So you’ve traveled to one of America’s great foodie cities and you brought your hunger. These top-notch local food tours can give you a quick insider’s introduction to all these delicious cities have to offer, while steering you clear of culinary tourist traps. Food has always been and always will be incorporated in many aspects of traveling. Food tours are wildly popular and offer everything from gourmet markets in Houston to Italian cooking classes in Brooklyn. Culinary adventures await you in every city from coast to coast and we picked five of our favorites to whet your appetite.
New Orleans Culinary History Tours
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The Big Easy’s combination of Creole and Cajun cuisine is legendary, and you’ll learn all about it on this famed walking tour of the historic French Quarter. You’ll visit select historic restaurants, including two of the country’s oldest - Antoine’s (estab. 1840), and Tujague’s (estab. 1856) - while an informative tour guide fills you in on all the rich French Quarter history. Samples vary but have included Big Easy standbys like seafood gumbo, red beans and rice, beef brisket with Creole sauce, pralines, muffalettas, gelato, turtle soup and shrimp Arnaud.
Foods of New York Tours
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Take this Greenwich VIllage food and culture walking tour to learn about the historic, vibrant, beautiful and wildly expensive West Village. You’ll stop at a of mom-and-pop shops, ethnic eateries and neighborhood must-eats on the way - legendary places like Murray’s Cheese Shop, Faicco’s Italian Specialties, Milk & Cookies (a 1950s style bakery), Roccos for Italian pastry and of course, Joe’s Pizza for a classic New York slice. Expect six tastings on-the-go, and one seated in a restaurant.
Taste of Philly Food Tour
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This 75 minute walking tour is all about Philly favorites: cheesesteaks, hoagies, soft pretzels and more. Tours start at the info desk of the the Reading Terminal Market and continue through the storied marketplace, educating foodies on the history behind the city’s famous sandwiches and nibbling on lesser-known local delicacies like scrapple and sticky buns (breakfast foods), and Philly snacks like soft pretzels (which originated here) and Goldenburg Peanut Chews. What other secrets will you learn on this top-notch tour? For only $16 a person, you will learn where Philadelphia Cream Cheese REALLY comes from, where Milton Hershey got the idea for Hershey’s Kisses, and, of course, how to properly order a cheesesteak. The eating of said cheesesteak, however, is left up to you.
Savor Seattle Pike Place Market Food & Cultural Tour
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Savor Seattle with the Savor Seattle Pike Place Tour, which takes you behind the scenes of this 103 year old landmark. Over the two-hour tour, you will: enjoy 16 (or more) bites and sips, visit the original Starbucks store, watch cheese being made, see fish (sort of) fly across the fishmarket, try Oprah’s favorite mac n’ cheese at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese, nosh on warm cinnamon sugar mini donuts from Daily Dozen Donuts, sip some Pike Place Chowder, nibble three kinds of Alderwood smoked salmon from Pike Place Fish, and even cop some some crab cake from Etta’s Seafood Restaurant.
Gourmet Walks San Francisco
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These Gourmet Walks are a must for any foodie in ‘Frisco (we know locals hate that). Gourmands have their choice of tours: sweet teeth can’t miss the Chocolate Tour, where they’ll try an array of truffles, chocolate bars and drinking chocolate on a 3 hour exploration of the sweetest artisans in the city. The Asian Street Food Tour is a flavorful journey through Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese street cuisine while exploring Japantown and the Fillmore District. Gourmet San Francisco keeps well-heeled foodies up to date on the latest and best culinary destinations in the city, while the Gourmet Napa Tour explores historic Napa while noshing on the area’s specialty foods and, of course, its best-in-the-country wine.
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Posted by jhartmann13 (JJ Hartmann)