One of the great benefits of living near DC is the proximity to other destinations, making it easy to travel locally. If you live nearby or find yourself visiting the area, I have the perfect day trip for you!

Go on a food tour of historic Annapolis! It’s a fun way to get to know the city while experiencing a bunch of restaurants and local specialities at once.

I went on one of these tours a few months ago because my boyfriend’s family has the sweetest tradition. Since the holidays can get so hectic with extended family and friends, they take the day after Christmas to relax and spend time together. They book one night at a hotel and go on a mini vacation.

This year they picked Annapolis and invited me to join them. On our itinerary for the day… a food tour! We met our guide at the visitor’s center and then set of towards St. Anne’s Parish in Church Circle, the center of activity, to get a little background information about the city’s history. Then we were off to our first restaurant, Red Red Wine a new Annapolis favorite, for prosciutto pizza.

I told our guide at the beginning of the tour that I was a vegetarian and she was easily able to accommodate my diet. A pleasant surprise since I was offering to just eat around any meat. So for my portion of the pizza they didn’t add any prosciutto.

We also sampled a red wine blend and I kept the cork since it had a rooster gamecock printed on it (go South Carolina!).

Our next stop was Middleton Tavern, an old Annapolis fixture, for oyster shooters and Natty Boh’s. It was the perfect thing to help us warm up a bit before we headed down some old residential streets.

I’ve found that traveling has made me much more relaxed about my vegetarian diet, namely I’ve started trying seafood if it’s a major part of the local cuisine.

While food was certainly the focus of the tour, the guide made sure to stop at a variety of sites around downtown. We got lucky with a mild winter day, but we also spent enough time in restaurants to keep warm. The tour would also be an excellent activity for warm weather!

After some sightseeing we walked over to Federal House, nestled right in the middle of Annapolis’ shopping district, to enjoy their famous cream of crab soup with an ale. The soup was extremely rich and filled with chunks of crab meat.

I can’t even remember what came fried on the side… seafood I think? Because I passed it along for someone else to enjoy.

After two historic spots, we moved on to a new hot spot, Vida for tacos and margaritas. This place was definitely my favorite. They source many of their ingredients from local farms to keep things fresh and serve creative combinations.

The fish tacos and the carne asada were popular choices.

We each got to pick two. I tried the portobello taco topped with cabbage slaw, cilantro, quest fresco and salsa verde (my favorite of the two) and the squash and black bean taco with el vocho chimichuri, queso fresco and cilantro. Actually, I’m not sure I can pick a favorite. They were both really good.

We finished out the tour with a stop at an old favorite, the Annapolis Ice Cream Company. You should never skip this spot, even in the cold. They rotate 36 flavors every day. I’m a sucker for their salted caramel.

The restaurants included on the tour change from time to time, but the guides make sure you are getting a great mix of of what the city has to offer!

After our tour we checked into the Annapolis Waterfront Hotel and (because we didn’t have enough food for one day yet) ate dinner at Blackwall Hitch.

The restaurant was a short walk across the bridge, everything was delicious and they were super accommodating. We were seated in their private room when we asked for a table near a TV with the Redskins game on. And after dinner we enjoyed the live band playing in the bar room.

When we were done we just walked back to our hotel, and in the morning, drove back home! A great chance to unwind after the holidays.

Have you ever tried a food tour? Which city would you pick to do a food tour in?