The now-famous Holsten's onion rings
photo: Liz Borod Wright
What's your hometown version of Holsten's? What dish would you recommend to Tony Soprano?
Tell us on the
Zagat Discussion boards!
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that The Sopranos ended its six-season run on Sunday night. But what you might not know is that the final scene, which depicted Tony, A.J. and Carmela sitting in a New Jersey diner booth, was shot in Holsten’s in Bloomfield, NJ (1063 Broad St., 973-338-7091). As they're waiting for Meadow to arrive, the Sopranos munch on a bowl of onion rings (co-owner Chris Carley says Holsten's cooked the actual rings that were on TV) and talk about the importance of remembering the good times.
Holsten's
photo: Liz Borod Wright
The setting at Holsten's is as authentically retro as the prices – the most expensive thing on the menu is the $8 "house special" (two burgers, lettuce, tomato, cole slaw and potato salad). It's now proudly selling "final episode" T-shirts at the candy counter.
This is the actual booth where Tony, Carmela and A.J. sat.
photo: Liz Borod Wright
In the The Sopranos, there's a jukebox at the table, and Tony chooses "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. But Holsten's doesn't have those little jukeboxes – they were brought in by the TV crew, which spent a total of five days filming there. While we didn't get to see the rest of the Sopranos' meal, Carley has some idea of what Tony would have ordered. "Going by what [James Gandolfini] ate in between takes, he would have had a grilled cheese and a hot dog, probably both. Tony was a big eater." And if America's favorite mobsters made it to the end of dinner, they undoubtedly would have ordered the homemade ice cream – perhaps one of the towering sundaes.