Chicago Food Planet Food Tours

We met some friends of our in Chicago for a get away weekend. We both have younger families and it was time for a break. We found this tour via Trip Advisor and read several of the reviews. This is a great way to see the city and taste a few things that you might have the opportunity to otherwise. Our tour guide Niki gave us her all. Shew was fantastic as we our hosts. The tour exceeded our expectations. The next time we are in Chicago we will take the Bucktown tour. Nice job!

Not knowing what to expect, we enjoyed every aspect of the tour particularly the trip to the Spice House and Old town Oil, Nicki (not sure of the spelling) our guide kept us all engaged throughout the tour giving us great explanations of not only the food but of the Chicago neighborhoods that we walked through and it's unique architecture. You will not go hungery and will also have a great experience.

My boyfriend and I went on the Near North Food Tour and we loved it so much, we are planning on taking the Bucktown/Wicker Park Food Tour come spring time! Let me start off my saying, the stops are broken up nicely so a lot of the heavier eating is at the beginning and at the end. You also walk about a mile and a half during the afternoon so you don't feel too guilty about your afteroon of gluttony. Our tour guide was Nicki and she was awesome. Super friendly and imformative. It was obvious she loved what she did and we truly could not have asked for a better tour guide for the afternoon. Our first stop was my favorite-Ashkenaz Deli. My boyfriend is Jewish and from Chicago and never knew this gem was here! We will definitely be back for more! Our second stop was Tea Geschwender. Im not a huge tea drinker so I was pleasently surprised by the yummy tea we sampled. Next, we wandered over to Wells Street in Old Town, learning about some of the history of the neighborhoods along the way. We stopped inside The Spice House, Old Town Oil, The Fudge Pot and Catering Chocolate. All great little shops that I have walked by a million times, but never stopped in. Glad I got to experience them! Ended the tour at in Lincoln Park at Bacinos for some delcious Chicago style pizza. Having lived in Chicago for the past 2 years and taking the tour with my boyfriend who grew up in the area, it proves even locals will appreciate it. We learned some fun facts about Chicago and visited places that we may have not gone to on our own. We both highly recommend it for people visiting as well as people who live here. Definitely one of the more unique things I have done in Chicago recently!

I enjoyed the Wicker Park/Bucktown tour quite a bit. I gave this tour as a bday gift to a friend of mine who also lives here, but hadn't gone to some of the tasting locations yet.... I thought it was well-thought out and our tour guide was fantastic. One note that had nothing to do with the tour but maybe those of you who are local and bring a guest or out of towner ... being a know-it-all is not cool and not fun for the rest of the group. I have lived here for 7 years and hang out in WP/Bucktown all the time. Most of the restaurants I've been to but some of the architectural tour was pretty fun and still new to me... we had one person in our group, though, who had to comment at every single stop along the way how they'd already been there, what THEY liked best about the place and basically monopolized the tour, it seemed. Maybe it was just me ... and my friend ... but that gets tiring. We get it, you live here. Now, pipe down and let others enjoy it on their own. I wasn't exactly learning a ton of new things about the restaurants in the neighborhood, either, but I don't see the need in trying to upstage the tour guide... Really, take the tour, don't try to take OVER the tour. Other than that, it's a great tour for anyone new to the area or if you have family and friends that you want to impress .. tons of food!

highly reccommeded if you dont know much about the chicago area, this was very helpful. learning area and resturants. I personally could have used a few more types of food tasting. but overall good experience. Our tour guide was excellent! A+ for her.

This was the highlight of a weekend get-a-way for my husband & me. We chose Chicago for the variety of entertainment options and this was, hands down, the most fun. Jessie was our guide and she was very knowledgeable, professional, and enthusiastic. She showcased the cultural aspects of the 3 neighborhoods and did a outstanding job in the 7 food establishments. There was plenty to eat. We didn't even eat dinner before the theater that night. I can't wait to go back to Chicago and take the Bucktown/Wicker Park Tour.

Our tour guide Ben was exceedingly good. We would recommend this tour to others.

We spent a wonderful afternoon with our adorable guide Jessie learning about the food, architecture and history of the Gold Coast, Old Town and Lincoln Park! The pacing of this tour is obviously well-thought out. The tastings were interspersed with leisurely walks and informative talks not to mention the needed restroom break when it was needed. The tastings were all in small "mom and pop" type businesses...not chain stores. The group was just the right size to be able to hear Jessie's fun, informative chats. We loved the flavored olive oils and vinegars at Old Town Oil, the amazing array of spices at the Spice House and the fabulous butter toffee at the Fudge Pot! These tastings not skimpy either! The tour ended with a generous slice of deep dish pizza at Bacino's, and it was excellent. Most of these businesses have websites that you can visit after your tour. Half of my friends walked the tour in reverse to buy some of the items we sampled! I highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for something to do other than shop on the Magnificent Mile! We can't wait to return and do the other tour!

Our tour guide, Ben, did a great job providing descriptions of the restaurants/food we sampled as well as interesting commentary on the area history and architecture. His information about area restaurants made us want to spend more time in Wicker Park - we are already planning our next trip to Chicago!

I would definitely do it again. I have never done anything like this. I really enjoyed the fudge pot and Bacino's pizzeria. The only draw back was that we were not aware that you had to get back to your starting point on your own. Thank goodness for the map. The spice house was great the smell was wonderful. I enjoyed hearing about the neighborhoods and seeing the different types of architecture.

The Near North Food Tour was very enjoyable. The guide was very knowledgeable of the area and of the establishments. She was very enthusiastic and attentive to everyone in our group. I really liked that it touched on alot of the stores and restaurants but also on some of the stores and restaurants unique to the area (not chains). It was very nice to leisurely walk the different neighborhoods and view/learn about the buildings, the people and the area. Overall, it was just a great experience and I look forward to participating on other tours offered.

Our tour group leader was Arianna. She was very informational and you could tell she enjoyed her job. She was very easy going and very knowledgable! I enjoyed every moment of the trip and my mouth has been non stop about everything from start to finish with other people I intend to take with me on the next tour. I look forward to going back on future Chicago visits to the locations we stopped at. The only part I would say lacking would be no time for shopping at each food tasting stop. It would be hard to cram everyone's purchase and still end at a reasonable time...that I understand! Overall...fantasic!

I had a very enjoyable time on the tour. Our tour guide was very nice, knowlegable and enthusiastic about the food and history of the neighborhoods that we visited. I would definitely recommend this tour and especially our tour guide. Next time I visit Chicago I might look into going on the other food tour.

The tour leader for the 11:30am tour was wonderful, happy and informative. Each of the businesses from the Jewish Deli, the Spice shop(with explaination of spices and their useful life), the tea shop was informative, choclate shope was great, and the Pizza was wonderful as a last stop. The explaination of the buildings along the tour was fun and interesting. I highly recomend it.

Our group ranged in age from 25 to 55, and we all enjoyed this amazing adventure. Our guide, Jennifer, was wonderful She guided us through the history, architecture and culture of these beautiful neighborhoods. The food tasting stops along the way were the frosting on the cake. We enjoyed it all. We will definitely do the other neighborhood food tasting tour offered by Chicago Food Planet, Inc.