HOw best to 'do' Greenwich Village - whole hog tourist tour or just walk around gormlessly?

[Barberofseville]

www.foodsofny.com/greenwichvillage.php

Going to NYC, don't know the area but want to visit Greenwich Village. Saw this (link above) a food tour of Greenwich Village.Is this rip-off tourist overkill or worth doing, does anyone know?

Haven't done that tour but if you're not going immediately I would recommend trying to book one of these. We were lucky enough to get someone who showed us all around the Lower East Side and it was wonderful (and free!).

Definately do the food tour - it's fabulous. DH & I were last in NY 5 years ago and did this. We visited 7 or 8 different food establishments, sampling different types of food at each one and the tour guide gave us a detailed history of each place and of greenwich village as a whole. It was really interesting and actually one of the highlights of our whole trip. P.S there are so many different foods to try, you won't need any lunch afterwards! Have a great trip