I would absolutely do this again in a heart beat! My boyfriend and I had such a great time walking…read morearound Naperville and learning its history while enjoying a verity of different dishes, some of which I wouldn't have thought to try if I were out exploring by myself. Mike was an incredible tour guide! Funny, personable and knowledgeable!! We had so many laughs our group. By the end of it, we all felt like friends who had know each other for years. We even said it would be fun to have a reunion tour. It was a memorable day, one I will cherish for a long time to come. This is an absolutely must do if you're in Naperville! Doesn't matter if you've lived here your whole life, or just passing through. You won't regret the experience

I was a suburbanite long before I became the savvy city girl that I am today. In the time of…read morecurfews and strict parental rules, downtown Naperville was the next best thing to hanging out in the city. Yes, I understand, a distant second place! So, when I saw the Groupon for this tour, I had to seize the opportunity to reacquaint myself with a big part of my childhood. First of all, Naperville has come a very long way from what I remember it to be like. It's now a bustling suburban downtown with a wide variety of eateries both chain and local, shopping and service oriented establishments. It automatically made me very excited about what I was going to learn that day. This tour has a great balance between history and food. Mike, the tour guide is passionate about what he does and it's clear from his historical accounts about downtown Naperville. The tour stars out at the old Kroehler Furniture factory which has long since been re-purposed as condos and retail space. From here begins the leisurely two mile walk (comfortable shoes are a must for this tour) into the historic district of Naperville to feast on the beautiful architecture that has allowed it to acquired its historic status. Food stops on our Sunday tour included: 1. Orazio's Pub, which started doing toasted subs long before Quizno's came around and a hearty bowl of peasant style potato soup. 2. Quigley's Irish Pub, which is the actual pub from Dublin, Ireland! They dismantled it and brought it all the way here. I fell in love with this place and can't wait to go back for the Reuben egg rolls. They were AMAZING!!! 3. LeChocolat du Bouchard, where we actually met Cathy Bouchard who gave a very interesting mini lecture on the history and health benefits of the super-food Cacao. I loved it so much that I can't wait to attend a full seminar at her chocolaterie. What stood out as much as her passionate lecture was the Mexican Hot Chocolate. OH. MY. GOD. It left me swooooooooooning!!!!!!!!!!! That's reason enough to go back there. It was a warm day when we took the tour and I still gulped down every last drop of my drink! 4. Twisted Olive (even though this was only supposed to be a Saturday stop), where we sampled flavored olive oils I didn't even know existed. We were pressed for time here, but I would love to go back and purchase the habenero and cilantro olive oils. I really feel like they might take some basic recipes up a few notches! 5. Cookie Dough Creations, to sample actual cookie dough ice cream and cake batter. This was good, but a little too rich for my tastes. I actually couldn't finish my tasting portions of the two items. 6. Giordano's for a slice of heavenly stuffed cheese pizza. From here, the tour ended and you could continue exploring on your own or do anything else you pleased. The only negative comment I have about it is in the day and age of dietary restrictions, vegetarians and vegans, Mike should have really inquired if my friend and I had any restrictions he should be aware of because we were attending a food tour after all! So, I was sad to not sample the subs or soup at Orazio's because they were pork based, which I do not eat. From what I could tell, everyone else really enjoyed both items because they were gone in a flash. It was a great tour and I would recommend it to anyone who is in the area. Even if you're not, it's worth the drive to Naperville to participate in it.

I honestly did not know what to expect, but this food tour was amazing. Our tour guide was very…read moreknowledgeable of Chicago and gave us a wonderful history of each place we stopped by. Being a foodie himself, we even got to talk about where some ingredients at the various restaurants come from (like California tomatoes at Lou's!). The River North Food Tour did NOT disappoint. I thought our only focus would be on food, but we even went over some architecture and history of various buildings. It was a great way to start our journey of Chicago and I absolutely loved this tour! Definitely recommend it for anyone who's coming to Chicago for the first time!

