Food Cart Tour- Jackson Heights

Food Cart Tour: Jackson Heights

Join us on an exploration of local flavors in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world!

Tour Highlights

  • 2-hour guided food tour with 5 generous tastings
  • Taste food from some of the best street vendors in NYC
  • Explore one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the US and learn about its many cultures and cuisines
  • Meet the vendors and talk to them about their journey to start their street food businesses
  • Tours offered select Thursdays at 6pm
  • Walking tour
  • Tours begin at Arepa Lady in Jackson Heights
  • Private Group Tours available
  • Tours support the Street Vendor Project

As a center of New York’s street vending community, Jackson Heights is the perfect location to learn about the ins and outs of the industry, while sampling delicious favorites from around the globe and getting to know more about the people and organizations who help these vendors to thrive. We’ll dig into the past, present, and future of street vending in New York, discuss how vendors have advocated over the years to make important changes, and look at how they play an essential role in feeding their communities. On this two-hour walking and tasting tour, you’ll learn about the origins of many of our favorite street foods while you enjoy tastings from five different businesses, which may include award-winning Colombian arepas, hot Himalayan momo, flavorful Bengali fushka, and much more! Enjoy an insider’s perspective into this complex industry, while chatting with vendors and devouring incredible, fresh made-to-order dishes right there on the sidewalk. Five percent of all Food Cart Tour ticket sales are donated to the Street Vendor Project.

Tour Information

Admission

Public Tours

  • General Admission: $75 per person
  • Seniors (65+): $67.50
  • Students and Veterans: $67.50
  • Children (5-12): $37.50
  • Children under 5 are welcome to attend free
  • Advance ticket purchase is required

Private tours are available seven days a week, depending on availability. Pricing for private tours is based on a minimum occupancy of 6 guests, and a gratuity of 8.5% is added to all private tour bookings.

Menu

This tour includes five generous tastings from different street food vendors. Because street vendors often change locations, this menu is subject to change, but dishes frequently featured on this tour include Colombian arepas, Himalayan momos, tacos al pastor, and Bangladeshi fushka.

We strive to accommodate most dietary restrictions and requests, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets, as well as allergies and food sensitivities. When making your booking, please be sure to indicate these so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Our team will strive to accommodate you as best we can, but we cannot guarantee all dietary accommodations. If you have any questions regarding the menu, please contact us directly.

Directions

Tours meet in front of the Arepa Lady restaurant, 77-17 37th Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372.

  • The nearest subway stations to the meeting point are Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Av (7,E,F,M,R) and 82nd Street–Jackson Heights (7). 37th Ave is one block north of Roosevelt Ave (where the elevated train runs), and Arepa Lady is between 77th St and 78th St on the north side of the avenue.
  • Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for any additional questions you might have.

Accessibility

We strive to lead the tour over a physically accessible route, but due to construction, weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, we may encounter uneven paths, obstructions, or steep inclines along the tour route. If you do use a wheelchair or have any other accessibility need, please contact us directly and/or include this information when booking, so that we can offer a fully accessible experience.

Please visit our Accessibility Page for the most up-to-date information on all access accommodations.

About the Street Vendor Project

The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project of the Urban Justice Center with thousands of vendor members who are working together to create a vendors’ movement for permanent change. The organization does outreach to vendors and stakeholders to educate about rights and responsibilities, campaigns for changes to laws and policies that unfairly target street vendors, provides legal representation to vendors in court, and helps vendors through small business training, loans, and direct assistance. Since we launched the Food Cart Tours in 2010, Turnstile Tours has donated 5% of all revenue from these tours to the Street Vendor Project, totaling more than $20,000.

FAQ

  • Midtown tours begin in Bryant Park on the southeast corner of 6th Avenue and 42nd St.
  • Financial District tours begin in the public atrium in the Continental Center, 150 Maiden Lane.
  • Jackson Heights tours begin at Arepa Lady, 77-17 37th Ave, Jackson Heights, Queens.
  • Street Vending After Dark tours begin outside the Conrad New York Midtown, 151 West 54th St.

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for complete directions and information on public transportation, or consult our transportation map.

Our Food Cart Tours require a maximum of about 1.5 miles of walking over the course of two hours, though this may vary slightly depending upon the location of the carts and trucks that we visit. Our guides strive to make everyone as comfortable as possible, so we try to provide places to sit and give you all the fuel you need to make the walk with delicious street food!

Your Food Cart Tour ticket includes five generous tastings from different food carts and trucks, your knowledgeable and helpful guide, and a bottle of water. The amount of food served on the tour is equivalent to a very, very hearty lunch, so come hungry!

We strive to accommodate most dietary restrictions and requests, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diets, as well as allergies and food sensitivities. When making your booking, please be sure to indicate these so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Our team will strive to accommodate you as best we can, but we cannot guarantee all dietary accommodations. If you have any questions regarding the menu, please contact us directly.

We strive to lead the tour over a physically accessible route, but due to construction, weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, we may encounter uneven paths, obstructions, or steep inclines along the tour route. If you do use a wheelchair or have any other accessibility need, please contact us directly and/or include this information when booking, so that we can offer a fully accessible experience.

Please visit our Accessibility Page for the most up-to-date information on all access accommodations.

The Street Vendor Project is a membership-based project of the Urban Justice Center with thousands of vendor members who are working together to create a vendors’ movement for permanent change. The organization does outreach to vendors and stakeholders to educate about rights and responsibilities, campaigns for changes to laws and policies that unfairly target street vendors, provides legal representation to vendors in court, and helps vendors through small business training, loans, and direct assistance. Since we launched the Food Cart Tours in 2010, Turnstile Tours has donated 5% of all revenue from these tours to the Street Vendor Project, totaling more than $20,000.

People of all ages can enjoy street food, so if your child is an adventurous eater and doesn’t mind spending a couple hours walking the streets of Manhattan, then they are more than welcome. Tickets for children ages 5–12 are half price, and children under 5 are welcome to join the tour for free.

Still have any questions?
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