NYC is known for its bustling Times Square, its many broadway theatres, and of course, it’s amazing food! On a recent girl’s trip to New York City, we decided to join one of the original food tours Foods of New York. As a foodie, I was super excited to try some of New York’s best food on hand and become a real insider to the New York food scene. Food tours in New York City are a fun & exciting way to learn about the city’s rich history and culture, whilst indulging in some of its finest cuisines.
The Heart & Soul of Greenwich Village Food & Culture Walking Tour. New York’s Most Food-centric area!
Foods of New York has 6 food tours you can choose from. We joined the Foodie Favorite – The Heart and Soul of Greenwich village. The theme was “Mecca for Artists and Foodies”. The food tastings in this tour were amazing and it also ticked the boxes for vegetarian & gluten-free options, which was a big factor for us. Find out which tour is best suited to you! Each tour has a different variety of tastings & food options.
1. The Foodie Favorite – Heart & Soul of Greenwich Village
2. Two Hour Indoor – Chelsea Market & The Highline
3. Charming & Quaint – The Original Greenwich Village
4. Three Seated Tastings – Nolita & Little Italy’s Secrets
5. Secrets Revealed – Flavors of Chinatown
6. Half-Day Excursion – The Best of Brooklyn
Discovering Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village is known by the locals as “the village” and is one of New York City’s most popular neighborhoods, showcasing its incredible food scene, artistic history, and wild nightlife. The Heart and soul tour lets you indulge in some of the best authentic food in the area such as Italian hand-made pasta, traditional Indian mango lassi, chocolate-covered coffee beans, and more. We learned the history behind many famous cafes, bars & restaurants and where varied music legends and celebs alike have been spotted.
The Heart and Soul tour includes 6 on the go tastings and one sit down tasting. Please note* tastings at restaurants can change depending on the day and time of the tour. Below are the 7 restaurants we experienced on the tour.
1. Dante NYC
5. Oatmeals
Dante’s Burrata Cheese
Our first stop of the day was the ever so popular Cafe Dante ranked number 9 as one of the 50 best bars in the world and serving up some of the finest cocktails and modern dishes to date. Our tasting at Dante’s was the burrata cheese with honeycomb jam. Burrata is Italian cow’s milk cheese made from cream and mozzarella. The outside is firm mozzarella while the inside has a creamy texture which is the stracciatella and cream. The Burrata served with the honeycomb complemented each other very nicely. If you’re a big cheese lover like me then you will definitely love this.
Time for Porto Rico coffee
As we head down Bleecker Street we made our way over to the Porto Rico Importing Co. This beautiful family-owned coffee house has been roasting up daily coffee since 1907. Not only do they serve some of the finest special house blends but also sell some delicious chocolate covered coffee beans which we got to try.
This place is coffee heaven! I highly recommend ordering one of their specialty house blends to go.
The “famous” Artichoke Pizza
Next up was Basille’s famous artichoke pizza. This amazing pizza draws crowds from all over with its rich creamy artichoke topping. I’m not too big on pizzas but this has to be one of the tastiest pizzas I’ve ever had. I highly recommend giving it a try. It was nice and buttery and the signature artichoke on top was so delicious.
Handy Tip! What we tried was only half a slice. So keep that in mind if you plan to order a whole pizza.
As we walk around Pauletta our guide points out some of the village’s most iconic locations such as Cafe Wha? where Jimmy Hendrix and Bob Dylan found inspiration. The Comedy Cellar where you will find comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Chappelle still performing and historic homes owned by famous celebs.
She also took us on a quick stroll around Washington Square highlighting the history behind the Washington Arch which was designed by Stanford White in 1892 and modeled after the Arc De Triomphe in Paris.
Washington Square Arch constructed in 1892. It celebrates the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as president of the United States.
Anderson Cooper’s house. It was formerly an old fire station built in 1906. It’s now said to be one of three remaining left in the city.
The Oatmeal Bar
This next stop was hands down my favorite tasting on the tour. Oatmeals is a creative oatmeal bar owned by Sam Stevens, head COO. (Creative Oatmeal Officer) of Quakers Oats and founder of Oatmeals. This fun oatmeal bar experience lets you ‘build your own’ oatmeal dish. (Similar to a yogurt bar but with tasty oats.)
We got to try the salted caramel apple oats which consisted of cinnamon roasted apples, caramel drizzle, cinnamon, brown sugar, fleur de sel & whipped cream.
Sullivan Street Tea and Spices
The second last stop of the day was visiting the Sullivan Street Tea and Spices Company. This beautiful store houses a large variety of different style tea, organic spices, and dry herbs. The store was once the former hangout spot of Vincent ‘Chin” Gigante who was apart of the mafia. Vincent and his members would plot murders and extortion in the back part of the building.
La New Yorkina Mexician Sweets
This brings us to the final stop on the food tour. La New Yorkina Mexican Sweets. About this time my belly is full from all the tastings but could definitely squeeze in one more dessert. We get to try the homemade Mexican brownie aka morenitas. Which is a traditional Mexican brownie made with chipotle morita chilies (which the taste is very subtle) and oaxacan chocolate cajeta (goats milk caramel)
I would love to come back in the summer and try their paletas which is a Mexican-style ice pop. They looked so fruity and refreshing.
More Information
Foods of New York Tours
Days: Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon. Year-round
Time: 12.00pm, 12.30pm, 1.00pm
Tour Duration: 3 hours
Group Size: 16 people
Cost: $45 per person
Location: Near Bleecker & Macdougal Street. Exact location is released upon booking.
New York City has some of the best food tours around. I had such an amazing time eating my way around Greenwich Village. What kind of food tours have you been on? Leave them in the comments below.
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