River North My…read moresister and I decided to include this food tour in our weekend plans. We gathered with 16 others (huge tour!) to meet Jake, our tour guide, around 3pm to sample some culinary highlights of the neighborhood. Having been on several food tours across the country on the east coast, west coast and in Chicago, I think that this tour was somewhere in the middle of the pack. There were some major pluses - Jake was friendly and very informative, he was sanitary and put on gloves when he handled our food (major plus), he offered a good amount of information about several key historical Chicago landmarks and he called ahead so the food was ready when we arrived at each stop. The six stops on the tour included relatively well-known restaurants - The Doughnut Vault, Lou Malnati's, Xoco, Al's Beef, Carson's barbecue and More cupcakes. At each stop we sampled fare such as a half donut, a small piece of cheese pizza, soup, a 2 inch piece of an Italian beef sandwich, half of a pulled pork slider and a mini cupcake. The food overall was pretty good. The pizza at Lou Malnati's and the pulled pork and barbecue sauce at Carson's were the best bites of the day. While the tastes equated to a nice snack, I wouldn't cancel your dinner plans! The stops were a little ways away from each other, which allowed us to get in a nice little exercise but it may have also contributed to the fact that we weren't full at the end of the tour. For the Living Social deal, this was a good tour. I'm not sure I would've felt the same way if we had paid full price. If you're a local foodie, like my sister is, this may not be the best tour for you. She had been to 5 of the 6 places before. Unlike other tours, there weren't really any "hidden gems" that we uncovered. If you yelp "best pizza Chicago" or cupcakes, etc. these places will come up. But, if you're visiting town, like I was, this is a nice way to sample the popular foods in the city. I had been to a couple of the places before but I didn't mind returning. Overall, we had a nice experience with Sidewalk Food Tours. It's nice to see that the company has expanded beyond NYC. They really have something special going on there. The food truck tour that we did about two years ago when they were starting up in Manhattan was excellent! ADDENDUM: YIKES! - Did you see the warning from Yelp? Sidewalk Tours of Chicago is soliciting five star reviews on Facebook by offering free tours???? That's not cool! Maybe that explains all the pristine reviews!!! Shame on you Sidewalk Tours!

This was a great choice for a pizza tour for several reasons. First, the guide (James) was…read moreexcellent: very knowledgeable, welcoming, and funny (very funny). Secondly we learned a LOT about the history of pizza in this city. Thirdly the pizza restaurants were great (they rotate among 30+). Lastly, good variation on the crusts, cheese, and toppings. Highly recommended'

While I'm not a fan of Chicago pizza, I still very much enjoyed the tour. Our guide was extremely…read moreknowledgeable and enthusiastic. Definitely recommend, but go hungry

I worked with Brandon at Chicago Dine Around to plan a dinner and Casino night for my company…read moreouting. Brandon was amazing and incredibly helpful and responsive! At the venue, Genesis was the event coordinator for the evening. She made sure everything flowed seamlessly and helped me enjoy the outing stress free! Both our game dealers (John and Ivan) were very knowledgeable and fun! They helped teach many of us how to play roulette and blackjack and were patient with us throughout the games! I would highly recommend Chicago Dine Around and we will absolutely return to book other events!

We hosted our Toronto team in Chicago for the first time and used Chicago Dine Around to help plan…read moreour team event. Working with Brandon was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. He made the entire process incredibly easy and stress-free. We chose the Private Architectural Boat Tour, and the Chicago Dine Around team went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect. They even arranged for us to tour the boat beforehand so we could confidently select the right experience for our group. For lunch, they seamlessly accommodated all dietary restrictions and preferences, making coordination effortless. Every detail was handled professionally, allowing us to focus on enjoying the event. The feedback from our team was overwhelmingly positive. Many team members said it was one of the best company events we've had to date. Even our Chicago-based employees, who are very familiar with the city, thoroughly enjoyed the tour and experience. I highly recommend Chicago Dine Around for anyone planning a corporate event or group outing. Their attention to detail, outstanding customer service, and local expertise made our event a huge success.

During Parents' Weekend at the University of Chicago, the university offered tours of the…read moreneighborhood through Chicago Detours. My wife did this tour a couple years ago and highly recommended it, but I wasn't especially interested because I had also gone to school here and figured I knew enough about Hyde Park already. However, she insisted that it would be worth our while and so I agreed to climb on the bus. And it was the absolutely right decision, because the tour was excellent. In fact, it wasn't just a tour of Hyde Park. It included the surrounding neighborhoods of Washington Park, Kenwood, Jackson Park, and Woodlawn. Since this was a UChicago sponsored event much of the information related to the University's investment and involvement in the area. Our tour guide and founder of Chicago Detours, Amanda, is herself a graduate of UChicago and thus she had some additional insight into the relationship with the community. Though the 75-minute tour felt a little slow-going at times, there was much to learn about the vibrant but sometimes troubled history of the area. Amanda has tremendous knowledge and the excursion was both fascinating and entertaining. I can imagine that Chicago Detours would have equally interesting tours of other neighborhoods in this diverse city.

