Meals not included

Doctor Susan

What did you guys do about the dinners not included and the dinner the night prior to the trip? Did you prebook restaurants or go with recommendations from the tour director while there?
Thanks,
Susan and Steve

AlanS

We took the Classic Italy, not this tour, but you will have no problem finding good places to eat in any of these cities. Both food and service exceeded that provided in most US 'Italian' restaurants we have been to. You really have to look hard to find a "bad" place to eat.

Unless you want a specific meal prepared in a special way, by a 'name' chef, are looking for a really high end place, or one sought by the cruise ship crowd, you won't likely need reservations, and if they are needed, they can likely be made by the concierge when you check it at the hotel. The internet and travel books (TripAdvisor, Rick Steves, etc.) will have plenty of suggestions. My suggestion is to search the forums here first, then get a recommendation from the hotel concierge and/or you TD. Both generally base their recommendations on feedback from previous patrons.

Doctor Susan

Thanks for the info
Susan and Steve

crackers54

The TD gives you recommendations based on past guests letting them know good meals. When I travel in Europe i use Rick Steves travel books for eating. If you don't want to buy the book local library has latest editions. I usually download copy to my book app to always have it with me. Great walking tours.

BillHolman

I'm new like you Susan. Researching restaurants is fun, but endless. I've used TripAdvisor, Rick Steves' and others.
We plan to make some reservations, especially to places that say it's "a must." We know friends who were able to get reservations through the concierge the same day also.

British

I love food and Tauck certainly provides mountains of it on their tours----so much so, that sometimes when we have to find a meal ourselves, instead of going all out to a restaurant, we just buy a snack because we are just too full of food to want anything more. Because we are not natives of the US, we find that when we are choosing a new city to visit, places to eat are much lower on our priority list. Scenery, museums and theatre tend to be more important to us, so we often prefer to have a quick meal to give us more time to pursue those things. Having said that, one of our most favorite meals in Italy was on a Tauck visit to Florence when we came across a tiny restaurant that had no written menu, the waiter just explained what was on offer that night, one of the things was tripe, absolutely delicious, sadly an American group turned their noses up at tripe, boy did they miss out.

AlanS

British wrote:

we came across a tiny restaurant that had no written menu, the waiter just explained what was on offer that night, one of the things was tripe, absolutely delicious, sadly an American group turned their noses up at tripe, boy did they miss out.

And rightly so!! Seriously, I must admit, unlike haggis (which I didn't care for), I have never tried tripe. But just reading a BBC food description that included where it comes from and statements like "its chewy texture can take some getting used to" and "it is an acquired taste," I'm fairly certain I will likely never order it and find out for myself! : ) Its kinda like the cervelle de veau I tried but wish I hadn't when I was in France. Lutefisk, or a Balut anyone?

BillHolman

Make reservations! I had to choose between 7:00 or 9:00 at one restaurant in Venice; nothing available in between. No problem with the one we wanted in Florence.
Also booked a cooking class on the extra day, Sunday in Rome. It starts at 4:00 and includes dinner, the food we make.