Michele Topor, Inc.

Chris has evidently been involved with North End restaurants in the past; she is knowledgeable about the history of the North End's immigration waves and long-time restaurant owners; she is an enthusiastic cook and willingly shares tips and recipes; she was thoroughly prepared (we had the opportunity for a "tasting" at each place we stopped); and had an overall terrific time. Although 3 hours seems like a long time, it flew by and we had a chance to "rest our feet" occasionally. Shopkeepers welcomed her and our group of 8 (mostly out of town tourists). Be sure to give her a nice tip at the conclusion ... she works hard at giving us a good time and it is the polite thing to do.

Informational and fun is the best way to describe this tour. I can't believe how the time flew by-must be because it was so interesting. The dim sum lunch was delicious and very enjoyable. I'd recommend this tour to any adult-young or older.

John was very knowledgeable and personable. There were five of us in the group and he made us feel like friends though we hadn't met most of the others before. The merchants were very welcoming and provided tasty treats. The information we received has and will continue to influence our choice of products. We look forward to future visits to the North End to shop and eat.

Jim was a fantastic tour guide! My brother and I enjoyed the tour so much and we learned more than we ever expected to about Chinese food and culture! I now feel confident finding my way around Chinatown to eat and shop. Thank you Jim, for sharing your knowledge with us! You were a warm and welcoming host who made everyone feel like honored guests on the tour!

We really enjoyed this tour - one of us has been to China and we are familiar with the cuisines of different regions, but we still learned some new things, as well as a few great places to go in Chinatown. The guide was very entertaining and informative, and shared her own experiences as a resident of the area, someone who enjoys food, and lives from a life of different Asian cultures and influences. I highly recommend this tour!

Took the tour on a Friday morning, had only 1 other couple on the tour for a total of 4 people. Our guide was Jim , a former chef, who was very interesting and knowledgeable. I wasn't sure I would enjoy the tour or learn much since I have been coming to the North End for years. But I learned a little history, interesting food facts, and found some great new spots to shop & eat at. It was a nice way to get to know the neighborhood better and fun to do something a little different in the city. I plan on taking the Chinatown tour soon.

I booked this tour with my husband and 3 children in their 20's. We are Italian but the other reviews said it would be interesting and we would see and learn about new things. True we did learn a few new things. But the tour was soooo slow and much too dragged out! We spent 45 min in a pastry shop discussing every pastry. My kids were very bored and almost fell asleep. I do want to say our guide was very nice. It's just that the tour was about 1.5 hours too long. Sorry but don't waste your money. Just go to the stores yourself. It would be more fun.

The tour was excellent. It was informative and the time went by quickly. The informational sheets distributed by the guide were very informative. On tour, when I took a deep breath in some of the stores and closed my eyes I could imagine being back in Italy. My only suggestion is that the tours be limited to a maximum of eight people per tour because the shops are small and space is at a premium in each store. We had thirteen people on our tour and the customers at the stores intermingled with us (that was fine) but the stores got very crowded at times and left little room for the people on the tour to maneuver out of the way of the paying customers while trying to pay attention to the narrative provided by our guide.

Even though we are natives and live locally, we learned lots of history and were exposed to markets and foods that we were unaware of.

My husband and I enjoyed our tour in Chinatown. This was a Birthday present for him. We had previously done the North End tour and always wanted to do the Chinatown one also. Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us some helpful cooking tips and showed us great deals in the markets.

The guide, Jackie, was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I would do it again.

Super good/ rich and savory osso bucco and husband loved his colorful seafood stew on fresh pasta. Bread is good,cozy ambiance. Good service. Shared a lovely arugula salad. Had no room, but had to have the lemon sorbet with limoncello swirl. Delicioso!

Jackie did an amazing, informative tour complete with food samplings of Chinatown. The Dim Sum was so delicious! It would be hard to find a better tour guide than Jackie. She provided reading guides (which I lost & she is going to email me when I contact her on where to send it; pictures on her tablet, and all sorts of goodies. This tour was well worth the money--a bargain! I highly recommend it. I so enjoyed this tour that I'm going back to take the North End tour! Many thanks for having this tour! It was an extraordinarily enjoyable tour with wonderful, total strangers!

This was a wonderful tour of the North End. Our guide was pleasant and extremely well informed. We learned a lot about the history of the North End, as well as the cooking techniques in northern, central, and southern Italy. Our tastings were delicious! Well worth going to. Polly Shumaker

We felt most fortunate to have Michele herself as our guide for our Saturday 1 PM tour (though I'm sure all of her staff are equally engaging, informative, and entertaining). Her first-hand knowledge of the area, Italian culture, culinary heritage, dietary and health benefits of particular foods & preparation methods, and overall history / dynamics of the North End are shared with true passion and energy - an affection also shown by many of the small shop-keepers and their families who we encountered on the tour. The pace is relaxed & the small group size (10) encourages more personal interaction. A diverse sampling of spices and foods from several establishments further enhance the experience. Highly recommended.