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© Tim Pearce, Los Gatos

New York Street Food's walking tour is one of two food tours focused on New York City street vendor carts. Urban Oyster also offers food cart tours in Midtown and downtown New York. Apparently, Urban Oyster was the first company to originate the concept, and they invited a blogger to go on one of their tours to get some publicity.

However, that blogger never mentioned the tour, and instead he created his own tour that is very similar to the Urban Oyster tour. Almost all of the carts and trucks that he has included on his tour are also on the Urban Oyster tour, and his website uses a similar layout and descriptions of the carts. However, the company has no plans to sue New York Street Food, and said that they welcome competitors. Both tours cost $40 per person, with advance purchase required. The ticket price includes at least five different food tastings, a local map, bottle of water, and knowledgeable tour guide.

© OCLS

Jeff Swedarsky launched a popular company in 2008 in Alexandria, Virginia that offered food tours of that city. Since then his company, Food Tour Corporation, has expanded into DC, Baltimore, Annapolis, and Indianapolis, hosting over 10,000 customers on its various tours. Now, Swedarsky is making plans to expand to Cleveland, Ohio.

The owner explains that his philosophy is that people can learn the most about a culture through its food. One of the great things about Cleveland is that there are still a lot of locally run places that many other cities no longer have. The tour will likely begin at the West Side Market, which will offer guests a great blend of historical information, conversations with vendors, and numerous food samples. The tours are designed for both locals and tourists, with a focus on understanding a neighborhood through its food, venues, history and atmosphere.

© Matt Ryall

The Maitland AROMA: Coffee, Chocolate & Fine Food Festival will be held in Maitland, New South Wales on August 13-14, 2011. The admission is free, and visitors will be able to enjoy gourmet food, tours of area historical sites, Australian coffee and chocolate.

The festival will include chocolate and coffee making demonstrations, guided historic walking tours of Maitland's heritage, horse and carriage rides and a wide range of Blues and Jazz music from two stages. Additionally, there will be a separate lounge tent featuring a DJ spinning house beats. While general admission is free, some of the events are ticketed. The festival will ward off the winter chill with not only coffee but a wine tasting even hosted by Hunter wineries as well. They will be offering tastings of their fine dessert wines, fortified wines and gutsy reds.