Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

The tour is a superlative way to become oriented to a slice of Chicago. The food was terrific - every caloric laden bite! Our guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The walk was gentle and do-able for our group but probably not recommended for anyone with a disability. I took the "no shopping" rule to heart and returned later in my stay to buy spices, oils, vinegars and out-of-this-world sweets at the choice locations we visited. Go! It's worth every penny.

Our guide, Hillary, was fun, enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. There were plenty of samples on the tour and all were fantastic. Next time we are in Chicago we will definitely go on one of the other tours offered by Chicago Food Planet Food Tours.

I loved the mix of shops included in the tour. We were blessed with great weather and Hillary as our guide. She was friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The walk through the neighborhoods was an added bonus and really helped us appreciate the history of the area and the effect of the fire on the area's architecture. I'd love to take in another tour the next time I'm in the city. We recommended to several that we met and were surprised that many of the locals weren't familiar with the tours.

Kent led a great tour beginning at a delicious jewish deli followed by a stop at a gourmet tea shop. It was a nice pace, the explanations of the food were very thoughtful and informative. I especially enjoyed the next two stops which were a spice shop and an olive oil/vinegar specialty store. I could have done without the stop at the fudge store. It was unremarkable as was the polish bakery. However, I did really enjoy the perogi (could have passed on the cookies and had another perogi!!) The walking sections were scenic and Kent had some great anecdotes about the houses/architecture. It was a nice addition to the food facts/tastings. The last stop was for deep dish pizza which I enjoyed trying but I don't ever need to eat it again...too excessive. I'll take a thin crust any day. I regretted that this tour did not expose us to the famed Chicago Popcorn and Hotdogs. Overall I would highly recommend this tour though it has room for improvement and I thought Kent was GREAT!!!

entertaining lots of info on neighborhood and great food

I'm from Chicago but love being a tourist in my own city. This tour was enjoyable, educational, and delicious. I highly recommend it!

As parents touring with adult children, we thoroughly enjoyed the cultural aspects of the area as well as the food.

We had first taken this tour in 2008 and liked it so much that we needed to take the tour again on our next visit to Chicago. Both the food portion and the architectural tidbits are very informative.

Allowed us to see the real Chicago and not just the tourist area of town

We had Nicole as our guide, and she was great! Very personable, full of good facts, and kept us moving to all of our destinations.