Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

You will certainly fill up on information, as for food...they say to eat first. The information and atmosphere of this walking tour is wonderful, the tastes are just that..."tastes", but that is just what we wanted and expected. Our family had a great experience! The only thing that I would hope would change for others is that for those unfamilier with this city, it was not easy for us to return to the start point. Think of a long walk in one direction. The tour leaves you on your own at the end, far from the beginning. If we lived there and were pros at getting around...no big deal, but when you do this tour be sure to factor in at least $22 dollars for parking plus taxi fare??$ or be prepared for a long walk back. We felt this was worth our time and really enjoied the tour...Caterer was really a bummer though, not too pleasent and cheese and hummus certainly does nothing to showcase his "Tallents".

This is the second time on the tour for me. I love the food and the tour guide was very knowledgeable about the architecture and the history of the area. I was very glad that some of the menu items changed, not that the previous food was bad but it was nice to have a little change. The only thing I would recommend that you may want to do differently is tell people that the tour is 3 1/2 hours long, just in case they made plans for afterwards.

Our guide was wonderful. She gave us information and entertained us. My favorite stop was to Tea Gschwender. I had no idea that tea could taste so great without sugar!

Loved the walking food tour that I was on. I got to see parts of Chicago I otherwise wouldn't have and sample some of the most delicious foods that Chicago brags about. Our tour guide was enthusiastic, informative, very helpful and friendly. A great experience that I would highly recommend when in Chicago.

For many years we have been traveling to Chicago to experience the "Big City" culture and food. We have enjoyed the plays, museums, eaten at many of the fine restaurants but , we wanted to experience something different. this trip. We chose to stay in a Gold Coast hotel and when I saw the Near North Food Tasting and Cultlural Walking Tour on-line - I thought it would fit in perfectly with our plans and it did. We thoughly enjoyed the quaint shops and the great food on the tour. Our guide was very informative and it was just not a walk from shop to shop, but an educational tour. Being from a small town in the mid-west it was great to feel the eating experience with the locals in their neighborhoods.

Great food and interesting selections. A nice mix of specialty and "main stream" stores. Who would have thought you could have so much fun learning about olive oil and vinegar! The spice shop is a MUST see and smell. I plan on ordering from them going forward! Thanks for such a wonderful afternoon!!!

We started our tour with a very enthusiastic tour guide, Jessie. Our group consisted of my sister, my niece, my mother and my daughter. With the different age groups I was a little concerned about the tour and how it would appeal to everyone. Let me say it was fantastic. Our guide was so energetic and fun to be with. We all enjoyed each stop and have not stopped talking about it since we left. What great fun and a super way to see the city of Chicago.

Near North Food Planet Tour My husband and I have beening traveling to Chicago on pleasure for 20 years and discovered wonderful "foodie" destinations that we will return to again and again. We had enough delicious samples to more than fill us up. From the deli sandwich to the pizza, eveything was a tasty surprise. Our favorite stop was Old Town Oil. The flavored oils and vinegars were incredible. We look forward to experimenting with our purchases from that store. Ditto for the Tea shop; so many new flavors to add to our tea selection. Next time we travel to Chicago we will try the other Food Planet Tour. We can't wait!

The food tour was the high point of my Chicago vacation. Our guide Jessie was enthusiastic, knowledgable and outgoing. The portions of food were adequate- (you will not be hungry!). I've been on other food tours that were inside a market and although enjoyable it can not compete with being outdoors and learning about the neighborhood. I'm already looking forward to another tour by the same company!

My husband and I have visited Chicago many times, but have never seen it quite like we did during the tour. Being independent business owners ourselves, we appreciated the opportunity to visit some of Chicago's lesser known establishments. Our guide, Jen, was terrific. She shared so much about the neighborhoods we visited that it made us want to spend more time there. We enjoyed the food, but even more so the demonstrations about tea, spices and oils, which were very informative. The only thing missing was a Chicago hot dog, which would have been a nice addition. We highly recommend this tour. Just remember that it's one way! It's up to you to find your way back, but that gives everyone a chance to stop and shop at the places you visited.