| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Interesting tour, probably more so with Michele T.
|
| Wed, Sep 14, 05 2:00 PM |
msanvic |
Female |
30-39 |
Combination |
Group of Friends |
| I liked the tour, but I knew I would regardless as I like to eat, learn about food and at the same time get the bonus of learning about one of Boston's neighborhoods. My friend who is a local got more out of it than I did as he can go back and try Maria's Bakery or some of the restaurants pointed out.
After reading all the reviews (before and after my tour), I do get the impression that being with Michele as your guide, you get a better experience. Others write about learning trivia, etc that made it more interesting... we did not have that. Our guide (a male) was fine, but I have to admit that I found him at times talking more about where we should stand in a store or on the street than sharing city/food knowledge, and he never made a recommendation on his tastes.. it was always 'Michele recommends this or that"... Part of what makes a great tour is when the guide is passionate and full of energy... people gravitate towards that. I just get the feeling that those who had Michele had the energy, passion and fun much more than what I experienced. |
|
A fun afternoon!
|
| Sat, Sep 10, 05 2:00 PM |
LMirandi |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| I thoroughly enjoyed the tour! I can't wait to go back and do some shopping on my own and dine at one of the many restaurants! I was totally unfamiliar with the North End and now can't wait to do some more exploring there. |
|
|
Enjoyed Immensely
|
| Sat, Sep 10, 05 2:00 PM |
jlwolf |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| Had a wonderful time. Learned lots and lots about the various North End markets and how to shop at each.
Recommend to anyone who enjoys cooking with different ingredients. |
|
Not worth the value
|
| Sat, Sep 10, 05 10:00 AM |
ChefDianeTX |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| While the information was good and the sample's a treat - I thought for the price it wasn't worth the value. Maybe if the groups are smaller they wouldn't be so militant about where we stood in the shops/sidewalks. They made us stand on the street at the vegetable market - I think they could have let a few at a time go in if they were interested. And you couldn't always hear the tour guide because of the size of the group. The secret scoop about the restaurants didn't exist. It was fun for me because otherwise I would have been walking around by myself. |
|
|
Highly recommended!
|
| Sat, Sep 10, 05 10:00 AM |
thealy |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| I highly recommend this tour to anyone who enjoys Italian cooking and culture. Not to mention, the North End is one of the best Italian neighborhoods in the US. |
|
|
New Places Found
|
| Fri, Sep 9, 05 10:00 AM |
ruthbergman |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Individual |
| I have lived in the area for3 1/2 years and have wanted to take the tour. It was so exciting to find places (especially markets) that I didn't know existed. For instance, the fish market and the produce market on Salem Street which we will be going to this evening. I love shopping locally and the North End is my favorite place. |
|
|
Entertaining and educational
|
| Fri, Sep 9, 05 10:00 AM |
Dongolemme |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| Dick Miele was a very informed, experienced tour guide whose knowledge of Italian cooking and culture helped make this tour entertaining and very educational |
|
|
Wonderful!
|
| Sat, Sep 3, 05 1:00 PM |
TrishWhite |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| Michele was an informative, funny and engaging leader. I would highly recommend this activity. |
|
|
Perfect
|
| Sat, Sep 3, 05 10:00 AM |
dventruella |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| It was educational, and enjoyable....... |
|
|
Not indepth enough
|
| Wed, Aug 31, 05 10:00 AM |
Cassandra |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Other |
| I expected the tour to be geared to people with a significant interest in cooking or purchasing Italian culinary products, but it seemed geared more for tourists looking for a unique experience involving food.
My group waited about 1/2 hr. for 5 people who were late and then made a joke of their excuse that they were stuck in traffic, not a great way to begin. May I suggest you let people catch up on their own if they are late since there seemed to be a prearranged sequence to our stops. We got a lot of history as we waited, and other interesting information which would have been more compeling sprinkled throughout the tour.
I expected to go to eight different sites, as advertised, but we only visited six, probably due to lack of time because we got off to a slow start .
Some stores were very inviting with interaction with the sales people/owners making the experience more personal and interesting, others were much less so.
The tour guide, though knowledgable and interesting, at times seemed distracted, not focused. Sometimes it seemed this was due to his desire to conform to owners concerns regarding customers, other times he just seemed vague.
I had hoped for more ideas for recipes. Printing some in your handout would inspire, as well, as encourage purchases.
I was considering the tour for my book group to do it but am not sure I reccommend it. |
