Cruising through New Jersey like Tony Soprano would
By exclaiming Madonna!, insisting on eating pasta at all hours or having the fridge always well stocked with gabagool, the protagonists of The Sopranos They seem to want to claim their Italianness at every moment. But six seasons of this series have made it clear to us that in reality its characters they're very new jersey . We propose a route through some of the corners where Tony, Carmela and company they have bought, strolled, contemplated and of course eaten.
The most surprising thing about trying to follow in the footsteps of the guys from The Sopranos is ascertaining how big New Jersey really is and how much time on the highways their characters had to spend. The car (preferably with GPS) is essential to do this tour through some of the corners and towns of the Soprano geography.
NORTH JERSEY
We started the route, how could it be otherwise, on the highway. Past the Newark airport we take the 95 north and after traveling for a while through that such a post-industrial American landscape based on gas stations, car dealerships and fast food chains , we turn off onto the 17 and arrive at I gave it. At the foot of the road we came across Satin Dolls, the club used in the series to act as Bada Bing! Say goodbye to running into Silvio Dante running the place, but it has to be said that the atmosphere at Satin Dolls is actually a little more suitable for almost everyone than that of the Bing.
Follow the 17 north and stop at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus to spend a couple of hours like the typical American suburbanite . Tony used this high-end mall to meet with some of his henchmen to make sure the FBI couldn't overhear them, as well as unsuccessfully trying to kill time on it. But the best thing is to shop around for stores like Cache, Drink, Gap or Browse Judith Leiber Bags at Neiman Marcus . Brands that the costume designer of the series, Juliet Polcsa, regularly bought for Carmela, Adriana or Meadow. And it is not difficult to imagine any of them looking at shop windows here.
Italian American moment
If you've gotten hungry and don't mind a short drive, sneak over to Nori Sushi , located in a small open-air strip mall in Wayne, northwest Paramus. It is the Japanese restaurant from the first episode of the sixth with which Tony and Carmela confess to being obsessed . And remember that, to eat Tony Soprano-style maki, the best thing to do is do without the chopsticks and take them directly with your hand.
An additional twenty minute drive south on Highway 23 will bring you to the very posh and residential North Caldwell. Drive through its streets full of houses of immodest dimensions and approach to 14 Aspen Drive , Casa Soprano, but keep in mind that it is a private address. If your voyeuristic thirst is not quenched, just 10 minutes away, with good traffic, you can even go to the Kings supermarket, in Montclair, where Carmela used to shop.
Carmela's vegetables
But we are not suggesting that you buy something in the supermarket to snack on. It is much better to stroll, always on four wheels, in the direction of Broad Street. **This is a commercial street in residential Bloomfield where you will find Holsten's **. This candy store and ice cream parlor is also the diner where the last and controversial sequence of the series was filmed. We hope you don't have the same problems as Meadow parallel parking and don't keep everyone waiting to try the fried onion rings, according to Tony the best in the entire state.
The Sopranos enjoying themselves at Holsten's
ON THE BORDER WITH MANHATTAN
With New York in your sights, and after crossing a labyrinthine network of bridges and highways heading southeast, stop at Jersey City to see St. Patrick's Church . Located on the corner between Bramhall Avenue and Grand Street , dates from the end of the 19th century. If we believe the story that Tony tells his children, it was built by his grandfather, recently arrived from southern Italy and with just four dollars in his pocket.
In fact if you drop by the very close Liberty State Park, on the banks of the Hudson River, and you dare to take a ferry to Ellis Island, you will be in the place where the grandfather in question should have arrived in the United States for the first time, if it were not a fictional character of course. It's 18 dollars for the way but you will have a more than enviable view of the Statue of Liberty, in addition to the much history that is breathed in this former immigrant processing center now converted into a museum. And we already know that if there is something that softens Tony Soprano's heart, it is history.
NEW YORK GETAWAY
The Sopranos seem to have an obsession with Manhattan's Plaza Hotel. It's the place Carmela likes to take Meadow to every year to celebrate her birthday with tea, pastries and white gloves. It is also the hotel that Tony decides to take refuge in when Carmela kicks him out of the house at the end of the fourth season. And she returns to him in the fifth looking for a little relaxation. Could it be that there are no luxury hotels in New Jersey?
In any case, not with suites that have views of Central Park. When she goes, Carmela likes to park in a parking lot on 57th Street that we would dare to swear is this one. Driving to Manhattan is one of the most amazing experiences we can imagine, The credit titles of the series start precisely with Tony returning from the city to his house. But keep in mind that getting into Manhattan by car isn't cheap and traffic can be chaotic.
The family haven in Manhattan
RETURNING TO JERSEY
Again on the other side of the Hudson and Newark Bay , south of the airport, the team of The Sopranos chose the city of Elizabeth to portray some of the most picturesque corners of New Jersey. Along the way you can see the Goethals Bridge, which connects Elizabeth and Staten Island, and makes its appearance in the credits of the series. In the first episode of the series we see Tony, Pussy and company on the terrace of Centanni's, a butcher shop specializing in home-made sausages, chops and cured meats located at the intersection of Center Street and 2nd Avenue. So that this butchery could continue to function normally, in later chapters Centanni's had to be replaced by the fictitious and famous satriales, whose building is no longer standing.
Just one block from Centanni's you will find the central and full of shops elizabeth avenue but we recommend that you do as the locals do and take the car to travel the barely 20 blocks that will take you to Vesuvius. The Bucco family restaurant, which in its non-television version is called Manolo's Restaurant, is in fact a Spanish and Mediterranean food establishment. If you're in New Jersey to eat arancini and not croquettes, a while ago we would have told you that maybe it was time to go to Punta Dura. This Italian restaurant, now closed, served as New Vesuvius , the establishment that the Buccos had to open after the fire of the first one. The team of the series used this place for it, which was actually located in Queens, New York.
Hudson River Condos
SHORE SWEATER
Head south to get closer to the New Jersey shore and take a stroll along the boardwalk at Asbury Park . A location in which the series set more than one of Tony's many difficult to interpret dreams and where he often returned for both dream and real sequences. Take advantage of your visit to this coastal town to enjoy it in a way The Sopranos never would: toasting on the beach (if the weather is good and you don't mind paying the six dollars for access) or renting a bike.
For something more authentic, take the Golden State Highway and drive south parallel to the coast for over an hour and a half to Atlantic City. The boys liked to go to the Borgata casino in this city to bet on roulette or horses, smoke a good cigar and, much to their regret, lose a lot of money. So be careful not to follow Tony's hobbies to the letter.
To end your visit to New Jersey you can go for a walk along the Atlantic City boardwalk. It is something more typical of Nucky Thompson from the series Boardwalk Empire that of Tony Soprano, but he is still the whole sea of series-mafioso...
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