Gold Coast & Old Town Food Tour

We spent a wonderful morning with Hilary as she took us to a variety of interesting and varied spots in the near north area of Chicago. What a terrific introduction to the city. We had a number of very interesting and delicious things to eat along the way and learned a lot about the neighbourhoods we walked through. Hilary is very knowledgeable and fun to be with. The weather was pretty crappy, but Hilary kept us pumped up with her enthusiasm. We've already recommended this tour to a number of people we met along the way, including the Chicago greeter we met on Sunday. Please pass on our thanks to Hilary for a great morning.

There's nothing else like a walking food tour. You get to meet interesting people from all over; you taste wonderful food, sometimes for the first time; you discover new shops; and you learn about local architecture and history. Oh, and you get exercise at the same time! The Near North food tour was fabulous -- as was our guide -- and the food stop that I thought I'd like the least was the one I enjoyed the most. My boyfriend and I had the best time. Not only do we recommend the food tours, but we'd absolutely do another.

This was a fabulous way to walk the streets, learn interesting historical and culinary facts, and eat great food, all in one tour. Our tour guide Hilary was great which helped to make this a really fun experience. I would definitely take another food tour, next time in a different neighbourhood.

I travel quite a bit and everywhere I go I try to do a food tour. I love Chicago's food so I was very excited for this one. Wow was I disappointed. It started off great with a ruben sandwich and a local tea company, but after that we sat through a spice lesson and sampled oils & vinegars. I don't know anyone who travels to Chicago because of their great vinegar. The next stop was a fudge shop which would have been great, but we were rushed in, given a piece of toffee (not the fudge which I was surprised) and rushed out. After another stop, we were then going to a pizza shop which I was very excited about. Unfortunately we had to walk 30 minutes to get there! Once we arrived the pizza was brought out and it was a spinach pizza. I get that it's healthy, but seriously, a spinach pizza? I wondered when we were going to get to try a Chicago hot dog, only to learn that it's only on one of their OTHER tours. What a joke. Through all the walking, there was no water bottles given out. I spend nearly $50 and you can throw in a bottle of water while I'm walking for miles? I experienced MUCH better food by just doing a little internet research on my own and going out walking around. This was a HUGE disappointment and I would not recommend it.

Everyone should try it. Price is great.

Delicious food and interesting information!

Our original plans were to visit the Shedd Aquarium, however, when reviewing the options on-line, I came across the tour information. There are few words to describe how tremendously pleased my husband and I were with the tour and the guide. Truly,EVERYTHING was special, unique, and completely delightful! I would strongly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to see Chicago from a completely different perspective!

I REALLY RECOMMEND THIS TOUR. THE SHOPS VISITED DURING THE TOUR WERE UNIQUE, ENTERTAINING AND INFORMATIVE. TEA GSCHWENDNER, THE SPICE HOUSE AND OLD TOWN OIL WERE AMAZING AND OF COURSE THE LAST STOP AT BACINO'S. THE DEEP DISH PIZZA IS AMAZING. I TRIED OTHER DEEP DISH PIZZAS FROM OTHER RESTAURANTS BUT BACINO'S IN MY OPINION IS BY FAR THE BEST. OUR TOUR GUIDE WAS ALSO AMAZING. SHE WAS VERY UPBEAT AND KNOWLEDGEBLE. SHE MADE THE EXPERIECE UNFORGETTABLE.

We did a food tour in Greenwich Village a few years ago, and we really loved it. So as we planned our trip to Chicago, we had to include a food tour. Let me say straight away, the tour in New York was better. I really wasn't impressed by several of the stops. I'm not much of Tea Drinker, so that stop was lost on me. The spice store stop would probably be good for some, but we go to Penzi Spice all the time, and this place was kind of like touring a Penzi Spice (although the owner talk was incredible). The olive oil store was interesting, but I would've been happy with more varieties (brands, I guess) instead of different flavors. The chocolate place was good, and they have obviously been a big part of the community for a long time. Jewish Deli and Pizza were really good. But more than anything, I enjoyed walking around the neighborhoods, and listening to the excellent tour guide talk about the history and architecture. Wonderful, interesting details about specific houses made the tour lively and interesting. So I would rate the tour portion 5 stars, and the food portion 3 stars. But I'm pretty spoiled, if you haven't done a food tour, and your still reading this and thinking about it, go do! It is definitly worth the afternoon.

My wife and I did the Near North Tour and we really liked it. Our guide was very nice and the places we visited were very interesting. The food places were all really good and the houses and places we visited along with the guide's explanations gave us a nice understanding of Chicago after the fire and its north neighborhoods. We walked for a couple of hours, but it is an easy walk :)