There’s a new tour in town.
This one touches not only on the history of Oak Park, but also the flavors too.
Yummy Food Tours launched this spring with the goal of introducing tourists and locals alike to the variety and quality of foods available in various neighborhoods.
These walking tours take groups of no more than 10 people to locations in the Hemingway District, Harrison Street Arts District, Pleasant District or Downtown Oak Park.
Karina Silvestre and Ryan Gonzalez started their food careers working in Oak Park restaurants. A few years on, the entrepreneurs opened a mobile bar, catering to corporate and special events, but something about dining in Oak Park kept them thinking.
“We realized there’s so many good restaurants here in Oak Park and we would notice a lot of tourists that would come to Oak Park,” Silvestre said. “And when it came time to eat, they almost looked a little bit confused and we know there’s good food culture here. We realized there was a gap in the market.”
“We like to travel as well. Every time we traveled someplace new we would always do a food tour. Getting to know the area and getting to know the culture,” Gonzalez added.
Now they are bringing that experience to town.
On a recent Wednesday, the pair led a tour through the Hemmingway District starting in front of the library with a quick overview of the history of Oak Park.
Gonzalez talked about Scoville Park and its first white inhabitants, the Kettlestrings; Percy Julian’s contributions; and Unity Temple and Frank Lloyd Wright.
“We’re going to walk a little bit to drum up some hunger,” Gonzalez said. “Kind of break things up in between and talk about the history, culture and landmarks.”
For the first course, the group gathered at the corner of Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue at Mulatta. Appetizers for this four-course meal were empanadas and Pão de Queijo – Brazilian cheese bread.
The next stop was a twist: dessert second! At Candycopia, a flight of chocolates from around the world tickled the palate. And each person walked away with a tin of candies selected from their extensive jar bar.
The next stop was across Lake Street at Hoja Santa Bar y Cocina. The group sat down to ceviche and birria pizza, beef shank and short ribs, scallions, cilantro, and cheese, elegantly topped with watermelon radishes.
The last stop was more than a block away to work up more appetite. At Cucina Paradiso on North Boulevard, the treats were bacon wrapped dates and rigatoni Bolognese. Cocktails are not part of the packaged tour, but diners were able to order ones that they paid for individually.
The tour’s operators have gotten a good response from restaurants they’ve reached out to be a part of the action.
“A lot of them have wanted to participate. And they all want to serve a ton of food. Because they’re excited. But because we’re making many stops, we keep it limited,” Silvestre said.
As their business expands, they hope to grow the number of partners. “We’re still building relationships with more business owners,” Silvestre noted.
Prices will fluctuate for the tours based on the number of stops and the restaurants. The Hemingway District tour was $100 per person.
As the weather warms, Silvestre and Gonzalez said they hope that tourists will find them via their website, yummyfoodtours.biz, and Trip Advisor’s marketplace for travel experiences – Viator. They also hope that word of mouth spreads in town too. They feel the tour would be perfect for entertaining guests, a friend-group outing, or just exploring your own hometown.
“Our tour gives people a chance to come and see a place that maybe they’ve walked by in the past,” Gonzalez said. “They can try it on our tour then maybe come back once they’ve had a taste.”
Silvestre concurred.
“This is a small town, but there’s lots of delicious food!”
For More Information:
Website: www.yummyfoodtours.biz
Phone: 708-551-7300
Email: Info@yummyfoodtour.com