop. Way too much chocolate, nothing particularly 'Chicago' about any of the stops, and although the guide had some suggestions about alternate entertainment options, as well as some interesting knowledge about the route through the various neighborhoods, there was a good deal of walking between many of the locations. The tour ended up at least 4 miles away from the start and the participants had to walk, take public transportation, or a taxi back to wherever. The big problem, however, was that there was nothing particularly 'Chicago' about the tour; I would not recommend this tour to anyone seeking authentic Chicago cuisine. Although my wife believes that I am being a bit harsh in my judgment, even she agrees that the lack of 'Chicago' character to the tour was a distinct problem. |
|
Chicago Fun
|
| Fri, Sep 28, 07 11:00 AM |
gailroberson |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Enjoyed the tour, Nikki was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and fun. I do reccommend the tour. I did think we would have a little more eating. |
|
Highly recommend this tour- fun and interesting
|
| Fri, Sep 28, 07 11:00 AM |
AlanWasserma |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| My wife and I loved the tour. Nickie was our guide and she was great- personable and very knowledgeable. We sampled and were taken to a variety of local businesses- pizza, chocolate, cheese, spices, deli, teas...
Also saw some unusual architecture, beautiful homes and a quaint part of Chicago. The tour was more than three hours and the time flew by. |
|
Great way to get to know Chicago
|
| Fri, Sep 28, 07 11:00 AM |
dmaddock |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| I enjoyed the walking food tour. It was a great way to get to know the neighborhoods and taste some good food. The stops on the tour were quite diversified ranging from a spices to chocolate to pizza. I enjoyed it very much. Our tour guide, Nikki was very knowledgable. |
|
I would definitely reccomend!
|
| Fri, Sep 28, 07 11:00 AM |
charmainefar |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Nicki (?) was a GREAT GUIDE...very informative with great energy! This tour allows you to visit local neighborhoods and shops and learn about the history of the area. The highlight was the spice and tea store! |