Join Gourmet Getaways on a food tasting journey through an old Italian neighborhood, Greenwich Village in NYC. We will learn the history and culture that surrounds this unique area of the city and discover hidden gardens, a literary speakeasy, the narrowest house in NYC and much more! As we travel through the winding and narrow streets of this picturesque area we will be tasting a variety of food specialties that make this area a great culinary center! Enough food tastings will be served so that lunch is not necessary. Wear comfortable shoes. Rain or Shine! A sampling of the stores but may be subject to change: Murray's Cheese, Faicco's Italian Specialties, Rocco's pastry shop, Joe's Pizza and more! Bring your camera!
High Tea at Sally Lunn in Chester - April 21
Enjoy shopping the in quaint town of Chester in the morning. At noon you will be ready for a Victorian High Tea at Sally Lunn's Tea House in Chester, which has been in business for over 30 years. They are best known for their homemade pies, pastries and scones. While at Sally Lunn's we will learn the art of making the perfect cup of tea. All the teas are imported from all over the world .
Our Victorian Hightea will include: tea sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, fruit and a selection of mini desserts, and of course tea!
Brooklyn Neighborhood Tour and Juniors! - April 26
This Brooklyn neighborhood tour will bring us to such areas as Brooklyn Heights, Ebbett's Field, Green-Wood Cemetery and more! We will learn about the history, landmarks, and famous movie locations and other points of interest in Brooklyn. Included in this tour is a stop at Junior's Restaurant, which is famous for its cheesecake and egg cream since 1950! Bring your cameras please.
Newark and the Ironbound - May 19
You don't have to visit Italy to go to the Catacombs! Join Gourmet Getaways and Liz Del Tufo as we begin our tour of Newark at the Catacombs of St. Joseph in the Ironbound district. Another beautiful church in this district is St. Casimirs , which was built in 1908 to serve the Polish community. Before lunch we will stop at Lopes Sausage shop which is one of the busiest shops in Newark . This family run shop specializes in Portuguese sausages including chorizo. After our delicious Portuguese we will visit the home and studio of a local artist, which was one an old church. We will not leave Newark without a visit to a fantastic ethnic bakery. If time permits we will stop at the Newark museum.
Food tour of Hoboken - New and Delicious - April 16 and May 7
Our tour will begin at the newly restored train station in Hoboken where scenes from the movie ‘Julia & Julie' were shot. Then we will visit many authentic gourmet shops in Hoboken. We will sample such foods as: mozzarella cheese, warm Italian bread baked in a brick oven, Grimaldi's famous pizza, Carlo's bakery, a chocolate shop, and let us not leave Hoboken without visiting Sinatra's home.
Wear comfortable shoes. Rain or Shine. Don't miss this first of a kind opportunity!
2009 Pizza Class in NYC
This summer
I decided that
I was going to
take a long deserved
cooking class
in NYC. Since
I love pizza
and love to serve
it to my family
I decided to
search the web
for an interesting
pizza class.
I stumbled upon
the Astor
Center and Mark
Bello. Quickly I registered for the class, knowing that it would be limited to 12 participants. The day finally came and what a treat!
Our day began in Little
Italy in shopping for
ingredients and then
returning to the Astor
Center. What a great
facility! We eagerly
gathered around the stainless
steel tables and Mark
began explaining the
process of making pizza
dough. Later we all participated
by making our own pizza
dough. During the time
our dough was rising,
Mark began making his
pizzas and is he ever
creative! We learned
many great tips along
the way. Let me also
mention that while we
watched the pizza maestro
create we enjoyed six
different wines from
Italy. All six were perfectly
matched with the different
pizzas we created.
It was a great learning
experience and I would
certainly recommend this
to anyone who loves pizza!
Mark Bello is a very
creative and energetic
chef. He taught us the
secrets of creating the
thin-crusted pizza that
everyone loves.
