I’ve lived in Washington, DC for almost 7 years now, and am still discovering some of the hidden treasures in the city, and have an ever expanding list of places to try! What better way to knock a few off the list than with a food tour! I tried the Mangia DC Georgetown Food tour a few days back and am happy to report that I got to try a couple places on my list, and discovered a couple of interesting fun facts about the city I call home now!

First things first, what’s “Mangia”?

Dave Saxe, Managing Director of the company and enthusiastic tour guide, started off with explaining that “Mangia” (pronounced MON-JA), is the Italian word for “Eat”, and contextually is used to say “Eat, enjoy, come together” over delicious food. And that’s exactly what we did!

So without further ado, here’s what I enjoyed about the Mangia DC Georgetown tour.

1. You actually do get to try food from establishments that locals “in the know” would recommend. The places that you are taken to are definitely off the tourist beaten path both in terms of eateries as well as location, especially in the heavily touristy Georgetown neighborhood! Now if you are thinking you could just go online and locate the local spots that DC folks want to keep secret, sure you *maybe* could find some of them, but it’s infinitely easier to just join the food tour.

Piping hot, fresh out of the oven "pirozhkis"

2. A good walking tour should also be a good talking tour. Mangia is not just all about the food, it is a great introduction to the city itself and the food culture here. You learn a lot of interesting tidbits about the neighborhoods, the restaurants themselves, and most importantly, the people behind the restaurants. Meeting some of the owners and hearing their stories was probably my favorite part of the tour. It’s also great that the tour focuses on locally owned small businesses, all of which are heavily invested in the community as well.

Julia Child lived in that yellow house at one point!

3. In about 3.5 hours, you get to taste a handful of bites at a number of different restaurants. At some places you get a beverage pairing, and you end with dessert. Basically covering all food groups. Right? Right. I can’t really help you if that doesn’t sound like a delicious use of the day.

4. Finally, Mangia donates a portion of every ticket to a local organization So Others Might Eat (SOME), to help the less fortunate in the city. As a locally owned and operated business, I think Mangia is demonstrating their engagement in the community as well. Kudos to them!

Another small gesture that I found thoughtful was that they provide bottles water to every participant at the start of the tour. Not a big deal, it’s nice to have it with you you during the walking bits of the tour.

I was comfortably full at the end of the tour, and the walking between stops helps to space out the eating. I’m hoping that they add just a bit more variety in the food stops and include some more unique stops – Georgetown is a great area with a number of options! All in all, considering they just launched this particular tour, I think it’s off to a great start! From what I hear, their Dupont Italian tour, which has been around for a bit, is quite fantastic too!

If you are interested in learning more about each of the stops on the tour, Bad Sentences, a fellow food lover and friend has the details.

The tours can be customized for vegetarians or for other dietary restrictions with advance notice. In addition, they offer private food tours for up to 60 people, private gourmet cooking classes, and yoga with mindfulness eating workshops.

Check out their website for more info on all their tours and offerings, and book one for a fun and tasty DC experience!

We were guests of Mangia DC for this experience, but all opinions are my own.