Lower East Side Experience: Essex Street Market Food Tour

This small-group walking and tasting tour will meet near Saxelby Cheesemongers inside the Essex Street Market, located near the entrance that is located closest to the intersection of Essex Street and Delancey Street. The tour will begin with a brief introduction to the Essex Street Market, one of only four remaining public markets in New York City, and its connections to the history of immigrant communities on Manhattan's Lower East Side and how the market's origins trace back to the Depression era when the city sought to move street vendors indoors and increase efficiencies in the City's food distribution systems. For the rest of the tour, we will eat our way through the market, stopping at stalls to chat with vendors along the way and learning about the diverse range of businesses operating there today, from mom and pop shops to food manufacturers to artisanal entrepreneurs.

This tour will include a bottle of water and 5-6 generous food tastings, both savory and sweet. The amount of food will be more than a lunch, so please come hungry! Most dietary restrictions, such as vegetarians, vegans, or lactose intolerance, can be accommodated with advance notice. Therefore, visitors should indicate their dietary restrictions at the time of booking their reservations for this tour to ensure that the tour menu can be adapted in advance to meet their needs.