Tremendous

“Wanna follow me to that dive on Sip and JFK?”

Julianna Skiff, The Sopranos

So begins the romance between mobster Christopher Moltisanti and Julianna Skiff in season 6 of The Sopranos. The troubled pair meet at an AA meeting. Soon they’re having an extramarital affair that spirals into a return to heroin addiction.

Their romance begins and ends at the VIP Diner in Jersey City, NJ. Being a big fan of this episode and the show in general, I took a little trip there yesterday. The diner is exactly as it appeared on the show in 2007, and indeed seems not to have changed at all since at least the 1970’s.

The restaurant was nearly empty when I entered in the late afternoon. I sat at a weathered booth near the window and enjoyed a coffee and newspaper. Cocooned in a nearby booth, Christopher tells Julianna about his entry to the mafia and they reflect on their return to heroin use at the end of episode 12.

As they leave the restaurant and head for an AA meeting, Julianna already senses that their relationship is over. It was interesting to walk down those same steps as I headed home.

Enjoying a coffee in the same spot where these great scenes happened was a lot of fun! If you’re in the area, I’d recommend popping in.

Bonus location: the hair salon across the street was used for a scene in season 1, episode 9, where Bobbi Sanfilippo discusses Uncle Junior’s “talents” with her pedicurist. Through the window, you can see the VIP Diner across the street.

It appeared to have been heavily remodeled and didn’t look much like the beauty parlor in the episode, but it was still interesting to see it! I actually looked at an apartment in this building a couple of years ago without realizing it was a Sopranos shooting location!

Dig into these posts for more on The Sopranos and entertainment:

• Where The Sopranos Really Happened
• What It’s Like to Be on Law & Order: SVU
• The Best NYC Comedians You Haven’t Seen (Until Now)

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