Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

This tour was really good. My sister, daughter and I all enjoyed it enormously. The speciality food shops were interesting to see and it was good to be taken to places a bit off the beaten track, which we normally wouldn't have gone to. The Oil Tree shop and Spice Shop I particularly liked and, of course, the Fudge Shop! I liked the fact that these were mainly traditional family based businesses, using fresh and/or local produce. We went back the same day and bought some tangerine oil and some spices and, of course, chocolate! Our guide, Ariana, was lovely - very pleasant and informative, telling us lots of interesting stories. Ariana - sorry we missed you at the end of the tour - we were so busy enjoying the lovely pizza that you had already gone by the time we left. Keep up the good work!

Enjoyable tour...guide was delightful...Arianna in Chicago.

This was a great tour! My husband and I loved the tour, the tastes, and the knowledge. We learned so much while we sampled, laughed, and walked. This was one of the highlights of our trip- our guide was well informed and lots of fun. I downloaded Devil in the White City to read on her recommendation, great tale of Chicago's history.

We did the Bucktown/Wicker park tour last summer and it was fantastic, so we decided to do the Near North tour this summer. The location wasn't as interesting, the guide had trouble projecting her voice so the group could hear and our group was way too large. I believe we had 17 or so in our group. Our awesome Bucktown tour had about 10. I think you should cap it at 10. Once you have more than about 10 people, not everyone can see/hear/get close enough. Having said all that, it's still a fun tour. If I were asked I would highly recommend the Bucktown/Wicker Park tour but I would only moderately recommend this one.

We had a great time, sampled delicious foods and made new friends along the way! Our tour guide Jessica, a very proud and knowledgeable Chicagoan, took us through local neighbourhoods we wouldn't have found on our own. It was very informal and just alot of fun. We would (and already have) highly recommend this tour to anyone heading to the Chicago area. Thanks so much! Lori (Canada)

This tour was the best thing we experienced in Chicago! Not only was it fun and entertaining for the day, but it also gave us ideas and insider tips for the rest of our vacation. We went back to most of the food places we visited on the tour and we visited several places that were mentioned by the tour guide throughout the tour. The tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable and the food was delicious and plentiful. Not only will we take the tour again when we come back, but we now have a few places that we will be returning to Chicago for.

As a new resident of Chicago, I hadn't had time to explore much. This tour gave me a great basis for branching out further on my own, while being very entertaining in its own right. The food was very good, and the coordination of food and tour was extremely well organized. I went back to one of the establishments for dinner that same day.

Our family thoroughly enjoyed the entire afternoon. Our guide, Shane, interacted with a group of people with varied ages and made everyone feel so comfortable. We can't wait to get back to Chicago and try one of the other tours! Our family loves watching shows like Andrew Zimmern and Man vs. Food, so learning about some of the more unique places in Chicago from someone who obviously loves what he does (and knows it so well) made us feel like we do when we are learning about new places from Andrew and Adam. Please don't miss this unique opportunity!

Shane was knowledgeable and personable! What a winning combination!! This tour focuses on out-of-the-way spots and foods. It was paced to the needs of our group.

Jess was wonderful and accommodating, particularly for my mother who was less mobile than I had hoped when I booked the tour.(Way to go, Jess!) The deli sandwich was worth the trip; the pizza was fantastic. Jess's enthusiasm for her job was infectious. Loved it!!!