Erie Food Tours a Culinary Tour de Force
Dining, history, and culture combine for return of popular event
Erie may not often be thought of as a dining destination, but local entrepreneur Kelly Karns has taken a culinary blowtorch to that narrative with her popular Erie Food Tours, now in their sixth season. As summer activity heats up to a spirited flambé, residents can experience some of the best food and drink the area has to offer one of three ways — the Downtown Erie Food Tour, the North East Food Tour, and/or the Happy-Appy Food Tour.
Regardless, Karns and her team of gourmand guides have been starving for another chance to serve you after 2020 sent their best-laid plans back to the kitchen. "We have missed our guests and our restaurants, and we are ready to eat, walk, and learn our way around Downtown Erie and North East, PA once again this summer!" Karns exclaimed.
Indeed, each food tour invites participants to not only enjoy mouth-watering cuisine and beverages (yes, some of them adult for those 21 and older), but also savor their surroundings. In between establishments, guests will be fed little morsels of history and culture so as to not only nourish their bodies, but their minds as well.
The tours transpire entirely on foot, averaging about one mile in total distance, and visit exclusively locally-owned restaurants, bakeries, and specialty shops. All consumables are included in the ticket price ($39 per person, discounts for groups), but should guests thirst for additional libations beyond what is on that day's menu, they must pay extra. Vegetarian diets can be accommodated, but others cannot.
Without further ado, let's dig in, shall we?
Downtown Erie Food Tours
When: Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — weekly through Aug. 28, every other week Sept. 4 through Oct. 23
Where: Tour begins outside of Like My Thai, 827 State St. in Erie
North East Food Tours
When: Sundays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — 7/25, 8/1, 8/15, 9/5, 9/19, 10/3, 10/17
Where: Tour begins outside of Little Shop of Donuts, 45 E. Main St. (Rte. 20) in North East
Happy-Appy Food Tours
When: Wednesdays, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. — 7/14, 7/21, 8/11, 8/18, 8/25, 9/8, 9/22, 10/6, 10/20
Where: Tour begins outside of Cloud 9 Wine Bar, 25 E. 10th St. in Erie
For more information on pricing and details, visit eriefoodtours.com
Regardless of when you're reading this, Matt Swanseger (mswanseger@eriereader.com) could probably eat right now.
