Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

The North Food and Walking tour was a fantastic experience for me. We tasted and learned a lot about all types of foods, oils, vinegars, teas, etc. The food was delicious and the tour guide Hillary was phenomenal!

We enjoyed our tour very much. It was a great way to see a couple different neighborhoods in the city and visit places you definitely wouldn't otherwise wander into. We think this would be a good tour even for locals -- we wish our city had one! I initially thought the price was a little high, but when you consider that the fee includes enough food for lunch (plenty!) in addition to the tour, it's really a good deal. Our tour guide was excellent -- very enthusiastic and helpful in giving us lots of information about the food and establishments, but also the neighborhoods we walked through and various historical buildings. We learned a lot, were fed well, and met fun people - can't beat that!

This tour exceeded my expectations! I was hesitant when I reviewed the itinerary because the tour included a tea shop, a spice shop, and a specialty oil and vinegar shop, but all three were fabulous experiences and unlike any shops I had ever visited. All of the owners were enthusiatic in sharing their product knowledge and samples! The olive oils and balsamic vinegars were awesome! Our tour guide was fabulous and shared so many details on the history of the neighborhoods we were touring, the houses, the architecture and funny tidbits all around. Highly recommend this tour as a wonderful way to tour some of the best of the Gold Coast, Old Town and Lincoln Park. And a very comfortable experience for singles touring the city!

Hillary was AWESOME! Thanks so much for your personable tour! So, as to the tour itself... Hmm Definately recommend, and I will be trying another one of their tours... It was a good combination of Food followed by some specialty shops (spices, oils, teas, sweets) and finished up with the Chicago standard of a really deep dish pizza. Of more interest was the walk through the old town and exposure to some of the unique architecture. This tour benefits greatly from the nice weather as it allows you to dwell on some of the city history. I would say to avoid if rainy or very cold, otherwise a great experience.

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.

We had a tour leader, along with a leader in training. They were both knowledgeable, but the trainee was actually better, as she projected her voice better. However, they both need to be more aware of ambient noice, and stop talking when it is impossible to hear, such as when a fire truck is passing or when we are near construction. Tastings were good, with a good selection of shops.

My girlfriends and I just visited Chicago this past weekend. Most of us are "Foodie Types" and I found this tour in my midwest AAA magazine. Suggested it to them and we absolutely loved every second of it. Our wonderful Guide Hillary was so full of energy, and loads of facts about whatever we asked. She was wonderful and would highly recommend requesting her. The tour had a generous amount of all different types of food. We were stuffed at the end and all the facts about the residential architecure was so interesting. All the foodie places we visited were great especially the stuffed pizza at the end. Our tour guide also does 40's swing dancing as we had been to the Drake the night before listening to a 40's swing band and Hillary was there dancing (amazing, i might ad). We recognized her when we met up at your starting point on the tour. Best part of the entire weekend.

I have taken the tour on (2) visits to Chicago and would highly recommend for an afternoon of exercise and gastro delight. The tour guides are knowledgeable about the areas you travel through and foods you taste along the way. The food offerings are generous and explanation of differing foods is educational. I felt the time in the stores/shops was sufficient, with the exception of the Spice Store and Old Town Oil. I felt the time in both shops was longer on my 1st visit and the discussion in Old Town Oil the 1st time was much more informative. We didn't really have time to taste all the vinegars and Olive Oils (I felt rushed). It would have been nice to try some of the spices as well in the Spice Store. I understand the need to keep moving and that there is no time to shop, but I was able to try all the oils and vinegars upon my 1st tour. I was also able to taste some of the spices during my 1st tour.

This tour was so much fun and offered more than just great places to eat. the guide did a great job in pointing out interesting facts about the rout we were on and was also great in recommending other things to do. the food was amazing and we definitely went back to purchase additional items from the stores.