Published on Dec, 2024

This is a deep dive into some of the tastiest and deepest-rooted institutions of LA’s Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and Olvera Street. Our guide Ulysses was deeply knowledgeable about the history and culture of the establishments and neighborhoods. It’s like getting to do a food tour and an accessible post-graduate course all at once. We appreciated getting to visit a few museums along the way to break up the eating and learn even more. We were already familiar with many of the Asian foods sampled, but the versions presented on this tour were all outstanding. Some were either the best or at the same level as the best examples we have encountered in the past. The overall quantity of food was manageable, especially if you don’t eat every bit of all the foods presented. Some people could probably eat it all. Ulysses was good about setting the expectations about pacing, and also made sure hydration and bathroom opportunities were more than adequate. For those concerned about safety, I would say the route was pretty benign. One needs to be aware of their surroundings in any big city, but I didn’t have any special concerns. Overall, it is an easy recommendation to anyone who wants more out of a food tour.

Published on Dec, 2024

Ulysses took us on a delightful adventure through old Los Angeles. We snacked our way through Chinatown, Olvera, Little Tokyo and more. Great history and nice conversations. Plus got in more than 10k steps! We highly recommend!

Published on Nov, 2024

We spent a great day (5 hours) with Janine today. She has spent a lot of time in DTLA and was able to help us picture DTLA as it evolved over the years and welcomed a variety of immigrant populations. Every place we stopped was special in some way - we had coffee made by a biochemist, a simple tea ceremony, bahn mi (that sandwich shop was a hoot!) and so much other food that we're still not hungry. She explained what made specific shops special and how "back home" food evolved when the cooks came to LA. She was also really accommodating - when we got full, she helped us get food to take back for dinner, if we ever get hungry again. We topped it off by taking Angel's Flight up to Grand Ave and lyfting back to our hotel. We've done a lot of food tours on international trips and this ranks up with the best of our experiences. We will look for Culinary Backstreets tours in the future.

Published on Oct, 2024

Great tour. Ulysses was kind, knowledgeable and very attentive. One of the best food tours I’ve been on. Very informative and the food was excellent.

Published on Jul, 2024

Very fun tour! Awesome tour guider with a lot of food and LA history. Best taco in LA at the end. Highly recommended. A quick way to understand LA.