| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Great day in the North End
|
| Sat, Nov 5, 05 10:00 AM |
katwoman1259 |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| I went on the North End tour with two friends this November. It was a great day. We learned so much and enjoyed the wonderful food and information. Paul, our guide, was very nice and informative. We tried one of the restaurants, Artu, and had a great lunch! (The eggplant was divine) After lunch we retraced the tour and bought lots of
food,etc. We are all from Massachusetts and visit the North End often. I look forward to trying every restaurant on the list. thanks for a great day. |
|
|
Interesting, Informative and fun
|
| Fri, Nov 4, 05 3:00 PM |
bciliberto |
Male |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| Sure beats wandering around the Italian section wondering what's up! Great little tastings, wonderful tour guide. Fair weather helped too! |
|
|
Facinating insight into North End food and culture
|
| Fri, Nov 4, 05 10:00 AM |
kmedmunds |
Female |
40-49 |
International Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| I was pleased that Michele herself led the tour I went on - she's a very good 'teacher' and I learnt more things about Italian food in 3 hours that I learnt on my 3 holidays in Italy! Michele was happy to answer questions and accept our observations. The North End is a fabulous place to eat out, shop for food goodies and to get a great cup of coffee. After the tour I had lunch at 'Artu' (one of her recommendations) and had a wonderful Melazane Parmigiano (aubergine/egg plant with tomato sauce and cheese). Go on this tour - it's worth every penny. |
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|
Absolutely wonderful. Guide was excellent
|
| Sat, Oct 29, 05 1:00 PM |
sineadomah |
Female |
30-39 |
International Tourist(s) |
Other |
| It was one of the highlights of my mother and my visit to Boston. I would abolutely recommend it to any Irish person heading to the Boston area. It was lovely to see an authentic "neighbourhood". Our guide was superb, very informative and friendly. We loved the food and all the recommendations for restaurants etc.! Well done! |
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|
unusual and enjoyable tour
|
| Sat, Oct 29, 05 10:00 AM |
Lisabp |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Group of Friends |
| With a strong emphasis on culinary topics, this 3 hour tour covered a lot of ground in Boston's North End. Unlike the more common history tours, we didn't hit such highlights as the Paul Revere House. This tour was wonderfully unusual. We did learn a lot about the history of the neighborhood, but far more about the cultural dynamics and particularly the cuisine. We visited many stores and sampled products in most of them. For the cooks among us, there was a lot to take home to our kitchens. We tasted for ourselves (for example) the importance of quality in olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, and become familiar with many new ingredients. Noncooks enjoyed learning about the social interaction of the area and how the cuisine developed from the unique Italian-American experience. Much of the fun was returning to the shops after the tour for our purchases, and enjoying a meal in a restaurant recommended by the tourguide. Another plus was the information handed out that will help us maximize our next visit to the North End. |
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|
The taste and aroma -small village in a big city
|
| Fri, Oct 28, 05 10:00 AM |
Mullineaux |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| My thirteen year old daughter enjoyed this tour. If you have a teenager that is all you will need to know. This tour is excellent. The north-end is like a small Italian village. The tour is an immersion into the tastes, aromas, and sights of an european-like section of a large city. Maria and Enda at Maria's Bakery, welcome you as guests into their store. The pastries were marvelous and their hospitality was exceptional. The wine selection at both liquor stores was incredible. At a store like Polcari's and the candy store I found items that you can't find hardly anywhere- especially in the large overwhelming corporate run stores. No big boxes here. I enjoyed the information about the history of the north end settlers and the difference between Italian and Italian American foods. I also liked the tastings that compared the smell and tastes of the same type of spice and nut.
I think this is a great tour for adults and teenagers interested in the culinary arts or teenagers that like to eat.
Take the tour. You wont' regret it. |
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The Perfect Birthday Gift!
|
| Fri, Oct 28, 05 10:00 AM |
VSprow |
Female |
20-29 |
Combination |
Couple on a Date |
| This tour is PERFECT for someone who already has everything! My boyfriend is a HUGE Italian food lover, and he had the best birthday ever on this tour! Michele even arranged for a birthday cake to be brought out to him in the pastry shop. It's great to go on the morning tour, and follow it with lunch and a few hours of shopping. The shops that we stopped in were LEGITIMATE--we've been to Italy many times and these were exactly what Italy was like--not commercialized American places giving the tour a kickback for taking people there. You feel totally immersed in this hidden culture, where people actually do still speak Italian, and hang out in coffee shops in the morning. The samples were excellent--I especially liked Maria's Pastry Shop and Salumeria's meats and cheeses. Now we have a list of places that we'll go back to to shop for legitimate, high quality foods--just like in Italy. |
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|
Candied Fruit
|
| Wed, Oct 26, 05 2:00 PM |
Hueby2 |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Paul did a great job telling us about the food and people of Italy and the Northend. Will recommend this to others. |
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Interesting tour, but a lil slow?
|
| Sat, Oct 22, 05 1:00 PM |
diddy910 |
Male |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| maybe i am just an impatient person. i think the idea of this tour is really cute, but i feel like tour could have moved at a fast pace. (i think it could have been 1.5 hr or 2 hrs rather 3 hrs) also, i was a bit disappointed by the amount of samples we received.(haha yeah i'm a pig), but overall, it was a good tour just not sure if it is really worth $50/person. all in all, if you like boston and north end area, it is a good tour to take your date on. wear comfy shoes for sure! |
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Interesting, but still overrated
|
| Sat, Oct 22, 05 10:00 AM |
mstaebe |
Male |
30-39 |
Local |
Individual |
| The tour certainly provides some interesting insighs, but I think it is overrated
* Tour was not given by Michelle Topor, but by some more junior guide
* Offered nothing really new to me
* Tastings were rather limited
* Group was very large (12+) -- at a few stores the group had to wait outside, because the store was too small for the large group
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