Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

Great tour guide (Nikki) and delightful stops along the tour. The FudgePot was the weak link with no owner interaction (almost felt like we were in the way). We will highly recommend this to any friends that will be visiting the windy city!

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Our guide, Caroline (I think that was her name--sorry!), was very friendly and enthusiastic. I have a few dietary restrictions and she discreetly catered to them when possible. I thought that all of the stops were very informative--especially the tea and spice stops. One suggestion would be to stop somewhere else besides Catering and Chocolate. No one from the shop spoke to us about the shop or business and while everything there looked nice, it didn't really add anything to the tour because there wasn't any personal connection like in all of the other shops. Perhaps stop at the bakery going in next door instead? Also, as a native, I Iearned a thing or two about some Chicago history (like, I finally know where the Playboy mansion was, the origin of the Second City moniker). I would recommend this tour to locals and tourists alike.

We were a part of the Sept. 19 11:30a.m. tour with Jessie as our guide. We could not have asked for a nicer, more informed, personable guide. Very articulate and knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her subject. All four in our group are lifelong Chicago-area residents and we learned a lot! A couple of suggestions. There should be more food offered on the tour. While eating a substantial amount at every stop wouldn't be feasible or recommended, perhaps one of the stops in the middle of the tour could offer a bit more. Also, I think the group would have enjoyed receiving a "Food Planet" chocolate bar at the Fudge Pot stop. Our group was under the impression that that was why our guide made a point of showing us the Food Planet mold. One last thing, any chance a taste of liquor could be included? I don't think a taste of beer or wine would do any harm. Finally, please choose a different pizza as an example of Chicago pizza! We were very disappointed with Bacino's. I'd hate to think that visitors to Chicago would go away thinking Bacino's was representative of good Chicago pizza. Overall, we had a great time. I would definitely recommend this activity to others. Thank you.

Our tour was excellent and our tour guide was exceptional. Our group would absolutely do this type of event again either in Chicago or another city. We had 7 stops/tastings along the way. The last stop for Chicago pizza seemed like it was a long way to walk. Our group felt that it would have been better to be located closer to the other stopping points. It would be very beneficial to both the attendees and the shop owners to be able to purchase items at the time that we are in their shop. There were several things that we as a group would have liked to have purchased but didn't have the time to go back after our tour was completed. I would rather add another 45 minutes to the tour to allow for purchases to be made. Over all - 10 out of 10.

Thoroughly enjoyed this tour visiting many vendors that I normally would never see, i.e. spice shop. I really like the beet sauce and Reuben Sandwich at Askenaz deli and the spinach and mozarella cheese stuffed pizza. Jen was absolutely terrific with her knowledge of the area and history of Chicago. She puts so much enthusiasm and style to her tours. I will gladly return to Chicago and retake this tour as well as the Bucktown/Wicker Park tour again. thanks for the experience. Betty Walters

Our tour guide was Jen, she kept us entertained, fed and educated. Appreciated her comments regarding the 3 neighborhoods you pass thru on the tour. She got all of us involved during the tour, worked well introducing oursleves before we started the tour, she was great. The shops all nice and were all locally owned. Great Neighborhoods. At the "The Spice house" spot we had the chance to hear a presentation from the owner of the business, very informative. My wife and I had a great time - weather was perfect.

This tour was so informative, interesting & fun. Not only did we get to taste different foods, spices, oils & vinegars, but we learned about some of the neighborhoods. Our tour guide, Nicki, was wonderful. She was very knowledgeable about the areas and made the whole experience a fantastic time. Thank you Nicki.

Not just a food tour. That was great, but our tour included local architecture, local lore, interesting neighborhood tid bits etc.. we really had a good time.

My husband & I really enjoyed this tour. Our guide, Jen, was just wonderful! She gave us a lovely tour of three local neighborhoods, giving us bits of information on the history, architecture and local events in each. She was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic---you could tell she enjoys what she's doing and is a real "people person". The food was varied, interesting and enjoyable. We didn't get to go into the deli that day, as it was just before a holiday and they were exceptionally busy, but we got to sit on their patio and experience our first tasting---so good! I was a bit curious about the tea and oil shops, but those turned out to be two of our favorites! My husband is now drinking tea, thanks to what he learned and experienced that day (thanks, Abigail!). I learned so much in the oil shop about what is good, what I like---I would never have expected to learn so much there, or enjoy it so much! I was really impressed. The spice shop was quite interesting, even though I am not the cook in the family. The chocolate shop was every bit as wonderful as you would imagine, and Dave (I believe that's correct--the owner) was gracious and answered all questions patiently. It's nice to see family owned businesses. I enjoyed the pizza at the end, as well! Wear comfortable walking shoes, take your camera and enjoy! All in all, I would recommend this tour very highly!