Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

We had Nikki( I think I'm Sorry!!!) as our tour guide. She was amazing and made everything really fun. IT says 1.5 miles on there but it never felt like it because she was always talking to people or pointing out facts. My best friend from out of town came here and we decided to do this. We did the North town one. We did want to go to the Bucktown on but never got the chance. When she comes back next year we are going to the Bucktown and China Town one also.

I think the old saying holds true here - "try it, you'll like it". Guaranteed. From our first stop our tour guide, Hillary, was wonderful. She explained everything in detail, from the foods we were trying, to the history of the restaurant and surrounding neighborhood and the architecture. We visited the Ashkenaz Deli, Tea Gschwendner (I wasn't a tea drinker prior to this visit ~ now I am, and truly appreciate and enjoy different teas), The Spice House was alot of fun. We tasted any spice or blend available that held an interest. Try the Saigon Cassia Cinnamon ~ so delicious but no sugar! Back of the Yards Rub and Brisket of Love BBQ Rub are terrific. Our next stop was Old Town Oil. This shop carries specialty olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars. Popular blends included: Roasted Walnut Oil and Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar; Blood Orange Oil and Tangerine Balsamic Vinegar ... and many more! Next was The Fudge Pot. I've never tasted such mouth-watering toffee (the taste was decadent but not at all hard to bite into). They had all sorts of specialty chocolate molds to delight kids as well as adults! Next was Delightful Pastries, a quaint Polish bakery on the Southern edge of the Lincoln Park area. We enjoyed several delicious dishes that I can't begin to spell correctly! We finished our day at Bacino's Pizza in northern Lincoln Park. It is well-known for their original Chicago-style Stuffed Pizza (the most popular, and ironically heart-healthy, pizza is their Spinach Pizza. Wonderful!! After the tour concluded we set our course back to the shops (use your coupons!!) and made many purchases to take home and enjoy (and use as Christmas gifts!). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

The last stop was too far away. It was a 30 minute walk and was too far for me. No walk should be more than 10-15 minutes. It was very discouraging. I had to drop out and therefore did not get my money's worth. Hillary was a great source of information.

The food, mini-classes, history, neighborhood stories, and unique stores were fantastic. We greatly appreciated and used the coupons on the tour. Went back to four of the seven stops and made purchases. Hillary, our guide, was absolutely outstanding. She goes down as the perfect tour guide - ever. We were also grateful for all the details in terms of what to expect and what to wear on the tour previous to arrival. I will recommend this tour to anyone going to Chicago for a visit. We'll done y'all. Kate

A friend in ours stumbled onto the website advertising the tour. Since we all love to sample new food we decided to give the tour a try. It turned out to be much more than just a food tour. It gave us an informative yet intimate view of Chicago that we haven't experienced although we come to the city often. As one of our friends said during the tour "I have to get off Michigan Ave more often when in Chicago." The 3 hour walk was thoughtfully planned. The stops (for food and cultural aspects of the different Chicago neighborhoods) were highly enjoyable and our tour guide, Jess, was absolutely delightful and knowledgeable. We ended up retracing our entire route and hitting almost every store on the way back. We will certainly recommend this tour to our friends visiting Chicago.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Gold Coast tour. Our guide, Jess was fantastic, the food wonderful, and we can't wait to book another tour on our next trip to Chicago. We highly recommend this to both seasoned travelers and newcomers alike.

I have to say I really, really enjoyed this tour. Not only did I experience tasting some excellent food, but I also had a great time and learned ALOT about Chicago I didn't know. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable when it came to Chicago and the food we were tasting. I can't wait to try one of the other tours offered!

We went on the Near North Tour. I would love to see the people that say to eat before the tour!!!!!!!! The food was wonderful and plentiful. The combination of different types of eateries was perfect. The walk was very interesting and relaxed. The guide was energetic, informative, and interesting. Two Thumbs up!!

Our entire group found the tour to be fun and insightful at the same time! Our guide was a delight and very informative. Highly recommended for your next visit to Chicago.

I have been to chicago tons of times but i will have to say that this tour will make this trip unforgetable. Highly recommended!