Chicago Food Planet Food Tours

A wonderful experience exploring the Gold Coast, Old Town and Lincoln Park. Our guide, Nikki, was informed, friendly and knowledgable about the area. We enjoyed the various tastes and flavours from the rueben sandwich at the deli in the Gold Coast to the Spices, Olive Oils and Chocolates of Old Town to the Stuffed Pizza in Lincoln Park. All of which were delicious. We learned much about the history and architecture of the area. We had an interactive and friendly group which made the difference. After the tour, we went back to the back to a couple of the food places on our tour a return visit. The tour was a fun and interesting way to learn more about Chicago and highly recommend it.

Our enthusiastic tour guide was interesting and informative...she worked very hard to engage everyone in our diverse group...the food science and architectural info added a welcome dimension to the tour...Suggestion: the Jewish deli would have been better if we had sampled items such as knishes, blintzes, etc. rather than the Reuben sandwich (which wasn't anything special).

Our tour guide Jesse was awesome! We had a great time! I highly recommend this event.

I have raved nonstop about this tour since we took it. Jessie, our guide, was knowledgeable and personable. She did an excellent job. Obviously the food was a highlight, but we also enjoyed learning more about Chicago's history and architecture. We particularly appreciated the opportunity to meander through some of the neighborhoods and get a more intimate experience of the city. I found myself taking pictures like crazy and making plans to retrace my steps to grab some shots I missed. The merchants at the various stops were extremely helpful and patient. Nearly everyone in our group thought the oil shop was a favorite, and the staff gave us great suggestions for oil/vinegar combinations to try. I also appreciated learning about the teas and spices. And who didn't love the huge slabs of chocolate-covered toffee? Because of scheduling issues, we had to leave as soon as the tour was done. This was a big disappointment because we wanted to purchase items from the stores and restaurants we visited. Fortunately, we are planning another trip to Chicago next month, and we will make a beeline for these merchants. Family and friends will be thrilled to find unique and tasty gifts from us this holiday season. We are from Michigan and we went on this tour with friends from Nebraska. We plan on making a trip to meet in Chicago an annual tradition, and a Chicago Food Planet tour will definitely be on our itinerary.

My wife and I spent last weekend celebrating our birthdays and anniversary in Chicago--the Near North tour was definitely the highlight of our trip. The variety of establishments along the tour was fitting for two self-proclaimed "foodies" who prefer cooking over dining; we found extraordinary ingredients to bring home and use in our everyday dishes. My wife was thrilled to find za'atar spice at The Spice House (and I was thrilled to enjoy it on naan with her rendition of hummus from Catering/Chocolate). Our tour guide Shane was excellent--very knowledgable and entertaining. The architectural history included in the tour was unsuspected but certainly embraced. We look forward to returning to Chicago in the near future--the Bucktown/Wicker Park tour will definitely be at the top of our itinerary.

the food tour was a nice combination of walking, food tasting and interesting facts about the local architecture. i wouldn't say any of the food was authentic "chicago" food, but i learned something about the food at each stop. all in all it was a very pleasant way to spend a beautiful fall afternoon.

Great food, great guide, lots of information. All the restaurants/stores were awesome. I want to go on their other tour.

The tour passes by my condo everyday. I signed us up to take advantage of the nice November weather just to get out and about. I was amazed by the knowledge and new places I pass every day but had no idea. Not sure how I have missed the Deli for the 8 years I have lived 3 blocks away. I will be there weekly. I would recommend this tour for both Locals and Tourists

My husband and I and another couple friend participated in the Near North Food and Cultural Tour on November 7 (to celebrate my birthday). We had a great time, and our docent, Caroline was awesome. She clearly loves doing this and for only living in Chicago a short time, she is very knowledgeable on Chicago history and architecture. My only complaint is that in the advertisement for the tour it mentions bringing along extra money to buy items from the various stops (for example, the Spice House, Old Towne Oil). At the beginning of the tour, Caroline requested that we didn't do any shopping since our group was too large and if everyone shopped then the tour wouldn't stay on schedule. My friend and I did end up buying a few things at The Spice House and Old Town Oil because we don't live in the Chicago area and we were not going to have time to go back to those locations when the tour ended. My recommendation is to limit the number of participants so that people can shop. I know there were several in our group who wanted to shop and didn't b/c of Carolines, request. We shopped quickly, but would have liked more time.

I realy enjoyed all of the stops on the tour, especailly the hot dog. While visiting Chicago we tried three "chicago style" dogs and the one from George's was by far the best. The homemade marshmallow and nutella ice cream were pretty great too. I loved getting directed around wicker park, and wish we'd planned for more time in that area. Our tour guide, Ben, was informative and enthusiastic (maybe a little over the top...fake?) but had good info to share. Overall, would suggest this as a fun day, but not a must-do unless you live for food.

I was disappointed in the tour. It was a lot of walking and not much eating. I thought we would be eating something at every place. One place was a spice place and you could taste the spices but to me that is not eating. There was an oil/vinegar place where we again got to taste but that is not eating. If we wanted anything to drink you had to purchase it along the way. We paid $42 for the tour and still had to go eat after because we were still hungry. There was also no time for a bathroom break until 2 hours into the trip. You could improve the tour by doing the following: giving an echo friendly bag at the beginning of the tour with a bottle of water and coupons to the tour stops; allowing purchases at the stops (I don't see how the businesses are benefiting if we cannot make purchases); at the spice and oil stores give away a small sample for us to take home; and a little less stopping to talk about the architecture.

My friends and I absolutely LOVED the food tour - the food, locations, and architectural tour was surprisingly interesting! Our tour guide was fantastic, patient, and energetic. There was definitely thought put in with regards to the timing of what and when you ate and the whole ensemble was very enjoyable!

The food was delicious....and unique to Chicago. But the tour of the neighborhood was also exceptional. Our guide was so informative. Great tour!

All the stops were good but the catering chocolate shop was our least favorite.

I found this tour purely by chance while looking at stuff to do during our long weekend trip to Chicago. My husband and I have never been to Chicago and we absolutely LOVED the food tour. It was the highlight of our trip along with the show we saw. Not only did we get to enjoy tastings of food, tea, chocolate on our particular tour (Lincoln Park/Gold Coast), but we got a great tour of neighborhoods we never would have ventured into. We also really enjoyed our WONDERFUL, enthusiastic, knowlegable guide, Jen. We made new friends and had a terrific time on our first visit to Chicago. This tour is worth every penny! When we go back we will probably go on the other tour offered in a different neighborhood.