Taste of Williamsburg was an enjoyable, unique experience. My wife and I live only about 40 minutes from Williamsburg and have been many times in the past 30+ years. When we had the opportunity to try Taste of Williamsburg with a Groupon, we thought it could be something new for us. We were not disappointed.
We took the College of William and Mary tour, meeting our guide (who founded the company) in front of the Kimball Theatre at 12:30. As it happened, we were the only ones on that afternoon’s tour. It was an unseasonably warm, 70+ degree, early December day.
After brief introductions and orientation, we headed directly to the Wythe Candy & Gourmet Shop. There we were shown around and received a small bag of tasty sweet treats for later consumption. We then headed for The Peanut Shop where we sampled an almost endless variety of flavored peanuts from salty to sweet to spicy hot. All were delicious. Next was The Spice and Tea Exchange. As we entered the small shop we were almost overwhelmed by the tremendous wave of aromas from the huge variety of spices. The proprietor showed us around, providing tastings and aroma samplings. They have individual spices and spice mixes that had been created right in the store. In addition to the spices they have flavor infused sugar…the raspberry was tasty, but hardly held a chance against the salty sweet caramel. Not to be short-changed is the extensive collection of teas – black, green, white, and herbal. More opportunities to exercise our olfactory sense. Before leaving the shop we were shown the basement where our guide served us a small cup of gingerbread mint tea, a great seasonal choice. He had also picked up some fried pickles from Retro’s Café next door to the spice and tea shop. We enjoyed the very interesting and tasty fried pickle spears and dipping sauce while we sat and chatted about Williamsburg, the food opportunities, and Taste of Williamsburg.
Following these tasty appetizers, our next stop was Blue Talon Bistro. Here we got into some real stick to your ribs food – a very tasty dish of gourmet macaroni (actually penne) and cheese. We shared the mac and cheese family style and washed it down with some “cold, colonial water”, served in a tall bottle and derived directly from the local municipal water system. Having had an entrée, it was time for some dessert. Next stop was the Berry Body Frozen Yogurt shop. The shop offers three flavors of frozen yogurt – the day we were there our choices were the original tart plus blackberry and chocolate. My wife had the chocolate and I had the blackberry. You get to pick up to three toppings from various fruit, nut, and candy options. All we tried were delicious and complimented the cup of yogurt very well.
Now that we had any hunger pangs held at bay, we toured through the College of William and Mary. Lance, our guide, a graduate of the college, did a great job covering much of the history and the college’s place in the area and role in America. He gave us a brief overview as we toured the “ancient” campus and the “old” campus including inside tours of the Wren Building.
Our final stop was the College Deli. The deli is an area icon in its own right. We sat in the porch-like portion of the building on this beautiful December day. As Lance gave us some more history, they prepared “Hot Holly” sandwiches for us while we sipped on a glass of that “cold, colonial water”. The sandwiches are actually 6-inch subs with roast beef, turkey, bacon, American cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce. While the Hot Hollys are toasted and probably best enjoyed hot, we elected to have our’s bagged up and we carried them home for dinner. They provided us a tasty treat that evening.
It was here we bid adieu to our guide and headed back to Merchant’s Square on our own for a brief stop at the Bruton Parish Shop. The afternoon was a well spent 3-hour tour of places we had not previously enjoyed.
A brief note, we did choose to have the tip added to our tour charge which clearly made it easier to accommodate our guide and the establishments we visited. Lance did a great job of making the day run smoothly and was certainly well received at each of the places where we stopped. We certainly recommend this tour to visitors and locals alike.