In / around 2010 my boyfriend, Scott and I began talking about our future and really, we were both interested in building a family. Adoption was definitely in our future, but saving up for the cost would definitely be a journey.
At the time I was working at a an elementary school in the lower East side of Manhattan. This was an awesome job, and I love the school, but it definitely would not help supplement our dreams of adopting.
As a child, I grew up working in many different restaurants and food establishments. When I moved to New York City for college, I also begin working in the restaurant industry. My first waiting gig was at Isabella’s on the Upper West side. Food had always been an important part of my life and when Scott and I met in Philadelphia back in 2004 we spent much of our time walking around Little Italy and visiting DiBruno Brothers, bringing cheeses and wines home to taste and enjoy!
Well, back to trying to raise funds! I definitely did not want to go back into waiting tables at this point in my life. At this point in time Craigslist was also a valuable resource for finding jobs apartments and all sorts of stuff. One morning, I was perusing part-time gigs on Craigslist and read an ad for a tour company looking for pizza enthusiasts. I was completely intrigued and wrote a short biography about my experience working in pizzeria’s, and my overall love of food.
I landed an interview with Scott Weiner, the owner and number one pizza enthusiast in the world! I remember walking into the Pizza Box Pizzeria on Bleecker Street and he had a film crew working on some sort of film. Scott came over and offered me a slice and I went with the classic Sicilian with crushed tomato.
We had a wonderful conversation, and a few months later I was an official pizza enthusiast and a Licensed New York City tour guide! For the next several years, I led public tour groups around New York City pizzerias and fell in love with the history the pizzaiolos, not to mention the guests who would come from all over the world to learn and eat pizza in the greatest city of them all!
In the fall of 2016, and several hundred tours later, Scott and I became the proud fathers of our little boy Michael!
Food Tours in my opinion have an amazing way of bringing people together over conversation and culture. People who join a Food Tour come with the anticipation of enjoying new experiences and conversations and being open to new endeavors. In my opinion, these are some of the best types of people!
Since becoming a Food Tour guide, Scott and I would plan vacations and always include food and history tours at the highlight of many of our trips. One of the most stand-out trips was our bus tour throughout the Chianti region of Italy! At one vineyard, the wine tastes were not tiny little samples, rather bottles, put in front of us with beautiful glasses and an invitation to help ourselves!
I hope that with the tours we’ve created here in Nyack, we are offering the same sort of experience that we’ve enjoyed on so many of the Food Tours and experiences that we’ve been fortunate to experience together!
Nyack is full of wonderful gems and amazing culinary landmarks that make for an amazing afternoon of eating and learning about the Hudson valley region and its fabulous chefs!
We’ve hosted guests from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and all of the boroughs of New York City! And now we invite you to come explore the charming village of Nyack with us… one bite at a time!! You can get a taste of upcoming events here.
We look forward to seeing you soon! Joey G & The JGNT Family
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