VIP Carbondale 8

This video gives a good overview of what I do - more on the way

Our American Guest family builds generations of experience into every travel program. Since 2002, our mission has been to capture the imagination of your corporate guests with tailored incentives, events, meetings, and VIP travel experiences throughout the USA and beyond. From initial contact, through planning, sourcing, contracting, and on-site management, we treat your project as if we were the client. Our personal network of global suppliers helps us bring your vision to life. With genuine passion, an international team, and American hospitality, we deliver our promise: your business matters.

Lip Smacking Foodie Tours hosts award-winning VIP group dining experiences with visits to the top restaurants throughout the United States. Choose either a daytime activity or evening dine-around where groups are escorted immediately to the best tables in the house at the most-sought-after restaurants to enjoy a parade of signature dishes and craft cocktails at each venue, all with complete VIP service. This unique experience gives guests the opportunity to sit next to different colleagues at each venue to mix, mingle, and easily network. Each tour is led by a professional guide specializing in escorting large groups with utmost care, who personalizes each experience with fun and engaging information along the way. Lip Smacking Foodie Tours are both an entertaining activity and unique dining experience melded into one, that are sure to add new vitality to meeting events, from conferences to team building. All-Inclusive Group Dining When meeting planners book a corporate group event through Lip Smacking Foodie Tours, the entire group is assured a top-notch dining experience with three to four signature dishes at each restaurant. Our affordable tours are priced per person with tax and gratuities included. The only thing not included are drinks. However, a beverage package upgrade is available, which provides guests a signature cocktail at various stops. Build Your Network Our exclusive experiences provide the ultimate networking opportunities. At a typical sit-down dinner, you’re lucky to engage the person to the left and right of you. Because our tours take place at multiple restaurants, with walking in between, there are countless opportunities to interact with different people when you sit down at each venue and as you traverse along the way. Our experiences not only provide more ways to network, but a more convivial way to do so. Large Groups Welcome Lip Smacking Foodie Tours is ideal for groups, small or large. Our experiences can accommodate groups from as few as 1 to as many as 500 guests, making us an ideal choice for any corporate group event. Stress-Free Booking Process Booking a tour is stress-free and allows you to enjoy the company of your guests more easily. You’ll take comfort knowing that everything is taken care of from the moment the tour is booked to the minute it concludes. Since the menu is already set, you have nothing to worry about. Just remember to submit ahead of the tour date any dietary restrictions and food allergies for anyone in your group. Feel Like a VIP at Each Stop With Lip Smacking Foodie Tours, you and your group members never have to worry about waiting in line to get into a top restaurant or being shown to a less than desirable table. On our tours, everyone is treated like a VIP with immediate seating upon arrival. What’s more, your group may receive a special warm welcome personally from the restaurant chef. Menus can be printed featuring your logo, too, which can be an added bonus for all those Instagram moments you share. For added ease, we can even arrange transportation pick-up and drop-off, as well as an event photographer. And for groups that desire an extra luxe experience, we can also arrange for an evening helicopter ride over the glittering lights of The Strip. A Memorable Experience for All Lip Smacking Foodie Tours offers a way to gather and dine that few have experienced, and all are sure to remember. Our one-of-a-kind tours are special, from the first stop to the last. It’s an experience that attendees will reminisce about long after they leave. Location, Location, Location One of the best reasons to book is the convenient and efficient way the experience is designed. All restaurants are within an easy walking distance of each other. The short stroll allows your group members a chance to engage in prime networking opportunities before heading to the next place on your tour itinerary. You Get a Dinner and a Show Our tours offer an exquisite feast plus entertainment. All tours include a knowledgeable, professional guide who leads the group on a walking tour, offering engaging tidbits and fascinating stories. Several other interactive experiences are included along the way exclusively to our tours, ensuring there is never a dull moment. Different Types of Cuisine Our experiences offer the ability to enjoy several renowned restaurants in one convenient outing, including ones you and your guests might not have discovered otherwise on your own or at a typical corporate dinner. We offer a way to try some of the finest spots in the city and dive into various cuisines and dishes. All the pre-selected dishes are curated to our high standards to ensure they will delight any palate. Tours Available from Day to Night With any corporate group experience, booking flexibility is key. Whether you desire a tour during business hours or early evening right after work, we can coordinate with you to provide options that fit your needs. Go for as Long or as Short as You Like Along with flexible scheduling, Lip Smacking Foodie Tours also provides a range of tour durations. Our shortest tour is about 2.5 hours; our longest is about 5 hours, with optional add-ons and incentives.

Planning your group event at Fogo de Chão, Downtown Chicago is the easiest and most productive part of the meeting planning process. Located in the heart of Chicago’s Entertainment District River North and 5 miles from McCormick Place Convention Center, we proudly offer incredible service, world class Brazilian cuisine, the most flexible meeting and event spaces and exciting bar in the Downtown Chicago Area.

Our classic Sushi By Bou experience includes a timed chef’s choice 12-piece omakase. For extra time at the chef’s counter, and additional pieces, upgrade to our Bougie option. Come early, and stay late, to enjoy our craft cocktails, imported sake selection, and high-energy vibes.

Encore provides creative, production and event technology services to create events that transform. Encore creates memorable event experiences that engage and transform organizations. As the global leader for event technology and production services, Encore’s team of creators, innovators and experts deliver real results through strategy and creative, advanced technology, digital, environmental, staging, and digital solutions for hybrid, virtual and in-person events of any type.

Located in Chicago's West Loop, Recess (838 W. Kinzie St.) offers a vibrant, playful, escape to the daily grind. Home of Chica- go's largest patio, Recess encourages guests to adult...like a kid, while serving up delicious American food and drink.

A few words from the man himself… Growing up in an Italian-American household, food was always front and center in all family gatherings. I found myself in the kitchen during any family event and have fond memories watching as my mother made sauce, my grandmother made meatballs, and my aunts made cookies. As I got older it became obvious to me that my passion and future profession would be cooking in one capacity or another. I started my training with Inspiration Kitchens in Chicago, followed by stints in my uncle's hot dog stand Mandino's located in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin. Eventually, I formalized my training in some of Chicago's most beloved restaurants with names such as Publican Quality Meats, Au Cheval, Formento's, and Table Donkey and Stick. While fine-dining kitchens help sharpen my skills, my Italian/American roots were calling. Nothing made me want to make my mark on this industry quite like pizza.

At Lirica, a modern open kitchen, expansive bar, and outdoor seating featuring sweeping views of Lake Michigan and the city skyline foster a warm, convivial atmosphere in a space that feels casual, while elevated.

Our Orland Park location is located in the Orland Square Shopping Center, a premier dining and shopping destination. The restaurant features an open churrasco grill giving guests a 360-degree view of gaucho chefs demonstrating the culinary art of churrasco as they butcher, prepare and grill high-quality cuts of protein over an open flame. The new location features a warm, timeless and approachable setting that compliments the local Orland Park community. Additional highlights to enhance the guest experience include an expansive dining room centered around a fresh and seasonal Market Table anchored at the front of the grill, dry aged meat lockers for in-house aging and a lively indoor Bar Fogo area, ideal for smaller, shareable plates and craft cocktails.