A Five-Hour Food Tour? $135? Yes!

By Marilyn Machlowitz

$135 for a five-hour food tour? That price and that amount of time were why I had resisted taking a Culinary Backstreets food  tour until recently. But my daughter and I tried one in Istanbul and the hours flew by. Conveniently, this one was held at 5 pm so it did not interfere with the sightseeing day and  doubled as a (too large) dinner. We got to try numerous Turkish foods in carefully-vetted restaurants-we never would have known (or found) and to which we could have returned during our stay. Our guide was personable and approachable and we bonded with the only other people on this tour, a mother-son pair.

Culinary Backstreets began in Istanbul in 2009 as a food blog Istanbul Eats and now offers its food tours in 25 cities around the world, including three in the US.In Istanbul alone. Seven different tours are offered (including one that goes to a market to select ingredients and cook a feast).  Groups are limited to seven participants and proceed as planned as long as two people sign up. I now wish we had taken an additional tour!

While Culinary Backstreets may be the best-known food tour company, it is hardly the only one. Eating Europe offers food tours in twenty cities. Started in 2011, the tours last three to four hours and cost $70 and up (depending upon tour and city). As with Culinary Backstreets, participants will skip any lines, meet the cooks and owners, and learn about more than just the foodways of a culture. I look forward to trying one of their tours.

Local Options

 Consider taking a food tour in your own city. My husband and I enjoyed one in Jackson Heights, Queens, which is a short subway ride from Manhattan. Jackson Heights has attracted immigrants from a variety of nations who bring their cuisine with them. Many food businesses there begin as food trucks and later morph into brick-and-mortar restaurants. Laura Siciliano-Rosen has lived in the neighborhood for 17 years and began Eat Your World tours in 2011. The range of foods offered includes many from Latin America as well as Southeast Asia. The tours last about three hours and include up to 1fifteenpeople. The cost ranges up to $80 depending upon date selected. Tastes offered will include stand-up and sit-down options. Even Laura has taken food tours when she travels in those places that feel most overwhelming to me—the vibrant, labyrinthine streets of Old Delhi.

Top Tips

• Read online reviews to help select a tour.
• Check the tour’s cancellation policy.
• Disclose any dietary allergies or aversions in advance.
• Register online ahead of time. (Read the cancellation policies.)
• Delay taking such a tour until you’ve adjusted to any time change.
• Arrive hungry. Laura hopes guests don’t grab a bagel before the tour.
• Bring local currency to tip your guide. (The food and drink are included in the fee.)
• Check the age guidelines posted for any tour. (Young children might be miserable.)
• Be curious.  Laura said, tour guides love questions, and even if we’re unsure of the answer, it gives us a chance to learn something new.
• If you are a solo traveler, these offer more dishes than you’re likely to order on your own and provide camaraderie.
• If you want to purchase something sold at a stop, you may. There is no pressure and these are food tours not shopping tours.

Although Lustre member Marilyn Machlowitz came late to food tours, she has taken them in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Osaka, Tokyo, Bologna, Athens, and Manhattan.