Here’s a fun thing to do with out-of-town visitors: Skip lunch and take them on a guided food tour of our city’s finest bites. The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ metro area is getting two new routes this season: Fourth Avenue and an archaeology-focused tour of the Marana area.
by Brad and Maria Lawrence is adding a permanent Fourth Avenue/Main Gate Square walking tour to its schedule. (The couple also does a popular downtown trek that includes Reilly Craft Pizza and Drink, El Charro and Maynards Market.)
The new route will take visitors for iced coffee at , deviled eggs, fried green beans, the Beast chicken tenders at , the OG cheeseburger and fries at , tacos and salsas at , seasoned rice balls at TallBoys, and then down to University Boulevard for barbecue pulled pork at and chicken pesto flatbread and bitterballen meat snacks at .
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Tour guides will also field questions about ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s City of Gastronomy status and 4,000 years of agriculture.
Spots are available for selected dates including Thursday, Nov. 30; Saturday, Dec. 16; and Friday, Dec. 22. The tours begin at 11 a.m. and last about four hours. Tours cost $55, with optional gratuity. You can book them through .
Most people think of Marana as a big suburb, but the city is actually an important hub for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s farm-to-table ecosystem (and has been for the past 4,000 years). Local products like artisan honey and white Sonora wheat come from Marana farms like and .
And now Marana is getting its own tour, sponsored by the tourist board in conjunction with .
Highlights of the Marana Gastronomy Tour include an excursion guided by renowned archaeologist Suzanne Fish, an expert on Hohokam foodways. Fish will take visitors through the ancient trinchera site as well as an ancient farm site. The tour will also feature a tasting at , and a multicourse meal at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain.
Book for selected dates including the following Fridays: Dec. 1, Dec. 15, Jan. 12 and Jan. 19. The tour begins at 12:30 p.m. and lasts about 5Æ’ hours. It costs $109. Read more and book at