Top 10 TV Hangouts

4. Monk’s Café – Seinfeld

Though the exterior shots of this restaurant café were of the very real Tom’s Restaurant in New York (with the “Tom’s” portion strategically hidden by the camera angle), Monk’s Café has become a famous fictional landmark in its own right. Like all good hangouts, it’s where the characters discussed their lives and the events unfolding in them. Unlike most shows, however, the events in Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer’s lives were rarely, if ever, really that important, and if they were, the show didn’t seem to treat them as such. Whereas most of these other hangouts have been the settings of pivotal moments in characters lives, Monk’s Café, as well as the rest of the revolutionary show’s settings, rarely played host to anything of significant importance. They came, they presumably ate a satisfying meal, chitchatted idly, and left. However, Seinfeld did hint that there was some merit to these neurotic characters’ dissatisfaction with other eateries, as other places failed to meet their rather specific expectations of what makes for a good dining experience. Other places just don’t have the “big salad” that Monk’s does. Perhaps the food handler doesn’t wash his hands after using the toilet, or the servers are just too dictatorial at other places. Who knows? But Monk’s works for them, and so they continue to go because there’s just no point in breaking a habit that’s just going to be put back together again.