How Italian Food Became Italian American, Tasted in Williamsburg
A three-hour walk through Williamsburg's Italian American blocks, with six tastings and the immigration story behind each one.
This walking tour is the first public tour from Zesty NYC, a food tour company founded in 2024, and it spends three hours in the Italian American corner of Williamsburg. The founder, Jessica Gallucci, writes that she is a third-generation Italian American and among the first in her family to grow up outside Brooklyn, the borough her parents called home. The booking covers two sit-down tastings, four takeout tastings and two stops at culturally significant sites.
Travelers in 2026 name more than one guide, so the founder may not be the one leading your date.
It is USD 89 per person for adults and ages 7 to 17 alike; every booking needs an adult, and there is no ticket for children under 7. Departures are at 1:00 PM, Thursday through Sunday. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead for a full refund.
Italian American Food Tour of WilliamsburgSix tastings included · 1:00 PM, Thursday to Sunday · Bottled water not includedwww.viator.comThe Walk Starts on Graham Avenue
The group meets in front of Carmine & Son's at 356 Graham Avenue, half a block from the Graham Ave stop on the L train, and the first tasting is the restaurant's chicken parmesan. This is where the guide sets up the first wave of Italian immigration to the United States.
Before the next bite, the route stops at a mural called Familia/Famiglia, about the shared history of Italian Americans and Puerto Ricans in Williamsburg. The Grand Street Business Improvement District commissioned it in 2023 for the northeast corner of Grand Street and Graham Avenue, and the artists SON-CORO and Danielle Mastrion painted it together. Later the group stops at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, where the talk turns to the feasts held for Catholic patron saints.
Berenice Abbott photographed the corner of Graham and Metropolitan Avenues in 1937, at one end of the meeting point's block, with trolley tracks still set in the cobblestones.
Six Tastings, Two of Them Sitting Down
The tasting menu includes chicken parmesan, pasta carbonara, a New York style pizza, an ancient Roman style pizza, classic Italian deli meats, an Italian specialty hero, and a finish of espresso with a cannoli or a rainbow cookie. The deli stop includes a slice of capocollo, which some call gabagool.
The Roman dishes come at Montesacro on Union Avenue, where the guide compares Italian American cooking with cooking from Italy itself.
Seating is guaranteed at the two sit-down stops; at the other four the guide usually finds seats but cannot promise them. Portions run large. "So be sure to pace yourself!" one traveler, mrjohhnfa, wrote in October 2026.
Diets the Menu Cannot Bend For
On a public tour the menu is fixed: substitutions are only possible on a private tour. The tour is not recommended for gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, pork-free or dairy-free diets. Guests on those diets are welcome for the history, but their tasting options will be very limited.
Peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish allergies can be accommodated as long as they are not severe. On the public tour some stops include vegetarian options and vegan options are extremely limited; only a private tour can cater for vegetarians at every stop. Anyone with a restriction is asked to get in touch before booking.
About Two Miles, Rain or Shine
The walking covers about two miles on flat, paved streets, and the route is stroller-friendly and manageable for most mobility levels. Anyone with specific accessibility needs is asked to reach out before booking. Four of the six tasting locations have restrooms.
Tours run rain or shine; severe or unsafe weather cancels the tour, with a full refund or a new date offered. Bottled water is not included, so bring a water bottle and wear comfortable shoes. A public tour takes no more than 12 guests.
The map below marks Montesacro at 432 Union Avenue, the stop for Roman pasta and flatbread. The tour meets at Carmine & Son's, 356 Graham Avenue.
📍 Meet in front of Carmine & Son's, 356 Graham Avenue, Brooklyn, on Graham between Metropolitan Avenue and Conselyea Street, and arrive by 12:45 PM, 15 minutes before the 1:00 PM start. The map above marks Montesacro, a tasting stop on Union Avenue, not the meeting point.
The walk finishes a few blocks from where it began, at Fortunato Brothers on Manhattan Avenue, with espresso and something sweet.