On the HBO show “Girls,” the setting — New York — plays an unofficial character, with many iconic scenes filmed around the city. In one particularly memorable moment from season 1, Jessa Johansson (Jemima Kirke) stops in Nolita bar Tom and Jerry’s for a White Russian, which leads to a hook-up with a stranger in the bathroom.
In real life, “The [drink] has become really popular with young women since the show came out,” says Judy Gelman, co-author of “The Unofficial ‘Girls’ Guide to New York.”
Gelman and Peter Zheutlin uncovered the stories behind Tom and Jerry’s and other hot spots where the show, whose season 3 premieres tonight, was filmed. This is their “Girls” New York.
Greenhouse, 150 Varick St., at Vandam Street
Zheutlin: “In Season 2, Hannah tries cocaine with Elijah [Andrew Rannells], then goes to Greenhouse, a club right at the edge of Soho. It’s huge and built from recycled materials. The real DJs, a couple that goes by the [name] AndrewAndrew, are featured in the episode. We interviewed them and asked about the scene, and they said what we saw in the episode is actually tame compared to what they’ve seen at the club.”
Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Ave., between 11th and 12th streets
Gelman: “This is a literary and artistic society that hosts a lot of events. In Season 1, you see the library where Hannah reads her short story at her professor’s weekly reading series. And you see Hannah walking up the staircase there, and it looks intimidating. The Salmagundi host all kinds of art exhibits and readings. It has a long history in New York, dating back to the mid-19th century.”
Murals on 54 at the Warwick Hotel, 63 W. 54th St., at Sixth Avenue
High Line, entrance at Gansevoort and Washington streets
Gelman: “This is where Marnie and Booth Jonathan [Jorma Taccone] went in the scene after the party at the gallery. That was the one mistake [the show] made — people can’t walk there from the Lower East Side so quickly. They wouldn’t be able to go up the stairs because it was too late at night [the High Line closes at 7 p.m. in the winter] — but if they could, it really is one of the most romantic spots in New York.”
Tom and Jerry’s, 288 Elizabeth St., at Houston Street
Gelman: “This is the bar where Jessa goes for a White Russian before meeting her friends to get an abortion. The biggest surprise about Tom and Jerry’s is that it looks completely unappealing on the show because they filmed it in the middle of the day and it was empty, but it’s actually a really fun bar and hopping at night.”
Peter Luger, 178 Broadway, at Driggs Avenue, Williamsburg
Gelman: “Jessa’s marriage implodes at dinner with her husband’s parents. In the script, there’s a reference to Peter Luger, but the place wasn’t referred to by name on the show. I found that the scene was actually filmed at Bamonte’s, an Italian restaurant in Williamsburg. Peter Luger is iconic, and that’s where parents like that would have wanted to go — and Jessa is a vegetarian, so it made sense to have that disastrous scene take place there.”
The Foundry, 42-38 Ninth St., at 43rd Avenue, Long Island City
Zheutlin: “The Foundry has been used for many TV shows. On ‘Girls,’ it appears when Jessa marries Thomas-John [Chris O’Dowd] here in Season 1. The manager, Jose Rolon, says he staged this shoot just like they stage real weddings at The Foundry — the couple is married in front of the doors that look over the courtyard.”