Meet us at Carmine & Son Restaurant and indulge in a delicious chicken parmesan while we set the stage for what you will learn and eat throughout your tour. Here, we will begin our story by talking about the events that triggered the first wave of Italian immigration to the US, and how these events set the foundation for the creation of Italian American cuisine. We will also cover exactly what constitutes as Italian American cuisine and how it spread in popularity across the US.
Next, we will walk to the Familia/ Famiglia mural to learn about the shared history of Italian Americans and Puerto Ricans in Williamsburg.
Savino's Quality Pasta- Explore an Italian food store filled with homemade pasta and imported ingredients. Here we will sample a slice of capocollo, or as some may call it "gabagool"!
Anthony & Son Panini Shoppe is THE bucket list place to experience Italian heroes. We will split a mouthwatering hero while we talk about how the Italian American experience has changed through the years, what it means to be Italian American today, and how this specific panini shoppe plays a role in bringing together Italian Americans in today's day and age as traditional Italian neighborhoods across the US begin to decline.
We will take a quick walk by the oldest Italian restaurant in Brooklyn to learn about its place in mob history and TV/ film legacy established over the past 125 years.
At Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, we will learn about the significance of Italian feasts in honor of Catholic patron saints. We will talk about how and why Italian Immigrants ended up in Williamsburg and how this church enabled the community to upkeep its feast traditions dating back to the year 410 AD in Italy.
Best Pizza is a classic NYC slice shop that is dedicated to preserving ingredient quality and freshness in a way that is similar to native Italian cooking. We will sample their signature white slice as we hear the surprising story of how pizza went from being an undesirable peasant food in Naples to an American staple.
At Montesacro, we will learn and taste the difference between Italian American and native Italian cooking as we sample classic Roman pasta and flatbread dishes. As we discover the roots of both these cuisines, we will learn exactly how the globalization of food, "artisanal" marketing, and a search for authenticity lead to the popularization of native Italian cuisine in the US. We will also talk about how this history ties into the changing landscape of WIlliamsburg over the past 50 years and its affect on the Italian American community here.
Lastly, we will sample pastries, cookies, and espresso at Fortunato Brother's Bakery while learning how to identify what goes into making an Italian American dessert the "right" way.
I had so much fun on this tour! The food was plentiful and delicious. Jessica was an amazing guide; her vast knowledge of Italian American cuisine and the history of Williamsburg make for a highly informative experience. If you want to learn the history of Williamsburg and enjoy amazing food along the way, this is the tour for you!
We had an excellent Williamsburg Italian American food tour with Jessica. What we tasted at the local eateries was delicious and the portions were large; so be sure to pace yourself! In addition to the food, we were given a walking tour of the area and Jessica demonstrated her knowledge of Italian American history in Williamsburg melded with an insight into the origin of what we now know as Brooklyn Italian food. We all came away with a better understanding of why Italian food here is different than in Italy as well as learning some Brooklyn slang! This tour is highly recommended to anyone who likes to eat good food while having an enriching cultural experience!
OMG What an awesome experience!!! Seth is the full package. He is knowledgeable. Knows every corner of the tour. The spots are unbeatable. This tour is 100% highly recommended.
Wow 🤩 what a fab day in Williamsburg! Jessica led the way to 7 local eateries where we sampled a variety of Italian cuisine which were all so yummy 😋 as she simultaneously shared the history of Italian Americans who migrated to Williamsburg. Today in particular, was quite special because we toured with her Dad, whom was beyond proud of his beautiful daughter! She is so personable, informative & her passion for her heritage shines through in her presentation. This is a tour which will not only delight your tastebuds but will send you off with a greater appreciation of Italian history & Williamsburg!🥰
Our tour with Jessica was just the right mix of shops and restaurants. She was very knowledgeable about Italian history and how these dishes ended up in our American kitchens. She was very professional in manor and sense of humor. I enjoy my trip across Brooklyn with new friends.
The tour was excellent. The food was delicious, and the guide was both knowledgeable and pleasant. We enjoyed it greatly.
Great food tour! Thank you to our tour guide Jessica for a fun afternoon exploring Williamsburg Brooklyn. We got to try a range of different types of Italian food. My favorite dish was the carbonara pasta dish. It was delicious and the restaurant had a beautiful ambiance. I would happily recommend this tour to any Italian food lovers!
What a lovely experience. From the moment we met with our guide, we knew we were in the hands of someone who has lived their life in NY and had immense knowledge of the area. It was so much more than a food tour, we learned history, viewed murals and learned so much about Italy and the impact of the Italian immigrants on NY. She was pleasant and made it very engaging. Also the food was amazing and there was more than enough! Come hungry!
