Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

I always go on culinary walking tours when they are available in a city I visit, and this one was excellent. Lots of yummy samples, great presentations and good discounts at the stores we visited. LOTS of walking!!! Much more than in our tours of NYC neighborhoods. Our tour ended up about about a mile and a half from our starting point, so we had to backtrack to walk back to our hotel (another mile or so from the starting point!). I didn't mind though, it gave us a chance to go back to our favorite stores and use our coupons! Go hungry, wear comfortable shoes and you will have a great afternoon.

Good mix between walking, eating and learning. Overall, an 8 out of 10. Thanks!

We loved this tour and would highly recommend it. The restaurants and stores were varied so we had lots of different tastings. The information about the food, the restaurants, and the city of Chicago was interesting for both the locals and the tourists in our group. Our guide was awsome because she was friendly and had pizzaz. Our whole group enjoyed both the tour itself and our guide.

Great, however the tour guide Ariana, made it even better. Her detailed knowledge made for a great tour. I am a manager in the customer service business and you cant fake it with me.

I have visited Chicago many times in the past. I learned more about Chicago and some of its neighborhoods on this tour than I have on all my trips to the area combined. Our tour guide Arianna, was energetic, articulate and very knowledgeable. She made the trip enjoyable and interesting. I love the combination of food, exercise and information - it made for a very enjoyable day.

Same as above

My husband & I enjoyed the tour very much! The tea, spice, and olive oil/vinegar shops were unusual and interesting. The tea shop was especially educational and we went back to make purchases later. We would have liked an option to buy a smaller size of the oils &/or vinegars or even a special "tour group" sample that we made ourselves to take with us so that we could try as many varieties as we tasted. At $20 a bottle, even with the coupon the price is quite a bit above the other options on this tour, although the experience of mixing our own oil & vinegar was very fun and a unique experience. The pizza at the end was very good and the mix of large and small food portions along the way were well planned. Our only suggestion would be a little more ethnic diversity (or another tour that would focus on all ethnic foods). (The Verve tours in NYC do this very well.) The tour guide, Jen, was very well educated and helpful along the way with all of our questions. The neighborhood tour part was interesting and unfortunately, there wasn't time for more, as we would have enjoyed more information about the architecture and origins of the neighborhoods.

The North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour was really good and a lot of fun. Make sure you are up to a three and a half hour walk with breaks. We learned many interesting things and tasted some really good food, spices, beverages and chocolate. The chocolate was outstanding! Personally I would have enjoyed a little more solid food rather than the oils and balsamic vinegars, but it was kewl to learn about them. Our tour guide was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the food stops and knew quite a bit about Chicago. I recommend the tour as a great way to see some of Chicago's north side and to experience some of the city's cuisine that many visitors don't take the opportunity to experience.

We had a 70 year old plus women, my husband, my self and a 12 year old boy. We all loved the tour. It is a much more intimate tour than the trolley or bus tour and we loved going into the shops and learning about the neighborhoods and especially the tasting! The specialty shops (the olive oil and the spice shops) were our favorites....not to mention the pizza. We would love to go back to the great city of Chicago and try one of the North Tours other tours!

The tour was very enjoyable and informative. The tasting stops were very diverse and gave a good characterization of the city. The tour group of 16 is a nice size - not too small, not too big - and the weather was terrific. Our tour guide, Katie, was very entertaining, lively, and considerate - terrific way to see Chicago apart from the usual tourist destinations. The food was great and the historical and cultural information was interesting. Our only complaint is the fact we are not allowed to shop. It should be mentioned that many tourists may not have a chance to go back to the stores and restaurants to get a better try, so perhaps take out one of the destinations and instead give 5 more minutes to shop at each location?