North Beach and Chinatown Food Tour

Explore two of San Francisco's dynamic neighborhoods with this cross-cultural adventure. Meet your guide in Chinatown and set off on foot in search of culinary delights and neighborhood flavor. Enter an alley in Chinatown where the signs are in Chinese and exit the alley in North Beach, next to a bar that Jack Kerouac frequented.

In Chinatown, you'll explore a Buddhist temple or two, traditional shops and food vendors, see herbalists shops, savor tea tastings, and delight in both familiar Chinese dishes and try new and exotic foods that Chinatown is so famous for. Egg Foo Young,Chop suey, moo goo gai pan, shrimp in lobster sauce, and Chinese Mai Tais were invented right here but did you know that Fortune Cookies are another hometown invention? Learn about local foods and hear the local history while you stroll down alleys, learn about local customs, and taste delicious dim sum of dumplings and other traditional recipes. Along the way, visit Portsmouth Square where groups of locals practice the ancient Chinese art of Tai Chi, and stop by the fortune cookie factory and sample and/ or buy fresh cookies!

Then continue on to North Beach's bakeries, trattorias, pizzerias, and coffee shops,where you will hear Italian spoken almost as much as English. Cafe culture is alive and well and the tables are always busy, filled with locals enjoying Dolce Vita! See Washington Square Park and take in views of the city. Cioppino is the local invention that dominates here and we know the place that has the best in the city. Re-trace the steps of the beatniks and see where Janis Joplin developed her chops. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe pretended to get married at a beautiful church, a few yards away is a very famous pizza school. Sometimes you'll see pizza dough juggled in the park, while parrots dart in and out of the trees. You are likely to enjoy everything from freshly made pasta paired with fresh Dungeness crab served with Italian or California wine and cannoli or gelato for dessert.

Choose from two tours that showcase different sides of these neighboring San Francisco districts. The afternoon tour ventures out during peak business hours, while the evening tour reflects a more relaxed atmosphere as many of restaurants and cafés are just waking up after their afternoon siesta.