I had a fantastic time on an Italian American food tour in Williamsburg, Brooklyn this weekend with friends. The tour offered the perfect balance of delicious food, fascinating history, and enjoyable walking through the neighborhood. What made this experience stand out was learning the story behind Italian American cuisine and how Italian immigrants adapted traditional recipes using ingredients available in the United States. Jess shared interesting insights into the origins of many dishes we know and love today, bringing the food to life through storytelling. Every stop felt thoughtfully selected, and Jess was knowledgeable, engaging, and passionate about the history and culture. If you enjoy food, history, and discovering local neighborhoods, I highly recommend this tour. It was a fun, educational, and delicious way to spend an afternoon in Williamsburg with friends.
This tour was so fun! The tour guide was engaging and friendly, and there was a great amount of food served. Each tasting was delicious, especially the sandwich and the cannoli at the end. The walking and history lessons between stops helped pace our appetite and were very informative. If this company makes another tour, I will definitely come back!!
As an Italian who has spent a lot of time in Brooklyn, I have to say this tour was very well done. I learned so much about the history behind Italian immigration and the difference between Italian American and Italian food that I didn't know before. Not only that but each tasting was fantastic as well. Every stop was intentional and helped to tell the story. Thank you to our fantastic tour guide for a great afternoon! Next trip to Brooklyn, I'm coming back for the white pizza we had.
Fantastic experience. The Italian food tour was really fun and informative, and the food was wonderful. I ended up learning a lot about Italian American history and food over the course of the walking tour. I recommend doing this with friends/family!
Great tour! The pasta spot and the bakery were my favorite stops. It was also interesting to learn about Italian history in Williamsburg.
This was an incredible tour! So much delicious food and such a cool, knowledgeable guide. Highly recommend for locals or anyone in BK
I had so much fun on this Italian food tour in Williamsburg! The tour was very engaging and informative, and all the food was delicious. It was such a great experience and I had the best time – highly recommend!!!
As an Italian American, I was delighted to take part in the Zesty NYC food tour!! It not only satisfied my cravings for the delicious Italian specialties I grew up with, but also taught me many things I never knew about my heritage as it relates to food and the Italian American community of Williamsburg. Seth was an excellent tour guide as he kept us informed and very well-fed during our relaxing 3 hour stroll visiting restaurants, deli’s and bakeries. We were served generous portions that are the staples of Italian cuisine. We learned about many traditions which have kept this area a vibrant Brooklyn community. Ending the tour at an old-school Italian bakery brought back memories of the ones I enjoyed as a child…and the cannoli was to die for!! I highly recommend taking a food tour with Zesty NYC. It was everything I remember about growing up in Brooklyn, and more!!
This was a wonderful tour through Williamsburg that was both informative and delicious! Seth, our guide, painted a really detailed picture of the Italian history in the neighborhood. The food stops were excellent, and I have been back to a few of the locations several times since my tour. There was a great balance of the portions, I didn't feel like any of the samples were too small to be satisfying or too big that I couldn't enjoy the next spot. My favorite part was when we stopped at an authentic handmade pasta shop and got to peek in at some ravioli being freshly made.
Seth was an awesome guide. He was super friendly and really knew his stuff. The food was delicious, especially the sandwich spot which was definitely my favorite stop. Cool mix of history and great food.
I was born and raised in Brooklyn but moved away many years ago. The thing I missed most was the food. Especially Italian food. Not only was this tour a fun and interesting day to spend the afternoon. I left stuffed with some of my favorite dishes and went back to buy a shopping bag full of food to take home from the various vendors we visited. Highly recommend this tour.
We had a super fun time on the Italian American tour! I’ve lived in New York for years and never realized there was so much good Italian food in Williamsburg and so much history behind it as well. Would definitely recommend this tour to others even if they are local!
INCREDIBLE! One of the best food tours I’ve been on in a long time. I appreciated the attention to detail around the historical context of the neighborhood and Italian America history in general. Not to mention, the food was absolutely amazing. My favorites were the Carbonara (best i’ve ever had) and of course the cannolis. Highly recommend this tour!
Mangia! Zesty NYC was a wonderful balance of food and food for thought. Seth was very knowledgeable and gave a great history lesson on the food, the shops we visited and the area of Brooklyn we covered. The tour satisfied my appetite and quenched my thirst for knowledge about a city I thought I knew and a culture and cuisine I’ve always loved. It’s an absolute must do!!! 5 stars all the way!
This was a great tour, and highly recommended if you like even SOME Italian food. There’s really something for everyone. Our tour guide, Seth, took us to some great Italian spots – most I’d never even seen or considered before, and one bakery that was a little familiar to me but I tried a new delicious treat I hadn’t seen yet. It was a really nice mix of history, trivia, and I left having learned much more about one of my favorite cuisines. The guide was also top-notch: Seth’s kind, funny, and accommodating if there are any dietary restrictions or other guest needs. You will leave FULL. Zesty gives a great tour, even for locals!
I visited the Zesty NYC food tour, and I could not believe the experience! The tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly, and I learned so many interesting facets of Italian American cuisine! The restaurants were eclectic and vibrant, each one telling a different story of the experience. The sheer volume and quality of the food was incredible, I will certainly recommend this to my friends! Great tour and great food, five stars!
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