| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
 |
Informative. Fun. Very pleasant experience. |
| |
Thu, Apr 26, 07 11:00 AM |
WJGordon |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| |
My wife and I took the Chicago Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour on a cool, rainey, blustery day. In spite of this it was a totally enjoyable experience. The guide was upbeat, gracious and informative, as were the people at the food establishments where we stopped. We highly recommend the tour. |
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Highly recommend this great walking tour |
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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. |
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Well Organized and Good Food |
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Sat, Apr 21, 07 11:00 AM |
lorikm |
Female |
30-39 |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| |
As a new resident of Chicago, I hadn't had time to explore much. This tour gave me a great basis for branching out further on my own, while being very entertaining in its own right. The food was very good, and the coordination of food and tour was extremely well organized. I went back to one of the establishments for dinner that same day. |
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Tad was AWESOME!! |
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Sat, Apr 21, 07 11:00 AM |
pflieger |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| |
We had a wonderful time on our food tour. Tad, our insightful leader, was energetic and full of information. For his first tour, he did a awesome job. :-) He kept the flow of the tour moving along at a good pace and we never felt rushed. We can't wait to go on another tour of the city, although Tad has spoiled us. The food was great, the spots we stopped were fantastic and the weather, well...that just couldn't be beat!! Make sure you wear comfy shoes as a few of us had blisters by the end of the walk. But it was all worth it. We ended up going back to 2 of the shops (tea & spice) and have ordered online from Ethel's chocolates. We would have went back to more of them, but not being from the area and not having a cool place to keep the chocolates & cheese, we figured it would be easier to just order online. All the vendors were most generous with their samples so being a little hungry when you start is good. It would be a good idea to bring your own water as we did get a bit thirsty as we walked - - especially towards the end. As we were taking our tour, a couple of people came up and asked us about our tour and we told them it was good and gave them a brochures. :-) Keep up the good work! Hopefully we'll be able to do this in the next city we visit. |
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Wonderful Day! |
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Sat, Apr 21, 07 11:00 AM |
lindsayjb15 |
Female |
20-29 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| |
I've lived in Chicago for 7 years and still found this tour informative and enjoyable. We toured many of the places I never go (can't afford to!) like the Gold Coast, Rush Street, and Lincoln Park and found some good deals there. There was a great mix of chicago history, food knowledge, and architecture that would make it ideal for a mixed audience. Tad was wonderful, and the shop owners were kind and welcoming. The coupons that come with the talk are also incredible deals! (I got an entire $20 free teamaker for buying $20 worth of tea at this Tea shop on the tour.) The walk is far! it must be over two miles, and so it was great exercise. If you expect to gorge yourself, you might be disappointed, it really is just a tasting... but it was perfect for my husband and I. |
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TOUR GUIDES WERE GREAT...FOOD DELICIOUS...NICE!! |
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Fri, Apr 20, 07 11:00 AM |
CYNTHIACOLE |
Female |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| |
THE TOUR WAS GREAT OVERALL, ESPECIALLY THE AUTHENTIC PIZZA AT THE END OF THE TOUR... THE TOUR WAS NICE BECAUSE YOU GET TO SEE ANOTHER SIDE OF CHICAGO, YOU GO THROUGH THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF DOWNTOWN TO THE OLD CHICAGO DISTRICT TO RESIDENTIAL UPSCALE NEIGHBORHOODS... YOU GET TO SEE EVERYTHING CHICAGO HAS TO OFFER... MY FAVORITE PART WAS THE OZ PARK, ALL THE KIDS PLAYING AT THE PARK PEOPLE WERE LAYING AROUND IN THE GRASS, THEY HAVE A BASEBALL FIELD, AND THE KIDS PLAY AREA TO DIE FOR... THIS PART WAS DEFINITELY VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE CRAZINESS OF DOWNTOWN... THE WALKING WASN'T THAT BAD, I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY MILES IT IS, BUT YOU DON'T EVEN NOTICE BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS BACK TO BACK, NOW THERE IS ONE STRETCH, BUT THE TOUR GUIDES WILL LET YOU KNOW.... I LOVED IT, IF I EVER GO BACK I'LL BE SURE TO DO IT AGAIN, JUST FOR THE PIZZA AT THE END OF THE TOUR! SHANE AND TED ARE GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Shane and the tour was fun and delicious |
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Sun, Apr 15, 07 2:00 PM |
mcday54 |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| |
Shane was a great tour guide. |
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Wonderful and delicious |
| |
Sun, Apr 15, 07 2:00 PM |
mcday54 |
Female |
20-29 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| |
Shane was just terrific and a great host to the City. |
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Less Walking More Food |
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Sat, Apr 14, 07 11:00 AM |
rsamuels |
Female |
30-39 |
Combination |
Group of Friends |
| |
A nice tour, but more food and less walking would make it much nicer. Long stretch of walking with no food at all and just architecture and history talk would not be missed. Tour guide is very nice and well informed, and the food that you do get to eat is delicious. If I was looking for an architecture tour, the CFA does a superb job. This tour, we just wanted to eat! |
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Walk of fame (o'fame') |
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Fri, Apr 13, 07 11:00 AM |
ddoeden |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| |
Shane was an outstanding tour guide, full of information and insight about the Near North Side. I would recommend this tour to anyone who loves history, architecture and food, not necessarily in that order. |
