Whine & Cheese: Sopranos Tour of NJ

One of the fun things we did on our trip back East was a Sopranos Tour of NJ! Now, you can pay $40-something and go on the "official" tour... but given that I spent a good chunk of my early years in the Garden State, I said who need some f#ckin' tour bus!?! Thanks to Google searches and Yahoo! Maps it was pretty easy to create our own tour.

Heck, for the first few pix I didn't even need a map or directions... I have been driving by them all my life!

Here are the Sopranos landmarks we visited:

Pulaski Skyway

This is an elevated road near Jersey City... it is seen in the opening credits and the visual after the closing credits. This shot was taken on a NJ Transit train coming back from NYC.

Drive Safely Tanks

When I first started watching The Sopranos this was the first thing that caught my eye in the opening credits. These tanks are near the Carteret exit of the NJ Turnpike... the exit to my parent's (and my one and only childhood) home. I have likely passed these tanks thousands of times.

Goethals Bridge

Another familiar site for me... again on the NJ Turnpike and from our house to my grandparents. The Goethals is seen in the opening credits and connects Elizabeth, NJ with Staten Island, NY.

The remainder of these pix are ones that I located via the Internet and had to search for...

Satriale's

Tony and crew hung out on the sidewalks of this Kearny, NJ storefront... Satriale's Pork Store. Not very distinctive for sure... we drove right by it! Good thing I recognized the church (upper left picture - total coincidence that a MINI Cooper just happened by), that could be often be seen when the guys were outside of the store. We met a very nice local who told us they only put out the pig and signs when they were filming and that even the neighboring Irish club agreed (probably for a nice fee) to swap in/out an Italian flag during filming. Despite being a landmark, this building is set to be demolished later this summer and replaced with condos... though the spirit will live on... rumor has it, the development will be called Sopranos Court.

Pizzaland

Just 5 minutes up the road from "Satriales" in North Arlington, NJ is Pizzaland. Though the characters never visited this very tiny building, it has become legendary for its appearance in the opening credits.

The Bada Bing

The Bada Bing... or as it's actually known... Satin Dolls in Lodi, NJ. My very best friend from college lived in Lodi for several years, so who knew the famous Sopranos strip club was just a couple of miles away. The building, highway, and even parking lot (where Silvio had that unfortunate run-in near the end of the series) were all instantly recognizable.

Casa Soprano

While all the other Sopranos sights were very cool... the "wow!" moment of our tour was pulling up to the Sopranos house. While the interiors were shot on studio sets (but allegedly true to the original), exterior shots were still filmed at this amazing home in North Caldwell, NJ. I do not believe this location is on the official tour... we tried to be respectful and just do a quick drive-by of the house since it in a very nice residential neighborhood.

Holsten's

Appropriately enough, the last stop on our Sopranos tour was to Holsten's in Bloomfield, NJ... the location for the much-talked about last scene of The Sopranos. Can you picture Tony walking in the front door or Meadow struggling to parallel park from the vantage point of this shot?

Here's a shot of the inside: