Experience Chinatown and Little Italy!
Ahoy New York Tours & Tasting invites you to join our walking food tour of Chinatown and Little Italy where you will engage in the history, culture, and cuisine of these two amazing NYC neighborhoods!
Chinatown and Little Italy once had immigrants coming to New York City for an economic opportunity, all worked hard to earn a living and to adjust to living in a new country and city. Understanding the story of the immigrants who once lived and are living in these neighborhoods truly brings these two neighborhoods to life. Ahoy New York Food Tours does just that. Today Little Italy has few Italian residents and Chinatown, is the largest Chinatown in the U.S. However, one will find that both neighborhoods hold onto their past roots and traditions.
Both neighborhoods also have amazing traditions of food. Little Italy still has shops over 100 years old. These shops continue to serve locals and visitors alike. One will find Italian cheeses, meats, pastries and imported specialties in these mom and pop shops. Chinatown has expanded since its initial start in the 1800’s and today one can find cuisines from various regions of China and South East Asia, such as Cantonese, Szechuan, Shanghainese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Indonesian. The beautiful and fresh fruit stalls in Chinatown are also a great example of the Asian diversity that exists in present-day Chinatown.
Learn More Fun Facts On Our Walking Tour!
- Little Italy has four businesses all on one street that are all over 100 years old.
- While fortune cookies can be found in Chinatown, they are not native to China.
- One street corner in Chinatown formerly held the statistic to have the most murders to occur in one spot in all of the U.S.
- The cannoli, an Italian pastry with Sicilian origin was once made using a broomstick.
- Little Italy was once known as the “Italian Wall Street”.
- Both Little Italy and Chinatown were originally a Dutch farm.
- Some of the best Vietnamese food in NYC can be found in Chinatown, specifically on Baxter Street.
One can eat a hearty meal in Chinatown for $6.00. - The movies Mean Streets, The Godfather, and Big Daddy all had scenes filmed in Manhattan’s Little Italy.
- The oldest Tenement building in NYC is located in present day Chinatown, which once was considered Little Italy.
- Nolita stands for North of Little Italy and it is another neighborhood renown for its shops and restaurants. Join us on our Nolita walking food tour to learn more!