I visited The Sopranos in New Jersey. From Badabing to the parking lot that used to be Satriale, this is what I saw.

Although Montenegro family is one of my favorite TV shows, and I’ve never had much desire to immerse myself in the New Jersey setting. However, as someone who has recently become more committed thanks to some tempting TikToks, I knew I had to do something drastic to prove my commitment.

January 11, one day after the gangster drama First aired on HBO 25 years ago, I boarded an On Location Tours bus in Manhattan and, along with dozens of other fans, experienced the show’s premise firsthand. Our tour guide told us a lot of trivia, most of which I had never heard said before.When you watch a show decades later when it first aired, you often miss interesting facts about the series’ original run made into a movieor an actor may or may not be affiliated with Colombo crime family.

We walked through Manhattan’s Garment District, once a hotspot for mob activity until the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act of 1970 made things better. After passing through the Lincoln Tunnel, we arrived in industrial New Jersey, where we could see construction sites, factories, and garbage dumps.

Let’s get off the car outside first Paul Bunyan statue Appears briefly in the opening credits. From there, you can see the facade of the building that serves as Barone Sanitation, a fictional waste management company that Tony claims is his legitimate job to avoid trouble. We rarely see him there, though, because he has a “family” to run.

Winters in the Garden State can seem particularly desolate. No trees block the steady view of parking lots, chain-link fences and trucker hotspots.The horizon is dotted with power lines, reminding us of New Jersey once notorious Because of its plethora of dump sites.

We don’t see the grand mansion that Tony returns home to at the end of the credits. According to the tour guide, it was in a private community and the homeowners were annoyed by fans showing up in bathrobes. Pick up a piece of paper at the end of the driveway.

We then headed to the outskirts of Kearny, passing multiple overpasses and waterways where various characters were “beaten” or buried. At one stop, we walked to the Passaic River. To the left, we see the Newark skyline so we can see where Tony grew up. To the right, on a bridge, a confused teenage Soprano (Dominique Chiannis) is led away by the police.

In town, we passed the gang’s favorite “casino,” a room above the spa with plenty of room to play cards; the church, where Carmela watched her pastor with another frustrated gangster’s wife After flirting with a perfect plate of macaroni and pizzeria, little Anthony orders a unique pie, but it gets him into trouble when the pie is left at the crime scene.

But where we’re supposed to encounter the Satriale Pork Shop – a hangout for gang members throughout the series – only a parking lot remains.

It makes me emotional to know that the core of the show’s plot no longer exists. In every episode, James Gandolfini An unforgettable performance. It breaks my heart to know that he died six years after the show ended. Tony is not an antihero. He’s a true villain, murdering several people with his bare hands, and he often cheats on his tirade. – The Suffering Wife. His list of sins grows every hour.But Gandolfini teased him in this way tenderness I feel a strange fondness for him. The show is over and the actors are gone.

Next we stopped at Holsten’s in Broomfield, New Jersey, where the final scene of the show was filmed. I ordered onion rings – Tony said they were the best – and we took turns sitting in Tony’s booth with Carmela and his son. During the final episode in 2007, the screen suddenly went black, angering HBO viewers. This charming restaurant pays homage to the show with photos of the cast and plenty of merchandise for sale.

A young man who was eating at a stall with friends said to our tour group, “I haven’t seen the show yet, don’t tell me what happened.” Technically speaking, I didn’t see the whole show either, but I have no idea. Defending him while my fans snickered.

in January, HBO announced official Montenegro family TikTok account To celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary, the show will upload 25-second clips from each episode.The news was met with immediate backlash – with fans urging people “Just watch the fucking show.” and condemned “Extremely short attention span” They blame social media users for making this happen.

This is obviously a marketing ploy; I know this because I would fall for it myself if someone caught my attention Fan edit A few months ago it wouldn’t have pushed me over the edge in the ratings.

My tour guide, John Delippo, told me that he thought the official announcement Montenegro family The TikTok account started out as a joke, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized the show was full of quips and humor that still resonates today.

“A lot of the humor I see in meme culture is actually Montenegro family humor,” he said. “I think a lot of people who are discovering it now are in their 20s and realize that this old show actually has something to do with their humor, but they had to be exposed to it first. “

He said it’s not unusual for new viewers to use New Jersey to cement themselves as fans, but it’s also a pilgrimage for the show’s most die-hard fans.

At least two couples on my trip were traveling specifically from the UK Montenegro family Filming locations. Paul and Jenny Carter traveled from England to celebrate his 50th birthday.

“It’s just amazing. The dialogue, the acting…everything,” Paul said. “I don’t know how many times I’ve watched it. I come home from get off work and it’s playing in the background.”

Not everyone likes it Montenegro familyWhen it aired, some said it portrayed both negatively italian american and New JerseyBefore the show’s third season aired, the show’s crew tried to get permission to film an episode in the state’s famed Pine Barrens, but were blocked by Essex County Executive James Treffinger. reject. who said Montenegro family “Depicted a racial group in a stereotypical way.” But that didn’t stop the crew from choosing another similar-looking location to film and naming it the Pine Barrens. after consideration Becomes one of the best episodes of the series.

The final stop on the tour – Bada Bing – didn’t leave much to the imagination. Silvio Dante (Steve Van Zandt) owns a fictional strip club that serves as a popular convention center. Bing’s scenes were filmed at the real-life gentlemen’s club Satin Dolls. Decades later it’s still open – including Thursdays at 1 p.m.

I wasn’t allowed to take photos inside the club but it felt familiar and it was the first place we visited that is often featured on the website Montenegro familyDifferent sports programs were playing on the TV, and several dancers in lingerie swayed to the song Five Finger Death Punch. Some of my companions ordered drinks and our guide told us we could have lap dances as soon as we got home. The bus is on time. I left my wallet in the car, so I spent a lot of time alone with my thoughts, looking at the peeling leather furniture.

most the sopranos The charm comes from the fact that its surroundings are rough around the edges. Tony and his gang may have millions of dollars, but they have to hold business meetings in the back room of a smoky strip club. Tony would probably have a big breakfast inside. A pristine mansion, but he had to commit some crimes to maintain this lifestyle. The show reveals the complexities of gang life.

While I know more about the best places to dump bodies in New Jersey than the spots for a delicious spaghetti dinner, this trip gave me a new appreciation for the series.

I can’t watch it now Montenegro family Not spewing out as much trivia as possible.To celebrate my new fandom, I’m spending the weekend mob wife costume Baked Carmela Macaroni Recipe The Sopranos Cookbook for mine Combas.it is Morto Beni.