This weekend, a small group of friends and I tried out Scotts' Pizza Tours (more specifically, we did the “(North) Greenwich Village Pizza Walk” one) and it was delicious and great fun! If you're new to New York, or if you've been forever, you'll know that pizza is essential to NY culture. This walking tour will make sure you're doing pizza correctly, and teaches you to argue that you know the best slice in the city.
So what's all this about? From their website:
Discover the humble origins of pizza as you taste your way through its evolution from humble street food to modern classic. Every tour includes a slice at each of three pizzeria stops PLUS your very own pocket pizza journal to help you keep track of your tasting notes!
https://www.scottspizzatours.com/walking-pizza-tours/
They've also got an “NYC Pizza Bus” which meets in Little Italy which is:
Our flagship New York City pizza bus tour is led by Scott himself! Spend your Sunday afternoon riding the Big Yellow Pizza Bus to four outstanding pizzerias in at least two of NYC’s boroughs. You'll taste a cross-section of the city’s rich pizza diversity. Stops change weekly, rotating through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
https://www.scottspizzatours.com/bus-pizza-tours/
Where does this pizza tour go in New York?
On our trip, we visited three different pizza places for three very different styles of pizza, something I wouldn't normally get to try all in one afternoon, and I certainly wouldn't have had Dave, our tour guide, and his extensive knowledge of the world of pizza (and comedy)!
We spent the first 20-30 minutes hearing all about the history of pizza (which is surprisingly interesting – looking at you Queen Margherita – even if my Wikipedia search about you yielded some interesting fact-checking). Then you get an understanding of what you're about to try and why it's unique and/or different, and then you eat pizza! You even get a handy little walking tour notebook to write all your thoughts in and huddle between walks to discuss what you liked and didn't like about each place.
If you like pizza, and you like walking, you're going to like this. It's a cool way to do something you haven't thought much about, in a more meaningful way.
At $59/head, I won't pretend it's for everyone. This is a pretty pricey tour if you're going to look at it purely from a “How much pizza did I get for my money” kind of way. But if you're looking at it as more of an experience and something to do with a craving for good pizza on a Sunday morning… It's totally worth it and good fun.
