Published at 9:25am
Published on 9/5/08
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You already know that Magnolia bakery is overrated, Sushi Samba is not so fresh, and the people snapping pics of Carrie's stoop at 66 Perry Street definitely don’t live there. With the much-anticipated movie hitting theaters on May 30, we’ve compiled an updated list of spots featured in the film that you'll want to steer clear of, once they become inevitable must-sees for Sex-starved tourists.
Good World
Once reserved for cool, in-the-know hipsters, this Swedish-meatball–and-gravlax–serving bar wins the award for most clever and unexpected addition to the Sex-location franchise. It has such an enjoyable vibe we hope its Chinatown location is too far off the map for the sightseeing buses to ruin it.
Buddakan
Since Carrie and Big’s wedding will most likely be larger-than-life (or will it?!? Come on people, watch the trailer!), it makes perfect sense for their rehearsal dinner to take place at this dramatic 16,000-square-foot, chandelier- and Buddha-clad Asian restaurant. It has the perfect ingredients for Sex: It’s trendy and touristy. Avoid it like the plague.
Raoul's
This cozy bistro has been serving up steak au poivre and premier cru Bordeaux to Soho locals since 1975. But after May 30, we expect a whole new class of Carrie-obsessed clientele to be crowding around the bar, which has been pegged by gossip sites as a filming location. Get your fill of their authentic French-fare immediately, before it loses all of its bohemian charm.
Bryant Park and Bryant Park Hotel
Anyone who’s seen the trailer knows that there are plenty of Sex scenes filmed in Bryant Park. Charlotte takes her adopted daughter on the carousel, and the girls attend Fashion Week there. While no local should want to give up the park forever, you might want to take a hiatus during June. We're also guessing that lots of out-of-towners will be checking into the posh Bryant Park Hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of Charlotte, Carrie or Samantha. Not likely, people!
Diane von Furstenberg store
Her signature wrap dresses are enough of a draw enough, but once fans see that style icon Carrie Bradshaw shops at the Meatpacking district flagship store, every Midwestern housewife and trendy teenybopper will be wearing DvF. We'll order online, thanks.
Starbucks on Astor
Next time you see a tour bus stopping at the Astor Place Starbucks, it won’t be so the senior citizens can use the restrooms, it’ll be the Sex and the City HotSpots tour. NYU students be forewarned: Now that this Starbucks is featured as the spot where Carrie interviews assistants, lines will be longer, table space will be nonexistent and the marginally trained baristas will be in way over their heads. You might want to move to the one across the street—or one of the franchise's other 8 billion* Manhattan locations.
[*Ed's note: This is an unofficial TONY estimate.]
Hotel Giraffe
We can’t say for sure if this new hotel made it into the final cut, but on New York gossip blogs like Gridspkipper and Gawker, rumors are a-flying that Sex scenes were shot at this safari-inspired hotel. Don’t expect to get a seat at their rooftop-terrace bar this summer.
Lumi Restaurant
As its website so blatantly touts, Lumi served as the backdrop for numerous Sex and the City scenes. Charlotte and Big get in a huge fight out front! And it looks like Charlotte goes into labor out front of this Tuscan café!!! The self-promotion push makes Batali look almost reclusive. Eat here at your peril.
Spike
Tue, May 20, at 12:49pm
Wow, thanks for an ugly, condescending rant.
Lisa
Tue, May 20, at 03:51am
I cringe when a woman says she is like Carrie. I work with grown women who moved to NYC thinking it was just like SATC portrayed it. Were they ever disappointed! Why can't people get it through their dense skulls that this is a TV show and is not reality for 98% of the women who live here.
mike
Mon, May 19, at 03:42pm
What's all this interest in SATC, it was simply a crappy show about four superficial women who can't find a man due to their selfish ways. That's why women of today like it so much, they can't find a man due to their selfish ways. The show sucks.
incredulous
Fri, May 16, at 06:44pm
that, my friend, suuuuuuuucks.
incredulous
Fri, May 16, at 04:43pm
do people honestly care that much about SATC, years after the final episode, that they'd be willing to scope out one of the film's locales?
Aliya
Thu, May 15, at 07:51am
Hey so Time Out Magazine has a cool series of articles on SATC that I think would be fun to read (I'm on my lunch break hence the cruising the websites...otherwise I'm working hard of COURSE).