Virtual tours are such a cool thing to do right now. I attended a Yelp Elite event that was a…read morevirtual food tour of Chicago. It was incredibly informative and a good balance of history and current trends. Looking forward to attending more virtual tours, like the World's Fair and the Cruise From Your Couch Boat Tour. I loved seeing the pictures of the in-person tours and can't wait to attend some of those too.

I really enjoy coming to this winery because there are nice places to sit and enjoy your wine along…read morewith snacks. This specific time it was nice to sit outdoors, but in a covered area while the rain came down. Their service was great as always.

It's always a lovely experience at Lynfred Winery. The staff is friendly and quite knowledgeable…read more And whether you are a true wine connoisseur or just learning and want to sample something different you've come to the right place.

Awesome experience…read more Mike and his team were absolutely wonderful to work with. They created a custom tour for all our east coast family and friends that were in Chicago for our son's wedding. Todd our tour guide was funny, entertaining and extremely knowledgeable of all things Chicago. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Highly recommend this company. Knowledgeable, fun tour that taught us a lot about the city. The…read morewhole family was in town and we booked last minute. Everything was customized to what the family was interested in. Very professional staff that makes you feel like family. And super comfy accommodations. I would definitely book again.

Gilbert is awesome! Every tour that my senior citizens group and myself have gone on have been the…read moreBEST! Gilbert goes above and beyond to make sure his tours are the best that they can be. He is a wealth of knowledge. It is not just a basic tour, it is a tour filled with stories and the history of Chicago, its neighborhoods and everything related to your tour. Over the years, I have been on several of Gilberts tours and he puts his heart and soul in all of his tours and goes above and beyond for his guests. He loves what he does and it shows. I can't what for our tour next month!

My girlfriends and I went to Chicago last weekend and did the cupcake tour with Greg. We had a…read moregreat time. The tour was delicious, informative, and entertaining!! I wish Chicago had a walking wine and chocolate tour!! Thanks for entertaining these 4 Michigan ladies!!

The knowledge our guide had about pizza, its history, and Chicago's history made the trip…read moreinteresting and memorable. The pizza choices were spectacular. Hard to say no to another piece when they taste that good. Couldn't recommend the tour more. Six stars!

What an amazing highlight on our visit to Chicago! After briefly catching a tour feature on a…read moremorning show, my family of three decided to give it a try and we were not disappointed. Steve served as our "doughcent" and his energy was contagious. He was passionate, knowledgeable and engaging. Even my 12 year old enjoyed it. We kicked off our adventure at Labriola for a perfect deep dish. After introductions and a bit of Chicago history in a small private area in the back, we tasted our first slice and were even able to check out the oven. There was a vegetarian option, which I appreciated and sausage for everyone else. Everyone appeared to really enjoy it. I really thought it would stand as my favorite, until we arrived at Stop two - Paulie Gee's. Oh em gee- my favorite of the day. It was so unexpected, but so good. The crust was the star of the show and as a bonus, we received a special appearance from owner and chef Derrick Tung. Our third stop was Pat's, where we enjoyed more great history and a generous servings of tavern style pizza- very very thin, but flavorful. My favorite was the veggie (artichoke, spinach and peppers), but I like the cheese, too. Owner Gina Pianetto and her team were very attentive and gave us a quick background Ian's overview of the restaurant. Our final stop was Robert's Pizza and Dough Co. for delicious artisan style pizzas - wild mushroom for veggie lovers and a fennel focused pizza with fennel salami and braised fennel. Chef Robert came out and gave a wonderful background and how he got started. Another phenomenal pizza. The mushrooms were super high quality and beyond delicious. The crust was great. A wonderful wrap up to the tour. I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone visiting Chicago. Perfect size group. Intimate, but enough to enjoy opportunity to meet other. Perfect stops, timing and comfortable transportation. Bravo Steve - well done!

This winery is a gem in Long Grove! I'm up from FL visiting my brother and some friends. My brother…read moreand I love wine so he brought me here. Karen was our host and she was absolutely delightful. I really appreciated hearing her candid thoughts on the wines. We followed her recommendations. The reserve Cabernet $55 was delicious and very fruit forward just like you would expect from a Paso Robles Cabernet. It was perfectly dry with a robust body. We brought a bottle home and did a blind taste test with other Paso Robles Cabernets. It won! We also had bread sticks and olives. The property is lovely. It makes for a great ambiance.

Wonderful location. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The staff, especially the owner, are…read moreso friendly. It's a very fun Wine bar.