Pay homage to Abbi and Ilana with Salon's comprehensive "Broad City" walking tour

From Prospect Park's "Dog Wedding Gazebo" to St. Marks to Beacon's Closet, these are the spots you need to know

Published March 19, 2015 7:36PM (EDT)

Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson of "Broad City"      (Comedy Central/Lane Savage)
Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson of "Broad City" (Comedy Central/Lane Savage)

There’s a “Sex and the City” tour and a "Seinfeld Tour" -- heck, there's even a "Girls" tour — so why not a tour inspired by our newest NYC-centric pop culture obsession, “Broad City"? Recently, we wrote about all the ways you know you live in Abbi and Ilana’s New York. But what about visitors to the city looking for something slightly more authentic than the traditional New York sightseeing trip?  We can help. Here’s our (semi) comprehensive guide to the city, inspired by Abbi and Ilana's awesome adventures:

Downtown:

Catch some rays in Washington Square Park
Start your day in Washington Square Park, in the heart of NYU between the West and East Village. Great place to people-watch, smoke a joint, and search out unsuspecting NYU students should you want to steal their air-conditioning units.

Pick up a latte at Grounded Coffee
28 Jane St.
This coffeeshop is the "Jane’s Sandwich Shop" where Abbi hosted her art exhibit. They have great honey nut lattes (so we hear).

Go purse shopping on Canal Street
Canal St., between Bowery and Broadway
But make sure not to go for the bags displayed out front — if you hang around a while, you’ll be lucky enough to taken into a basement or back room (though hopefully not, like Ilana and her mom, blindfolded, thrown in a truck, and taken down a sewer grate).

Grab drinks at Swine
531 Hudson St.
A West Village watering hole that’s good for a casual pint or a glass of wine after work. Also: The bar where Abbi lost her phone.

Host your birthday dinner at Kenka
25 St Marks Pl.
A Japanese Izakaya in the heart of St. Mark’s place, this is a great spot for a birthday (but beware being seated next to someone you know). Afterwards, take a stroll down the bustling thoroughfare of St. Marks place,  where you'll find an array of cheap pizza and novelty T-shirts.

Go for dessert at Magnolia Bakery
401 Bleecker St.
A great spot for banana pudding — also, for hunting down unsuspecting tourists who may or may not have picked up items belonging to you.

Have a late night cocktail at the Back Room speakeasy
102 Norfolk St.
All the drinks are served in teacups at this Lower East Side speakeasy, where -- if you're lucky -- you might catch Abbi transform into her cabaret-singing, plucked-from-the-1930s alter ego, Val.

Uptown:

Go topless tanning in Sheep’s Meadow
65th St Transverse, Central Park
Seriously, feel free to strip down! Everyone else is.

People-watch on the Upper East Side
59th to 96th st., between the park and the river
Abbi and Ilana deem it "a horrible, vapid wasteland," but its denizens are a reliable source of sociological fascination (look out for old women in silk neckties talking about their horses).

Grab some sushi in Penn Station
2 Penn Plz, New York, NY 1012
Abbi and Ilana's mythical sushi place under Penn Station does not exist, as far as we know. However, there is a place called Penn Sushi in the station where we're told you can pick up a decent California Roll (this is not an endorsement, just a suggestion).

Times Square
W. 42nd st. to W. 47th st 
Don’t spend more than a few seconds here, if you can avoid it.

Buy some home goods at Bed, Bath and Beyond
620 Sixth Ave
The flagship store on Sixth Avenue has everything you could possibly need. It is also Abbi's happy place. Bonus points if you can find a sales associate to do a secret handskake with you.

Take a boat trip to see the Statue of Liberty
Pier 8, W. 42nd Street & 12th Ave
If you don't have a friend who works at a fancy law office, hop on the Circle Line's "Liberty Tour," which leaves from Pier 8 every day at 10am.

Brooklyn:

Go consignment shopping at Beacon’s Closet
74 Guernsey St., Brooklyn, NY
The extremely popular consignment store can be a great place to pay off any unexpected broken-mirror debts. Beware sassy salesgirls.

Go for a spin at Chalk Gyms
193 N 9th St., Brooklyn
While “Soulstice” isn’t a real chain, sadly (although it’s obviously inspired by the many SoulCycles dotting the city), you can still visit Abbi and Trey's place of work by hitting up Williamsburg's Chalk Gyms.

Grab a lunch to go at the Gowanus Whole Foods
214 3rd St., Brooklyn
This is where Abbi hallucinates on pain meds and spends $1,487.56 on artisanal produce after getting her wisdom teeth out — it was also a controversial addition to the Gowanus neighborhood, with residents seeing it as a harbringer of gentrification (suffice to say, there are quite a few locals who wouldn’t mind if you pulled an Abbi and trashed the place).

Grab some after-dinner froyo at 16 Handles
139 N 7th St., Brooklyn
"42 Squirts" doesn’t exist, so you’ll have to go to the (slightly) less overhwelming fro-yo place where this was filmed — the Williamsburg 16 Handles — in order to try and craft the essence of Abbi. It is not easy.

Go rollerblading in Prospect Park
As far as we know, there is no designated "Dog Wedding Gazebo," but if you get high enough, who knows what you'll find.

Other:

Take a day trip to North Brother island
As far as we know, there is no designated place to pick up a package on this small island between the Bronx and Rikers. It is, however, an uninhabited bird sanctuary that used to house a smallpox hospital. Enjoy!


By Anna Silman

MORE FROM Anna Silman


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Abbi Jacobson Broad City Ilana Glazer New York Nyc Walking Tour