I’m usually not a fan of standard food tours—too many tourist spots and not enough cool neighborhoods, locals haunts and insider tips. I used to lead Chicago food tours, so I know that someone with a real grip on a neighborhood is your best friend when you’re looking for something special.
On my recent trip to Boston, I was happily surprised with the food & drink tour of Somerville, MA put on by fellow travel blogger Sarah Cash of The Cash Odyssey (she also just gave a WorkTravelTech interview). She also offers a custom tour for a fee, and I’d recommend checking it out.
Northwest of Boston, Somerville is around 20 minutes away via train (from the South Station to Davis), or 15 minutes via car. There’s no excuse of not hitting this great neighborhood, especially for an insider tour.
Sugar? Of course!
We started out with Union Square Donuts (16 Bow St, Somerville, MA), with an amazing array of sugar bombs with insanely tasty variations. The vegan matcha donut was actually delicious, as was, of course, the Boston Creme.
We then toured Taza Chocolate (561 Windsor Street in Somerville, MA 02143), an amazing USDA organic, direct trade, non-GMO project certified, gluten-free, dairy and soy free and kosher chocolatier (try saying that five times!). It’s $6 per tour, but worth it for the variety of chocolates we tasted and the behind-the-scenes tour of the booming chocolate maker.
Craft beer on tap
Next we hit Aeronaut Brewing Company (14 Tyler St., Somerville), a “food hub” space with (get ready): coffee roaster barismo, Somerville Chocolates, a farmer’s market delivery called SomethingGUD, a food incubator, and collaborations within most of them. Aeronaut itself is a great, relaxed space with some live music, around 8 brews on tap with weekly featured options. There should be a 20-seat upscale restaurant opening there in June, Tasting Counter. Don’t miss Cache dan le Chateau if it’s on tap.
Cider winery
None to soon we were at Bantam Cider (40 Merriam St, Somerville, MA). Known as a winery as opposed to a brewery because you don’t brew cider, the flavors were rich and varied and a flight is a great way to sample a Boston original.
And a bit of food…
We last hit Area Four (445 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA), a local pizzeria with insanely delicious thin and crispy crusts; the Carnivore pizza perfectly capped off the tour, and their beer list isn’t too bad, either.
Put this tour on your list—even if you go on your own. Somerville is a thriving area with some great maker spaces and flavors you won’t find on most food tours.
