Tantalizing Tastes and Tours

My wife and I decided to try something different on our vacation besides going to theme parks. We were not disappointed. Our tour guide was awesome. He gave us a wonderful tour with some history and conversation about Orlando while introducing us too five different restaurants. These were local establishments and when we stopped at each we were given a taste of some of their signature dishes. Both of us are foodies and it was wonderful to try local food that is not from a chain. I would recommend this tour to anyone who enjoy discovering the local tastes of area restaurants.

Our guide was Jalil. He met us on time. He was wearing a green company t-​shirt. He drove us around in a non branded (his personal?) black Cadillac CTS; it was very clean. The tour was just me and the one other person I was with so we sat together in the backseat. There were car seats available for kids.
We met at 6877 S Kirkman Rd in front of a closed down Office Depot. I’m not sure why we met here. There was no food stop near this location. We visited, in order:
1) Stonington’s Fried Shrimp
2) Tako Cheena
3) Yum-​mi Sandwiches
4) 4 Rivers Smokehouse
5) Jeremiah’s Italian Ice
I’ve gone on countless other food tours. Here’s how this one stacks up. The food portions were above average in my tour experience. They were large and mostly main food items, not dessert. At place 3 we had two items: a small smoothie and the two of us split a full sandwich. At place 2 we split three tacos. At place 1 we got some shrimp, catfish, corn bread and mac n cheese. Place 4 was a cup of BBQ pork with cheese grits on the bottom and coleslaw on top. Place 5 was an icy or gelato.
Our guide tried to personalize our tour. He discovered one of us was in town on healthcare business an proceeded to point out all the local hospitals as we drove. I’ve learned more history on other tours, but perhaps Orlando just has less. I wouldn’t know. What we did learn was interesting and presented in a fun way. We covered a lot of ground in the car and stopped on the side if the road in a few locations.
I’d change:
In other food tours the guide called ahead to the restaurant to say we were coming so the food was ready upon our arrival. This didn’t happen on this tour, though it’s a nice touch as it keeps the pace up. Our guide stood in line and ordered at each restaurant while we sat down. Then we all sat down and waited as the food was cooked. Calling ahead would speed the tour up. Secondly, none of the owners or managers or chefs (or even waitress for that matter) of any of the restaurants came out to speak to our group, which is common on food tours in my experience. I missed hearing the restaurant’s perspective on the food and the establishment’s history. Our guide did provide some.

My family and I had a fun experience on this tour! We tried a different variety of foods: seafood, Chinese-​Mexican fusion, Vietnamese, BBQ and desert for last. Our tour guide, Jalil, had a great sense of humor. Ask him to sing for you! He’ll do it for free.

We had a great time on the Food Tour! We went to a bunch of different places in Orlando that we had never been– and we are Orlando natives. All the places were really good! They did a wide range from Ethiopian to Italian to a modern gastro pub. It was really a great time. The only downfall is that we are on a schedule so sometimes we felt a little rushed, but overall, it was well worth the money.

AWESOME! My wife and I had such a great experience on this dinner tour on our recent trip to Orlando. It was truly the highlight of our stay there. We booked through the website and had great communication about where to be, what to expect, etc. On the day of our tour, we arrived at the pick-​up location a little early and our guide (Jessica) was already there waiting for us. The van was spotless and comfortable and our Jessica was very concerned with our personal comfort and safety. Along with my wife and I, there were two other couples, one celebrating and their 51^st anniversary and a young couple in the military out for a fun evening (we are somewhere in the middle of these age groups). We all had a great time.
Once the tour got rolling, so did the rain. It poured but that didn’t distract from the experience too much. Jessica was very informative and entertaining and clearly is very concerned about everyone having a great time. She showed us sights of the city on our way and asked fun trivia questions. I’m kind of a «slow-​to-​warm-​up» kind of guy and she made thing relaxed and fun right away.
We stopped at four restaurants for food and drinks. She sampled Asian, Ethiopian, «American», and dessert. I don’t want to give too much away because the stops change frequently and there’s also a bit of joy in not knowing ahead of time what is coming next.
At each stop our table was waiting and we were treated very well by the waitstaff (I was a little worried about being treated like a transient tourist being on a tour like this). At each stop they were ready for us and food and drink arrived quickly. There was time to relax and enjoy the company and the food but things moved along quickly.
All-​in-​all, this was a fantastic tour. We will definitely do it again when we return to Orlando. We want to try the lunch tour, too. I think this is great for locals and travelers, alike.

Great fun for an afternoon in Orlando
We found this tour on Tripadvisor and it’s exciting to be the first reviewer on Unilocal!
Our tour guide Jerry, one of the owners took us to a total of 6 places in and around Orlando. We did a total of 4 savory stops and 2 sweet stops. The variety of food and amount was good. In addition to the food we also learned a lot about Orlando history. If you like non chain unique restaurants, this tour is for you. It’s a breath of fresh air here in the Orlando area to go on a tour that isn’t tourist trap city. A few suggestions would include someone from the restaurant providing further detail about their place and food and a new meet spot as the current one is in a parking lot where none of the stops are located. Best of luck Jerry and Jasmine as your company grows!