Jersey City’s nightlife has grown leaps and bounds in the past few years. As a result, keeping track of the city’s dining scene is no easy task.
To give you a more thorough understanding of the city’s eats, Jersey Girls Food Tours offers a variety of foodie tours designed to have you eating like a local. Just make your reservation with JGFT and you’re set. JGFT will take care of the reservations, set up meet and greets with the chefs/owners, and in general — alleviate the pressure of planning a night out with friends by doing all of the “where-should-we-go-tonight” research for you.
We were recently invited on JGFT’s Taste of Downtown Tour, where we got to enjoy food from five of the city’s top restaurants. It may sound like a lot to digest in just three hours, but everything is well spaced out with some light walking in between.
Tours generally range between 8 to 10 people and everyone is friendly enough that even if you come alone, you’re bound to strike up a convo with a fellow foodie, as everyone is very welcoming.
It’s not all about the food either: the 3-hour tour was filled with nuggets of info highlighting some of the city’s iconic street murals and history.
Torico ice cream for everyone
Our tour included stops at:
- Würstbar: After a quick meet and greet, the gastropub’s chef welcomed us with a beer and two of the bar’s signature sausages.
- Porta: Originally from Asbury Park, the pizza-based restaurant treated us to their house-made mozzarella, two margherita pizzas, and a mimosa.
- Torico’s: A downtown institution since 1968, the family-owned ice cream parlor gave us a sneak peek of its new pumpkin ginger ice cream along with multiple tastings and samples.
- Pasta dal Cuore: Owner Elena Cartagena gave us a brief history of Italian cuisine along with two savory dishes: suppli and spinach ravioli. The former is a Roman-style risotto cone filled with Bolognese and mozzarella, whereas the latter is the restaurant’s house-made ravioli stuffed with spinach.
- PS Wine Bar: We capped off the evening with a glass of wine and some vegan eats at PS Wine Bar, a cellar wine bar specializing in biodymanic and organic wines made by independent farmers. PS Wine Bar also features an exclusive vegetarian menu, with items such as buffalo cauliflower, fried brussel sprouts, and mushroom meatballs — all of which we got to try on our tour.
To end the night, we received a take-home dessert — a chewy, oversized cookie from Jersey City-based bakery, Bang Cookies.
JGFT now offers tours in Princeton, Red Bank, and Rutherford, NJ. Tours can be booked for individuals, groups, birthday parties, bachelorette parties, holiday parties, or any celebratory occasion you can think of.
If you prefer to booze first and eat later (who doesn’t), JGFT’s Booze ‘N’ Bites Tour takes you to four of Jersey City’s best cocktail bars with cocktail demos, customized food pairings, and a beer tasting at downtown’s first brewery, Departed Soles.
Roman-style suppli
Through the month of December, you can use coupon code “JCUPFRONT” to take 15% off any JGFT tour. So whether you’re a newcomer or born-and-bred native, chances are high you’ll learn something new — or find a new favorite dish — on one of their food tours.
(Lead Photo: JGFT)
*Our ticket was complimentary, but our review/opinion is our own.
