Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

My wife and I participated in the Near North Food Tour and really enjoyed ourselves. Starting with a reuben sandwich on the freshest bread with the tastiest homemade "russian stye" dressing and ending with Chicago's best pizza was awesome. Every stop in between was wonderful and included tea, pastries, spices and oils, and sweets from a candy store. Our tour guide Hilary was very knowledgeable, friendly and fun. She was very personable and I think she contributed to the overall fun of the day. The only thing we would change is the duration as it was 3-1/2 hours long. We both feel that it could have been done in less time. Overall, it was a great time and I'm glad we participated in this unique tour.

We were from out of town but our friend was a local who had never experienced the food tour. Hillary was our guide and she was fantastic. We not only had wonderful food but enjoyed her knowledge of the local architecture as well. Our friend from Chicago has already bragged about the tour to a number of his friends and colleagues. We are ready to come back and try a different tour next time. Great job Hillary!!!

Couldn't have been better. Nicki knew her stuff and made the trip very pleasant. I did find it odd that we walked right through a local farmers' market without so much as a mention however. To those potential customers thinking that the stops at the spice and olive oil specialty shops will be the low points (as I did), rest assured they are great stops! Thanks Nicki! PS: We went to a restaurant in Old Town for dinner that evening that was not on your list (Orso's) and the food and service were great and worth being on your list!

Nikki our tour guide was great as was the food! My wife and I took this tour on October 23rd in the Near North End with a group of four other friends. We had a blast! Not only was the food good; we all agreed the history and walking part were very interesting. This tour was well worth the money and took a full 3 hours 15 minutes. My wife and I actually went back to the deli & the tea shop on our way out of town the next morning. We would have gone back to all the restaurants/shops but there is only so much you can eat in the morning on your way out of town!

This is a different and very enjoyable way to visit the city. The guide was enthousiastic, full of energy and seemed to want to make everybody discover something new, be it the city itself, or new food. I chose this tour out of the 3 offered because I felt it touched to a wider variety of foods, and I wasn't dissapointed. This tour starts with a sandwich, so if you're doing it around 11am, like we did, have breakfast early that morning, or a light snack, but don't go to a brunch and then start the tour. The good thing is a very delicious cup of tea awaits you, then oil and vinegar tasting, then a piece of fudge, then the smells of herbs and spices...to finish with the grand finale, the pizza. I would recommend this tour, and will do the others, when I get a chance to go back to chicago. It is a walking tour, but nothing strenuous. My mom is 67 and she didn't think it was tiring at all. It doesn't end where it starts, so if you want to plan the rest of your day around the tour, it would be a good way to make the most out of your time. Have fun, and bon appetit!

this tour was a great mix of local foods, spices, oils and area architectural info. The big PLUS was Jess our guide because she was patient and very knowledgeable and we had great weather. It was great to get into other areas beside the mag mile. We were in Old Town and Lincoln Park, where I would have missed had I not done this tour.

Jess was our guide and she was terrific. She has great energy, was very knowledgeable and conscientious. I have been on other food/walking tours in NYC and this was one of the best. I loved the places we went, the history and the pace of the tour. Most importantly, I liked that we had a reasonable amount of time in the stores to taste, explore, ask questions and we learned a lot. Jess was a big part of that equation. Thanks. Terry Schubach

My niece and I throughly enjoyed our food tour with Hillary. I was a bit skeptical about the choices for stops (olive oil and spice shops?) but they were interesting and delicious. I just wished the pizza stop was not so far away since we couldn't shop during the tour and it was not convenient to swing back to those shops. My niece has told all her friends and clients to do the tour, and I have been online doing my shopping. The shop owners were friendly and informative, and their offerings were wonderful. It was a fun experience and we enjoyed the food, information, and the sightseeing along the way.

My husband and I loved this tour. Our group leader was wonderful and made the tour interesting and fun. Going to the various food establishments was a fantastic experience and the selection was outstanding. I especially loved learning about the spices and oils and vinegars and will be ordering these products on line. They also will make outstanding holiday gifts. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Chicago since it not only gives tastes of wonderful foods but the history of the neighborhoods where the food establishments are located. I have never been a fan of riding a bus while someone points out various points of interest. Actually visiting key businesses and walking is (in my opinion) the best way to get a sense of a city that one has never been to. I highly recommend this tour and when we visit the Chicago area again will plan on taking another food tour.

we had a beautiful sunny fall day for our excursion. Our guide was helpful AND enthusiastic which really got us excited for all the food and architectural tastes and sites on our tour. Our group of five friends had a blast. Two grew up in the city and the rest were country or suburb kids so there were things to see for all of us. We will definitely go on another one of your tours in the spring!