The Sopranos may be finito in America, but now fans are making a pilgrimage to Holsten’s diner in New Jersey, where America’s favourite mobster family had their last meal.
Opened in 1939 and it is like being sent back in a time machine to observe the social habits of pre-World War II and 1950’s American youth. And the menu of ice cream treats and food items served, still sticks to its retro roots.
The prices are also remarkably cheap, and while there are only about a dozen or so varieties of ice cream, all of them are made in-house. The most expensive thing on the menu is the $8 “house special” (two burgers, lettuce, tomato, cole slaw and potato salad). But Holsten’s can now charge a bit extra with their “final episode” T-shirts at the candy counter.
The old diner is making a nice profit from the flood of new customers after the Soprano family munched on a bowl of onion rings for their last family supper at Holsten’s. The onion rings were cooked in the kitchen of the diner.
While viewers cannot see the rest of the Sopranos’ meal, co-owner Chris 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 favourite mobsters made it to the end of dinner, they undoubtedly would have ordered the homemade ice cream – perhaps one of the towering sundaes.
(sources: www.zegat.com, www.holsten.com)