Chicago Food Planet Food Tours

The stops where there was substantial information (e.g. tea, spices,oil) were the most interesting. walking pace was a little brisk. enthusiastic and knowledgeable presenter. Wish we could do the other tour too (not offered when we were available). Would definitely recommend to our foodie friends.

We have been to Chinatown several times in the past for a quick meal or a bit of shopping. The problem was we only knew of 1 restaurant that was "safe". This food tour expanded our view of Chinatown. The restaurants along the way had great food and atmosphere and we tried many menu items that we would not have considered on our own. Our tour guide happens to be of Chinese descent and offered many cultural insights while educating us on the history of the Chicago Chinatown area. Part of our small tour group was a group of women who had taken the tour before and we would definitely go again as well. Highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting a great Chicago experience.

Thank you for a wonderful and tasty experience of Chicago. The 3 hour time block was full with great information and interesting local tasty treats. Every city needs a tour like this!

Took the tour with family and friends - our tour guide Hilary was absolutely fantastic. Enuciation, volume and clarity of voice and her overall warmth really made the tour (which was laid out beautifully) perfect. The extra tidbits and stories about architecture and chicago that she shared added a lot of depth the the experience. The tour itself was fascinating and educational and I have already visited the stores that were on the tour. Variety was great and you can tell a lot of thought was put into the tour.

It was a lot of fun and very informative. My friend and I enjoyed hearing about the history of the neighborhoods, the architecture and the background of the individual shops and owners as we walked to each location. Our guide was personable and knowledgeable and the food was delicious. We loved learning about tea, spices, oils, vinegars and chocolate while eating!! It was a nicely paced tour and a nice variety of foods/beverages. I would highly recommend this tour as a different way to experience Chicago. The residential neighborhoods we explored are very different from the hectic downtown area.....

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our Near North Food Tasting Tour. It was well organized and gave us a nice sampling of places to re-visit on our next trip to Chicago. The portions we sampled at each stop were generous. No skimping whatsoever. While we had to keep to a schedule we did not feel rushed in any way. We actually wouldn't have minded a few more opportunities to sit for a few minutes. The success of our tour, in large part, goes to our tour guide, Jessie. Not only is she pretty; she is smart, articulate, nicely groomed, and well versed in food subject as well as the architecture in the areas we visited. She was a delight and is a real asset to the Chicago Food Planet. We can't wait to come again.

Shane your concept for this company is great! You have found 7 great places to take your tourists to really show them some Chicago culture, history, and yummy food and drinks!!! I would order some of the items on the tour through your very helpful tour sheet (including websites and addresses). The only PROBLEM I found was that there was NO time for a little shopping at the selected locations. It was like bringing a kid into a toy store and showing them all the great toys, but you couldn't buy anything (during the tour). I did feel rushed when you let me buy something, but at least I tried. My suggestion is that you include an extra 5 minutes at each venue so that people may have the option to purchase the great products they are seeing. The chances are that most people do not know the streets of Chicago as well as you do and don't have the time or the chance to get back to those locations on their short stays!! Just a thought! Either way, it was great!!!! ENJOY YOUR SUCCESS!

One suggestion would be to add an additional 30 minutes to tour so that participants could buy items from proprietors - I took the tour on a weekday, the stores were not busy so this might have worked - personally, I had jam packed days so was unable to go back to the stores and I suspect others were in the same position - being able to purchase right then and there would have made the tour perfect for me

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and would definitely recommend it!

Great activity for a group. We all enjoyed the casual stroll, the stores, and the great Information from our great guide Hillary.

i went on both the near north and bucktown tours over the last year. loved both of them. food is great, guides were informative and fun and i got to know more about the great city of chicago! i have sent my son and his girlfriend on the bucktown tour and they came back raving! a good time was had by all.

I moved to Chicago 2 years ago, so I'm not a native. My girlfriends from Maryland came in over my birthday weekend and i signed up for the tour. What a great idea I had. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The tour guide was delightful, friendly and knowledgeable. The food was tasty and I was stuffed by the end. I would do this again in a heartbeat!

Ashkanaz's corn beef sandwishes were just OK. Deep dish pizza at Malnati's was a new experience. Really enjoyed the tea, spice, and oil specialty shops ! The chocolate & pastry shops were not extraordinary. Our guide (forgot her name) on Sat. Sept 1, 12:30 was excellent; so enthusiastic and informative. I particularly enjoyed the walk around the neighborhood, besides the sampling of foods. I think the price of $47. a little high, however, since they are introducing tourists to these establishments we otherwise would not know about. I went back to shop at the Spice House. $35. or $40. would be a better price.

The guide was great. She was well informed and responsive to questions. I've lived in the city for about a year and learned some new things about my neighborhood. I like history so personally I like more cultural and historical details, but the tour of the Gold Coast-Old Town neighborhoods was a nice introduction for my friend who's from out of town.

The food tour was so much fun and the food was so good. Our guide Nikki was really good to explain the different food samples and gave us great information on the neighborhood while we were walking. I recommend it to everyone visiting Chicago.