I went up to visit my friend from SicilianCulture.com and we drove around a bit cuz there are tons of Sopranos locations within 5 minutes of his house in Caldwell, NJ.

I saw Green Grove, the street Meadow ran across at the end of last season (Bloomfield Ave), Christopher's apartment complex, the park where the maid and her husband had a picnic, and best of all -- we had lunch at Italianissimo restaurant, seen in this Season's first episode! (And it was great!)

We got some digital pictures, and I'll post them as soon as I get them!

JG

That sounds great Geoff!! Were you able to see the Soprano house as well? I'd love to see the pictures. Is the restaurant well know now because of the Sopranos? Btw, how was the food?

TIS

We checked out the Soprano house last Summer actually! (The stunad has since forgotten where it is :rolleyes: ) I'll scan in my pictures of it from then. Of note, when I compared the picture to the Sopranos intro, I noticed they had added an addition to the house. And that addition did show up in Season 4 (in exterior shots, not the intro).

I asked about Satriales (it's actually called Cent'anni, like it was in the very first episode) and Pizzland, etc, but those are in other towns, so will have to wait for a future trip up there.

And yes, the food at Italianissimo was Belissimo! (Here's their site: http://www.italianissimo-food-art.com/ -- click on News to see some Sopranos pics)

Stay tuned...

JG

"Pizzaland" is on the Belleville Tpk in North Arlington. Ate there many times before the Sopranos. Excellent brick oven pizza. My ex-girlfriend lived one block away. I also had my bachelor party at Satin Dolls aka Bada Bing in 1989! Who'd think these little places would be famous some day?

Since you guys are in that area, have you ever considered watching them film the series? Or isn't that allowed? Also, I assume the Soprano house is in a real-life "upscale" neighborhood right?

TIS

TIS - I'm like an hour fifteen mins away, so it's hard to just run up there. My buddy who lives right there says they do it very early in the morning and he usually doesn't find out in time.

Yes, the Soprano house is in North Caldwell, a very exclusive area!

I'd love to check out Satin Dolls - do you remember where it is, Lou?

JG

One place I haven't made it to is Manolo's Restaurant
aka "Nuovo Vesuvio" in Elizabeth. Has anyone eaten there? It's actuilly a Spanish restaurant, not Italian.

Satin Dolls is on RT. 17 South, in Lodi. I live about 3 miles form it. Unlike the show though, there is no nudity there. The girls wear thongs and bikinis. In NJ, you can't serve alcohol and have nudity. :rolleyes:

Thanks, Lou - you've just been "Made" for giving that info

JG

Cool. Today is a special day!

Oh wow! Remember I said I had lunch at Italianissmo the other day? Well, the next night I re-watched the latest episode, and it seems we were seated at the same table that Tony was!!

Pics coming Thursday - sorry - busy today!

JG

This is Bloomfield Ave in Caldwell, NJ. This is where Meadow ran across the street in the end of Season 3, almost getting hit by cars.


Here is Italianissimo and the Wild Bird store (on the right). Tony buys duck feed, then goes into the restaurant for his lunch meeting. In the show, you'll notice they lit up the stores' signs in bright green w/ special effects.


Me, outside Italianissimo


Inside Italianissimo, view from the table Tony was sitting at. At the far distance is a take-out area that's been hidden behind screens in the show.


Inside Italianissimo, different view from the table Tony was sitting at. You can see the fountain in the show, too.

JG

Awesome Geoff!! I am so jealous!! How cool that you got to sit at the same table. I do remember the street Meadow ran across and the restaurant. Very impressive!!! Thanks for sharing!

TIS

This is the Soprano residence, located in an exclusive section of N Caldwell, NJ. This was taken last year. Notice they've added an extension to the left of the house, which shows up in Season 4 (although not in the intro).

JG

Man....that must've been some meal.....you've put on some weight! :p

Great pics, Geoff!.....I'm gonna hafta make a day trip out there myself.

Yeah, Italianissimo is a good restaurant, and even better deli during the day.......... they've got a great broccoli rabe & sausage on a nice semolina roll.

bellissimo.

Yeah, well, it's not just from that lunch (I was even sucking it in )

Anyway, yeah, SC - I'll try to get all the locale addresses and we should have a North Jersey get-together tour! I'm sure Apple's in, too! Who else?

JG

Oh Yes, I sure do recognize the house; Tony walks down the driveway every episode (in his robe) to get the paper. Looks exactly the same!!! That is so !! I assume the inside on the show is the actual inside of that house (which I think is beautiful)? Or is it just the outside that is filmed for the series?

TIS

Kewl.......I'm up for that.

Kewl.......I'm up for that. [/b][/quote]I'd be willing to drive the distance for that get-together tour myself.

Luca -

What part of PA are you in??

If I remember correctly, only the pilot episode was filmed inside the house - the rest being filmed on sets in Queens. But I may be wrong about the first episode, maybe it was all on sets?

JG

Wow... You get all the mafia fun.

If I remember correctly, only the pilot episode was filmed inside the house - the rest being filmed on sets in Queens. But I may be wrong about the first episode, maybe it was all on sets?

JG[/b][/quote]Actually, I thought that most of Season I and II were filmed in the house before they built the set in Queens.....But I could be wrong too.

I live in Lancaster, Pa.

You're less than two hours away from all this.

According to the TV Guide special edition on "The Sopranos", its just the exterior that is filmed in North Caldwell. I recall reading somewhere that the interior shots of the house are filmed in the studio in Queens, NY.

lou i am from elizabeth and i am in the between manolo's and centanni manolos is right around the corner from my house and centannis is straight up my block both soprano land marks i have eaten there at manolos and the food is great and yes you are right about them being spanish!

Hey cara cicatriz I lived in Elizabeth all my life up untill 3 years ago that I came here to stay with my family in Florida. I used to live down the Italian section as we all know called the Berg. I also lived right on Elizabeth ave right above Coltens pharmacy. After a few years I moved over to live in Elmora Hills section right on Palisade rd. My relatives still live in Elizabeth and you may know them. My uncle is the pediatrition on 3rd st. name Dr. Beckford. Anyone who has kids or was a kid living in Elizabeth would know who he is. Elizabeht is such a small over looked city. Amazing how I managed to actually find someone from my hometown here in this forum.

lou i am from elizabeth and i am in the between manolo's and centanni manolos is right around the corner from my house and centannis is straight up my block both soprano land marks i have eaten there at manolos and the food is great and yes you are right about them being spanish![/b][/quote]Thanks for the info. I'm about 20 minutes from there, so I may try it one night.