| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Couldn't have been better!
|
| Thu, Jul 10 11:30 AM |
DorothyMull |
Female |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| Our tour host was Ed Caraballo, an incredibly energetic, knowledgeable, and entertaining guy who has his own website if you want to check out his colorful past.
First of all, this tour was an excellent value just for the food samples alone. For $44 the 16 participants enjoyed slices of two different kinds of pizza (from Joe's and Bleecker St.. Pizza), a rice ball from Faicco's, several cheese samples from Murray's, olive oil and vinegar from O & Co. (served on excellent peasant sourdough from Amy's Bread), a chocolate chip cookie from Milk and Cookies Bakery, cannoli from Rocco's, a small chicken dumpling from the Thai restaurant Lime . . . where does it end? There was even a coupon for a L'Arte Del Gelato cone, although I don't think anyone was hungry enough to turn it in.
But the great thing was Ed and the amazing amount of NYC history and culture he conveyed while leading us around perhaps six square city blocks. (There isn't a lot of walking involved.) Besides Lime, he took us inside three other restaurants including Palma with its charming garden and 19th century farmhouse in back, the legendary Cornelia St. Cafe, and the neighborhood bistro Pesce Pasta. He showed us the Cherry Lane Theater along with many historic structures such as the now-crumbled Chumley's speakeasy, an old brewery plus the residence of the people who worked there, and the buildings that became triangular to make access to the Holland Tunnel possible. He was particularly good on architecture (old styles of bricklaying, clinker brick, archways where horses once entered when the area held tobacco fields, etc.). Finally, he traced the evolution of the West Village as British, Irish, German, Italian (and the current yuppie) folks progressively settled there over the past 200 years.
All in all, a very worthwhile visit to a still fairly untouristy area and a great value. As a cultural anthropologist, I found it fascinating and I plan to take more tours arranged by this vendor when I go back to the city. |
|
|
Great to enjoy with out of town guests!
|
| Thu, Jul 10 11:30 AM |
melaniegrant |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| We live in Connecticut and have been on the tour previously. Friends from Chicago were coming so we thought that this would be a great way to see them but to still be "doing something". We loved Ed, our tour guide and I loved all the recommendations for little restaurants to try. I can't wait to take one of your other tours. |
|
|
A must do whilst in New York
|
| Thu, Jul 10 11:00 AM |
JackieT |
Female |
40-49 |
International Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| Fabulous tour and great tour guide. A wonderful range of locations visited, which good breaks in between all that eating... Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendlly, and went out of her way to include everyone.
Good balance between history of the food places we visited and also the architecture and history of Greenwich Village.
Definitely a must do whilst in New York. |
|
|
Wow! Really great.
|
| Wed, Jul 9 11:30 AM |
Adrifazz |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| This was EXCELLENT.
Great mix of food experiences and informattion and history of the neighborhood and shops.
I will go on this again.
Well done! |
|
|
nice walk thru Greenwich
|
| Wed, Jul 9 11:30 AM |
carolemcleod |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| Don't eat a big breakfast before you go. You will have several slices of pizza along the way. You will learn alittle things about the history of the business's and bldgs which is nice. We went back at night to check out the restaurants it is much busier at night, I recommend get reservations before you go back at night. |
|
|
Absolutely Delicious and Informative too!
|
| Wed, Jul 9 11:30 AM |
laurengordon |
Female |
40-49 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| While we enthusiastically recommend this tour, the only disappointment was that while our tour guide was extremely informative and well organized, it was very businesslike and a little too straight forward. When I read the review from others who had gone before me, many people mentioned how funny their tour guide was and how much that added to the tour. Our girl was very, very nice and like I said before full of information but it could have been a little lighter and sillier and made the tour that much more enjoyable. I probably might not have even looked for that aspect of the tour guide if I hadn't read the review, but once I read that I really looked forward to some more "FUN" and maybe a little less "school-trip" like. The food tasting was fantastic and very, very enjoyable. My husband and I both loved the tour! The restaurants should definately be told we will be back and loved the hospitality and cooperation. Only in New York...it's a beautiful thing!!!!! |
|
|
Excellent , Well informed group leader.
|
| Wed, Jul 9 11:30 AM |
leeannolsen |
Female |
50-59 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| I loved the food tour of Greenwich Village. The leader of the group was extremely informative, rattling off dates of history throughout the tour. She gave little tidbits of information that was both useful and informative. I look at the architecture differently now around the city because of her detailed information. The pace of the tour was excellent and the places we were taken to were very interesting. Everyone we met was very friendly and helpful throughout the tour. The only improvement I would suggest is that there only be one pizza place, not two. Because of this new information I plan to return to Greenwich Village and eat at some of these places, buy olive oil, bread, cookies, and cheese as well. Unfortunately I did not make it through to the last two places because I fell and ended up taking a cab to the hospital. Fortunately my foot was sprained, not broken. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. |
|
|
Highlight of the holiday
|
| Wed, Jul 9 11:00 AM |
smcminn100 |
Female |
20-29 |
International Tourist(s) |
Other |
| We thought the Greenwich Village Food tour was excellent, a real highlight of our trip. It was better than we anticipated because it covered much more than food with a interesting info about the area and buildings and residents. Our tour guide, Kurt, was really great and enthusiastic and I would highly recommend. |
|
Very nice tour
|
| Wed, Jul 9 11:00 AM |
ph2ost |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Good guide with lots of historical background on the west village area, strong food knowledge, pleasant personality and tremendous enthusiasm. Good pace to the tour, good food selections. Lots of fun. |
|
|
it rocked
|
| Wed, Jul 9 11:00 AM |
hermam42 |
Female |
20-29 |
International Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| We had so much fun! Kurt was great and we wish we had time to do the Chelsa tour as well! |
