National Geographic Traveller India – July 2019

JULY 2019 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 53

KUMAR SRISKANDAN/ALAMY/INDIAPICTURE

(RESTAURANT)

FACING PAGE:

THE HOLLYWOOD ARCHIVE/DINODIA PHOTO LIBRARY

(DON DRAPER), PHOTO COURTESY:

AMC.COM

(PEGGY),

VALERY BARETA/SHUTTERSTOCK

(GLASS)

H

igh up on Madison Avenue,

the stomping grounds of

Don Draper dripped with

pop culture persuasion, from

brutalist lamps to the high contrast,

au courant adverts illustrated under

their light. However, Mad Men—the

timeless TV show about an ad man in

1960s America—garnered accolades

by using more than just perfectly

positioned props in studios. Manhattan

modelled some of its most historic bars

and restaurants for the show. These

classic haunts, where whiskey-fuelled

executives and midtown mistresses

were wined and dined, became the

signature of Draper & Co.’s retro mise

en scène.

Across its seven seasons, these scenes

made such an impact on me that I

retired a lot of my previous distaste

for NYC. My parents are New Yorkers,

so ‘nowhere else is like New York,’ I

was frequently told throughout my

childhood. It often seemed they had

a secret they weren’t letting me in on.

Unlike them, my childhood had been

anchored partly in Texas and partly in

Tamil Nadu. As a countrified kid who

wanted to be half-John Wayne, half-

Rajinikanth, I sensed I might never

understand their love for this big city.

Then, in 2007, the show first aired.

My father was instantly obsessed, and

my mom would even glance up from

her book to smile at a familiar purlieu.

As immaculately dressed people

flitted from glittering bars to elaborate

restaurants, my dad would jump out of

his seat and exclaim to my mom, “You

remember that place?” or to me, “Your

Grandma used to love the Italian at

that joint!” Even for a wannabe cowboy

like myself, it was a struggle to hide my

appreciation of the series, and not be

captivated by the warm nostalgia that

emanated from the TV screen.

Before Mad Men released, my

parents took me to NYC once as a kid,

and, for some reason, I clung onto the

memory of them grumbling about all

the great places that were long gone.

At the time, it seemed, to my angsty

pubescent sensibilities at least, like I

had been taken to a graveyard of glory,

forced to mourn the absence of places I

never had the chance to appreciate; yet

through Mad Men, and the enthusiasm

it inspired in my parents, I gradually

began to understand NYC was not a

bone-picked skeleton of the city it once

was. You simply had to know exactly

where to dig for treasure.

Don Draper might’ve said it best.

“Change is neither good nor bad; it

simply is.” New York has changed a

lot over the years, but like blots of

burgundy wine left too long on white

linen, the city hasn’t been able to rub

out these vestiges of a fine vintage,

especially now that Mad Men has

immortalised a handful of its steezy

survivors. Since I’ve overcome the

agita-ridden hurdles of growing up,

NYC has become one of my favourite

destinations, because as much as New

Yorkers complain about the good ol’

joints that bit the dust, they also support

restaurants and bars that bookmark

interesting chapters of the city’s history.

Four of the most iconic Manhattan-

based Mad Men locations are listed

below. However, there are many more

smattered across the city. My newfound

love for classic NYC saloons has led me

to quite a few reminiscent of the Mad

Men milieu, be it for pints of light and

dark ale at McSorley’s, IPAs at the West

Village’s White Horse, and pale ales

on Gramercy at Old Town Bar. Still,

the Mad Men trail feels extra special,

especially if you want to walk around

town like a dapper Dan in an exquisitely

tailored American suit.

The Manhattan lunch

crowd pulls up a

chair at P.J.’s.

U.S.A.

New York