OUR STORY
10 Years of Food Tours in Los Angeles
Sidewalk Food Tours was founded in New York City in 2011 by Joshua Hirsch with a simple idea: one of the best ways to understand a neighborhood is through its food.
We brought Sidewalk Food Tours to Los Angeles in 2016, and for the past 10 years we’ve been introducing guests to LA through its food, history, culture, and neighborhoods.
Los Angeles was a natural city for us to explore. Its food tells the story of the people who came here, the communities they built, and the neighborhoods that grew around them. You can learn a lot about LA by sitting down at a neighborhood restaurant, eating something delicious, and hearing the story behind it.
Over the past decade, we’ve done a lot of eating our way through Los Angeles. Some restaurants have become longtime tour stops; others haven’t made the cut. Great food is obviously important, but we also look at the people behind a restaurant, its connection to the neighborhood, the story we can tell there, and how each tasting fits with the rest of the tour.
Our goal is for a Sidewalk Food Tour to feel a little like exploring Los Angeles with a local friend who knows where to eat and has some good stories to tell along the way. Our guides introduce guests to the history, architecture, people, and cultures behind the neighborhoods we’re walking through—not just the food on the plate.
Our private Los Angeles food tours are popular with families, friends, birthday groups, and other groups who want to experience the city together. Having your own guide makes it easy to spend time together, eat well, and explore a neighborhood without having to figure out where everyone should go or what they should eat.
We also specialize in corporate team-building experiences in Los Angeles, including private team-building food tours and hands-on cooking classes and cooking competitions. Food tours give coworkers a chance to get out of the office, explore a neighborhood, eat together, and actually have time to talk. Our cooking classes bring teams together in the kitchen to cook, collaborate, and have some friendly competition.
Whether you’re joining a public tour, exploring LA with family and friends, or planning a corporate team-building event, our goal is pretty simple: serve you plenty of great food, tell you some interesting stories, and show you a side of Los Angeles you might not have discovered on your own.
After 10 years of leading food tours in Los Angeles, we’re still finding new places to eat and new stories to share. That’s a big part of why we still love doing it.
Come hungry. We’d love to show you around.
OUR TOURS
EXPLORE NEIGHBORHOOD DELIGHTS
MEET THE TEAM
JOSHUA HIRSCH
OWNER
On a six-hour historical tour of Lower Manhattan, Joshua’s stomach began to grumble as the guide pointed out some delicious food spots. It was then that he had an “aha moment.” He decided to include his favorite food places on a history and culture walking tour, so folks wouldn’t be hungry while discovering the city!
He wanted his tours to tell the story of the neighborhood through its food and the people who prepare it. The rest, as they say, is history. Sidewalk Food Tours, a culinary experience company, was born. He has since expanded into ten delectable cities. His goal is to expand to every major U.S. city you travel to, so you can experience its food and culture on a Sidewalk Food Tour.
CHIEU HIRSCH
PARTNER
We are honored to have Chieu Hirsch on our team. She plays an integral part in the company’s overall success. Her family bravely refuged to the U.S. from Vietnam in the 1980s. She brings years of business experience, previously working for Sprint, Principal Financial, Morgan Stanley, and Hartford. In addition to her business acumen, she is extremely passionate about feng shui, astrology, food, and culture. She loves meditation, traveling, and hiking to beautiful mountaintops. Spending quality time with her eight nieces and nephews is what brings her the most joy.
ROBBIE BRUENS
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Robbie Bruens designs, develops and manages food experiences for Sidewalk. In addition to food (the highest art form, as we can all agree) he is also passionate about movies, books, paintings, and architecture. With that in mind, he recommends you watch Big Night (1996) directed by and starring Stanley Tucci and read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, as these combine the culinary arts with cinema and literature.
SCARLET CUMMINGS
GUIDE
Scarlet grew up in Los Angeles and received a BA in film and art history from UC Berkeley. She loves sharing downtown LA’s delicious food, stunning architecture, and fascinating history with visitors and locals alike. Scarlet is an actor and standup comedian, and an avid traveler, bibliophile, and language enthusiast.
CHRIS SUZUKI
GUIDE
Chris is a fifth generation native of Los Angeles, having studied art, history, and theatre in college he has been leading tours around Los Angeles and its museums for almost ten years. Living in downtown LA, he started leading tours at the Getty Villa, later moving to the Marciano Arts Foundation, and currently also leading private tours of Los Angeles museums for ArtMuse LA . He loves getting to share his hometown, its amazing stories and incredible food with guests from all over the world.
ISA VIZCARRA
GUIDE
Isa Vizcarra is a Peruvian Miami-native pursuing creative endeavors in LA and eating tasty things along the way. Having some pretty high standards for food, weather and culture, she constantly seeks out experiences that make her proud to call LA home.
Favorite LA Restaurant: La Guelaguetza
Favorite cocktail: French 75
JEAN MICHEL ARLIN
GUIDE
Jean Michel is a lifelong food lover who really enjoys being a tour guide, so what could be better than combining both as a food tour guide. Born in Brazil to a family of French origin, he speaks French, Portuguese, English and Spanish. In his spare time, he spends more money than he should on vinyl records and writing screenplays.
MATT MOORE
GUIDE
Matt is a comedy actor who loves telling stories. For better or worse, he is a real “Showbiz” guy who can tell you all about shooting tv commercials in busy downtown LA streets, or which movie studio commissary has the best food. He is fascinated by LA’s unique culture, mystifying history, and all the incredible flavors that can be found here. He loves meeting new people, and sharing what makes this big, chaotic city so remarkable.
CLOVIS SCHLUMBERGER
GUIDE
Clovis is a French/American passionate tour guide and L.A artist. Known for his engaging storytelling, deep knowledge of local history, and warm personality, Clovis knows how to craft an experience that will exceed all expectations.