North End Market Tour

Excellent multi-sensoral tour, as history meets taste buds in this excursion given by a vivacious gourmet. As he explains the traditions of the food and people in the North End, you'll smell, see and taste some of the local flavors.

The shops were great, the information usefull, and the guide was well versed in the area and items he discussed.

My companions were ready to leave after ten minutes. He was a nice guy and I think he knew his subject matter but he's not very engaging and often was difficult to hear. It was extremely easy to let your mind wander as you tried to listen. We spent far too much time at Maria's Pastry Shop and at the Sulmona Meat Market. One of the employees at Sulmona's agreed because at one point she called "Are you almost done?" from behind the counter. I could tell from the faces of the rest of the group that they were as bored as we were. We entertained ourselves by coming up with plausible, polite excuses to bow out of the rest of the tour and flee when it mercifully came to an end. Again, he knew his stuff but was not a good tour guide.

I am absolutley delighted to recommend the North End Market Tour. The content was extremely informative and the tour guide....Beth....was the best!

Our tour group included family members from age 70 to age 12 and everyone had a great time. We are familiar with the North End and have gone to dinner there many times. On the tour we learned many new facts about the North End and found some great shops and restaurants. This is a wonderful tour for Boston locals as well as tourists.

Beth, our tour guide, was obviously well acquainted with the North End Italian community and its merchants. Her choice of markets, her knowledge of Italian food and cultural details and her rapport with the merchants combined to provide us new appreciation for Italian cooking and an expanded knowledge of the Boston North End community. Handouts Beth provided gave us information about area restaurants and ways of contacting by mail or Internet the markets we visited. Primarily as a result of our tour, we stayed in the North End after the tour to enjoy dinner and returned to the North End the following day to continue our walking tour...and another meal. We would do a similar tour again.

A former North End chef as a tour guide gave real validity to this tour; plus, his knowledge of the history of immigration in Boston and the food culture that came along with it enhanced your understanding of how ingredient preferences developed and changed with immigrant assimilation into America. Then - oh my, the markets and ingredients....

Our guide Jim was superb, knowledgeable willing to learn things from others on the tour. I plan on taking the China Town Tour also that Jim does the tour. Thank You for an awesome tour I learn How Italian I am and how much I'am not, I'am the American/Italian and it's all GOOD. God is Good. Mark (6/25/08 2pm tour)

This tour is a great way to spend the morning with a good friend or others who share the love of good food and wonderful cooking. The tour is informative in various ways. It gives brief historical overviews of the North End and the people who have lived there. It introduces you to the best shops in the area for various cooking needs. It imparts various cooking tips that are practical and informative when shopping and actually cooking. It also clarifies some myths about products often used. The samples are tasty!

This was part of my sister's Bachelorette Party & it was a great activity choice. The tour was fun & very informative & we're all locals. I learned so many new things about the history of an area that I've often eaten & shopped in .Our tour guide Jim was phenomenal.... he kept things light & fun, while still providing us with numerous historical facts, shopping & cooking tips. Not too mention the great new places to shop. The stops on the tour were all friendly & inviting, & the samples they provided were all delicious. I will definitely frequent my new discoveries. I highly recommend this to both locals & tourists, you won't be bored. I'm going to tell everyone I know about this. I can't wait to take more of their tours!