Sole food: Culinary tours of San Francisco

The City by the Bay is a famously foodie destination, and you could put on a pound or twenty trying to taste its many splendors. So why not burn off a few calories while working up that appetite by taking a culinary walking tour?

The grande dame of these tasty tours is Shirley Fong-Torres, founder of Wok Wiz. Shirley and her team of English-Cantonese bilingual guides take groups through a Proustian tour of Chinatown, allowing you to sample the sights, smells and of course tastes of the neighborhood while learning about the rich culture and history of the Chinese population in San Francisco. You’ll need to come with an empty stomach and an open mind — you might end up sampling some unusual things. For an extra ten bucks, stick around for a full lunch of dim sum; this alone makes the tour worth the price of admission.

In another of the city’s vibrant neighborhoods, Lisa Rogovin’s Taste the Mission tour starts in sleepy Noe Valley, at foodie book temple Omnivore Books on Food, and descends from there along bustling 24th Street, with delicious bites at each stop. While Lisa’s tour does dabble in the predominantly Latino culture of the district, including savory sopes at La Palma Mexicatessen, you’ll come away with an even stronger taste of the new and evolving food scene in the city’s heart. Learn how some businesses are using food to change their communities, like Mission Pie, who employs local at-risk youth as interns to give them a leg up while turning out top-notch pies. Get a taste of the city’s hot street food trend with some savory pies delivered to you by bicycle. And challenge your palate with cutting-edge flavor combos from both Humphrey Slocombe (try the prosciutto ice cream — no, really) and Dynamo Donut, where bacon-maple-apple donuts are the specialty. Lisa also leads tasting tours of the shrine to all things foodie, the Ferry Building, as well as field trips to Berkeley and the Wine Country.

Still hungry? How about a little something sweet? The three-hour San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour takes you through several artisanal chocolate purveyors throughout the downtown area. Aside from a killer buzz, you’ll come away with a deeper understanding of how quality chocolates are made, tips on other dining experiences in the city, and a book of coupons for eight different chocolate boutiques in the city. But mostly, you’ll walk away with a belly full of chocolate, and what’s not to love about that?

[Photo by Robin Jolin, courtesy of Lisa Rogovin]