Local Roots Food Tours, Sacramento

After 13 years in the culinary industry, Lisa Armstrong founded Local Roots Food Tours to teach fellow foodies, locals, and visitors about the rich cultural and culinary history of Northern California. Armstrong told Michaela Stewart of the Sacramento Press that she got the idea for the company following a food tour in Seattle. After hours of local library research, she has compiled tours whose locations range "from a farm-to-table upscale restaurant to a small and special bistro to a funky coffeehouse off the beaten path to a mom and pop deli market."

Ranked as the No. 1 tour in Sacramento by TripAdvisor, Local Roots takes guests behind the scenes to meet talented chefs, farmers, and business owners who are passionate about local and organic cuisine. Farm tours showcase the origins of fresh ingredients and wines, and food tours explore the history and architecture of Sacramento. Tours also head to destinations such as Murphys, where 19th-century Italianate brick and stone buildings house locally sourced produce, locally made wines, and the pickpocketing ghosts of Gold Rush–era settlers. The Girls on the Grid food bloggers "discovered a restaurant, deli, bakery and coffee shop" during their tour, and Blair Anthony Robertson of the Sacramento Bee liked the fact that the tours are "bringing positive energy to neighborhoods."