| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Interesting info, lots of walking, tasty treats
|
| Sat, Dec 29, 07 2:00 PM |
toopey |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| My mom and I decided to take this tour as we both love food and are interested in learning about the history of what we are eating. Though the tour is a bit pricey, we did get a lot of samples from different places. This is not a meal by any means- more of an afternoon snack drawn out over the course of three hours. We really enjoyed the behind the scenes tour of Antoine's- in fact, we booked dinner there that night. The Hermann-Grima house was closed because it was a Saturday (though we were told that will be changing in 2008), so we didn't get to go in there. Wish we had known that before the tour started. Also, one of the bakeries we went to claimed they had not received the email that a group was coming through so they didn't have anything for us. Seems like they should have given us SOMETHING, even if it wasn't the French pastry that was described. Our tour guide, Renee, was very knowledgeable and seemed to really enjoy her job. There was a LOT of walking and standing. THere were three times we had a chance to sit which was greatly enjoyed. My mom is 75 with bad knees and made it through, but she was definitely sore afterwards and it couldn't have ended too soon for her little old legs. All in all we were glad we went. Bring a bottle of water and do some good stretching (if you are not used to walking like us Los Angeles folk). |
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|
Interesting for first timer to French Quarter
|
| Sat, Dec 29, 07 2:00 PM |
jimrichey |
Male |
60-69 |
Combination |
Family Without Children |
| our tour guide, Renee, was very knowledgable on the French Quarter and the
restrauants there, and surrounding area, plus the local history, back to the 1700s.
A great way to see some of the better restrauants of the area and discover the
local cusine. |
|
a fun way to learn about New Orleans and its food
|
| Fri, Dec 28, 07 2:00 PM |
hlillenstein |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| The tour took the participants to a variety of restaurants to hear the history and to sample a food that is chracteristic of the restaurant or the time period. The samples were small, but there were many along the way. The tour could substitute for a luncheon meal. The tour guide was entertaining and added an element of fun. |
|
WARNING: “Non-Refundable, Cannot be Rescheduled”
|
| Mon, Dec 24, 07 2:00 PM |
kurthuffman |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| On December 12, 2007, we reserved the French Quarter Culinary History and Tasting Tour as part of our Christmas Vacation in New Orleans. Two weeks later on December 23, 2007, we were sent an e-mail from Kelly Hamilton, Proprietor, stating “Just wanted to let you know that the tasting tour has been modified for Christmas Eve.” Since we were on vacation we were not actually informed of this change until after arriving at the tasting tour meeting location the next day. My concern was that we were never offered the opportunity to decline the tasting tour and receive a full refund “Because many of the establishments we visit will be closed…”. Therefore, the statistics of our Christmas Eve tasting tour are as follows:
- Length of tasting tour: 75 min / 180 min (40%)
- Inside of restaurants seen: One / Six (15%)
- Samples of Food Tasted: Three / Six (50%)
- Refund received after the tour: $42/$84 (50%)
- Value for the actual money spent: F
I could go into more detail of the events but what concerned me the most was that our tour guide had no personal dining experience with any of the famous restaurants in the French Quarter and could not recommend a Cajun Seafood or Soul Food restaurant anywhere in New Orleans. Based on my personal experience I would recommend that you save your money. |
|
SHOULD HAVE BEEN CANCELLED
|
| Mon, Dec 24, 07 2:00 PM |
JeanLWeiss |
Female |
60-69 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| When the owner discovered that the restaurants were not going to opened Christmas Eve, she should have cancelled the tour and refunded the money. The tour lasted an hour; it was supposed to be a 3-hour tour. We ended up at Tujague's where we were supposed to be served seafood gumbo, shrimp remoulade, brisket of beef, and bread pudding. We received gumbo and brisket. Yes, we did get the Sazerac. We stood at the bar and they slid the food and drink to us. As a local, I was embarrassed. The owner refunded half the price. I paid $9 for parking alone.
Jean Weiss
New Orleans, LA |
|
|
Enjoyed the walking tour and history notes.
|
| Tue, Dec 18, 07 2:00 PM |
seshalin |
Female |
50-59 |
International Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| It was an unusual group because there were only two participatnts that day. That enabled us to ask lots of questions of the guide. Our guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
My friend did find it somewhat tiring, but there were chairs available everywhere we went. The food samples we received were definitely New Orleans in flavour, and were substantial.
Good value. |
|
|
Good history lesson, not enough food
|
| Mon, Dec 17, 07 2:00 PM |
AStafford |
Female |
20-29 |
International Tourist(s) |
Other |
| Great to learn about the history of New Orleans and get an introduction to Cajun/Creole food. However, there were a few places we were supposed to stop and sample some food but they were closed so we didn't get to sample any gumbo. Overall a good experience a little too pricey for what you get. |
|
Not what I expected!
|
| Mon, Dec 17, 07 2:00 PM |
YvonneMcGaha |
Female |
60-69 |
Combination |
Family Without Children |
| We did not expect that most of the tour would be conducted out on the street with people having to go around us. We could not even enter K Paul's Rest. I would have liked to have tasted the food there and especially at Antoine's (where we had nothing). The restaurant Petunia's (where we were supposed to get Gumbo) was closed. The pastry that we got at one of the restaurants was not a New Orleans dish and we received pastry and a praline
BEFORE we got any real food (red beans, small muffaletta & a small piece of brisket). The bartender at Tujaque's barely acknowledged us and there were some drunk customers in there.
Enough negative comments. The young man who conducted the tour seemed very knowledgable and was very polite and fun. The man at the New Orleans School of cooking was extremely nice and fun. He seemed to enjoy having us and had a nice assortment of N.O. products and was willing to answer any food related questions.
I think this tour could be very nice with a few adjustments. |
|
|
Very entertaining tour
|
| Sat, Dec 15, 07 2:00 PM |
jazcat |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| We had an excellent time with one exception. The first stop we made, at the Petunia Restaurant, was disappointing, We had to stand outside in the street because they didn't have room for us yet, when one of our party looked inside, he saw it was mostly empty. It took quite a while for us to get our sample, a seafood gumbo, which was mediocre. The shrimp was overcooked and lukewarm. That was a poor start but the rest of the trip made up for it.
Other than that the tour was very interesting and worth it. Our guide, Chase, was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining and made the tour special. He told us a lot of interesting facts and stories about each stop and was able to answer all of our questions. He never rushed us but did keep the tour moving so no one felt bored. We were able to sit down, albeit briefly, at most of the other stops.
The seafood jambalaya was excellent. The mini-muffelettas and pralines were also very good. The tour through Antoine's was fascinating, especially getting to see all the back dining rooms for the Mardi Gras Krewes. And the information about the history of New Orleans and how that created the food we now know was very interesting. We did not, however, stop at the Hermann-Grima House and tour the kitchens as described in the tour although we did walk by the outside. This may be because we toured on Saturday.
I would definitely recommend the tour to my friends but I would suggest you reconsider the stop at Petunia's. |
|
|
Good food and great info.
|
| Fri, Dec 14, 07 2:00 PM |
marjiA |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Small tours are the best way to learn the culture and history. This tour provided all of this and more because we had delicious samples along the way. Our hostess was knowledgeable and fun to be with. Don't eat lunch just before the tour. Your sampling will be enough. |
