Do This: Fork and the Road's Culinary Bike Tours

By Roger Kamholz in Food on Jun 27, 2011 8:40PM

The 2011 season of food-focused bike tours curated and guided by Dimitra Tasiouras and Sharon Bautista of Fork and the Road is shaping up to be epic. Now in its fourth year, Fork and the Road connects the dots between some of Chicago's most exciting and delicious dishes by creating themed bike tours that touch far-flung neighborhoods and tap into rich culinary veins.

Freshly underway, this season brings back the most popular Fork tour from last year and adds four more all-new rides. There's Deli-cious, all about cured meats and cheeses; Ice-cycle, an ice cream odyssey; Latin Meat Lovers, exploring the carnivorous traditions of Latin America; Mediterranean Cruise, the returning tour, tapping into Greek and Middle Eastern flavors; and Tour of Asia, which ambles across the continent's many cuisines.

Last but not least is 'Wich Way, Fork and the Road's all-new sandwich-focused bike tour, which debuted on Saturday. We had the chance to tag along on the first installment, and it was nothing short of spectacular. Check back here on Thursday for our full report and photo gallery.

Of course, Tasiouras and Bautista are equally amped about each Fork and the Road tour this season. But we couldn't help but notice that they were especially proud of the lineup of chefs, purveyors, mongers and charcuterians they wrangled to participate in Deli-cious. (They keep the exact destinations and dishes a secret until tours depart.) Part of the pleasure in taking a Fork tour is meeting and hearing from the passionate people responsible for Chicago's diverse and dazzling food scene, and Deli-cious promises to bring together a veritable brain trust of the meat-and-cheese set.

Fork and the Road bike tours take place on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer. Check here for descriptions, prices and availability.