Michele Topor, Inc.

The North End tour in Boston was very enjoyable. Despite the bad weather on the day (cold and rain), and the fact that only two people showed up to take the tour, it didn't detract at all from the day. Our tour guide was lovely and very knowledgable about the area and of course about the Italian history and food. Unfortunately my time in Boston was so short that I didn't get an opportunity to go back to the area and to any of the restaurants which were recommended to us. Next time I am visiting I will definately do just that. I might even take the tour again!

This is a "must do" tour. It is fun, informative and full of food for all you "foodies". Jim was interesting and very knowledgeable about the history of China Town and about all varieties of Asian food and the best places to eat or shop for it. The area is small so walking was fine even for those of us who are couch potatoes. I highly recommend this tour and am thinking of doing it again with my husband.

Our guide was personable and very informative. I learned so much about the history of Chinatown, and the culture of the poeple all through food!! I no longer am intimidated to venture into Chinatown and I look forward to going back and exploring on my own. So many new resturants to try. I would highly recommend this tour!

I thouroughly enjoyed this tour. The tour guide was very knowledgeable about the north end, italian culture, cuisine and food.

The tour presenter (Dick?) was excellent but some of the establishments were too small so we had to remain outside in bad weather. It was a great way to get comfortable with exploring side streets instead of just staying on Hanover Street, which most of us tend to do

Jim Becker should be part of everyone's Boston experience. His knowledge of the Boston ethnic Chinese and Italian neighborhoods is a pleasure to behold. And the foods, various stores, and customs that he discusses are great. His tour is a hero sandwich: layers of entertainment, story, knowledge of community-food-customs all flavored with love and respect. My wife and I as well as our adult children were thoroughly entranced. Great!

I'd taken this tour about 3 years ago with my cousin, and had really enjoyed it. I decided to introduce my friend to the tour, since she enjoys cooking and studying about other cultures. Jim Becker had lots of cultural information to share with us and answered all our questions. We enjoyed all the food and especially our meal at Artu's after the tour. I would recommend this tour to anyone who has been to Boston and visited all the usual sites. We really enjoyed our day despite the snowstorm. Thanks again! Jane O'Keefe

We live in the area and have visited the North End many times. Finally, we have a true appreciation for the area and feel comfortable venturing off Hanover Street. Our guide, a trained chef, was terrific. He included enough history, culinary terms, person experience, etc. to make the trip something we'd highly recommend. In fact, we already have!

On a very cold and sunny Saturday in February, a grop of friends set out on a North End Market Tour. We had a thoroughly enjoyable and educational time. Our tour leader, Jim, was gracious and well-informed. Our tour included all the highlights of the North End and the shop owners seemed to be expecting us! We received a lot of good take-away information for future reference. We look forward to going on the Chinatown Tour next!

The tour was a tasty way to get acquainted with the food items that are cooked and served in Chinatown. While we nibbled curbside on roast pork, moon cakes and lychee bubble tea, Jim our tour guide was busy filling us in with historical and geographical tidbits about the settlers who moved to this area and some of their customs. A great day trip for suburbanites who are looking for a good reason to go into the city.

Jim was an excellent guide into the Chinatown Neighborhood. Not only was he knowlegeable about the markets and foods, but in the language and customs. He was also very entertaining and knowledgeable about other parts of the city as well. The tour was very educational, inspirational, and delicious. I have since brought friends there and looked like a confident expert as I guided them to the best places.

I found this tour through a review from about.com and got it for my girlfriend for Christmas. We are both foodies and travelers. There is no better combination you could ask for. This tour really takes you back in time where life was much simpler. Our guide Beth was amazing. We were totally captivated for the 3 hours of the tour. This tour made our day is Boston the best day we've had in any city, ever. Two recommendations. Wear comfy shoes and give yourself enough time afterwards to go back to the stores to shop if you want to as there really isn't time on the tour to do this. All in all, amazing and I recommend it to anyone of any age from anywhere.

We had Jim as our guide. With his broad background in world cultures and cuisine, he was such a fabulous and welcoming tour guide. He was so helpful in teaching us to appreciate much about Italian cuisine, and provided many interesting bits of North End history as well. We loved exploring the North End with him! We will definitely be joining him for the Chinatown tour in the future and have highly recommended the North End Tour to several family and friends.

I have lived in and around Boston for 49 years and thought I knew as much as I cared to know about the North End. Boy, was I wrong! Excellent inside information about local shops, wonderful insight into the food and the history of the area. I know there are many foodies out there. This was a well spent three hours.

Beth was an informative and delightful host for this tour. I was on the tour with 5 other people and even though it was freezing out, we all had a wonderful time. I can't wait to try the China town tour!