Live in New York long enough, and you’ll collect star-sighting stories—like the time you saw a legendary rockstar walking down Bleecker Street, or ran into a supermodel at the bar. For New Yorkers who lived in the city during the 1990s, spotting John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy around town became something of a sport.
Their goings-on captivated the city and the world, whether they were going to get brunch or a burger down the street, or just stepping out of their Tribeca apartment to walk their dog, Friday. When they weren’t at parties, charity events, fashion shows (for the collections of Bessette’s boss, Calvin Klein), or taking walks, they enjoyed visiting restaurants around the city, building up a roster of go-to spots.
In the first episode of Love Story, Ryan Murphy’s new television series about the couple, they go to what appears to be Panna II, one of the string light-adorned Indian restaurants on First Avenue in the East Village, for their first date. While it’s unclear whether or not they truly went there, the show does depict some of the real restaurants where they spent time.
Kennedy and Bessette-Kennedy were New York icons, known to take advantage of all the city had to offer. Elizabeth Beller’s book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, which is the source material for the show, also mentions the now-closed nightclubs that Bessette frequented before meeting Kennedy, like Tunnel, Nell’s, The Limelight, and Palladium.
Below, Vogue takes a look at some of the restaurants the couple was known to visit, all of which are still open today.
Next door to Kennedy and Bessette-Kennedy’s former loft at 20 North Moore Street is Walker’s, a classic neighborhood bar where they sometimes went. The tavern opened in 1987 and is still well-known for its burger (and for being one of the more relaxed places in the neighborhood).
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