It’s been over a year since he left me and it feels like forever… A lifetime ago since dapper Don reached his Coca-Cola-fuelled nirvana in the last episode of Mad Men. And I’m still recovering… Which is exactly why I’m raising my martini glass in salute some of the classic New York City locations that adorned our screens throughout seven brilliant seasons…

I don’t know about you, but in a small-screen world of angry chefs, toddler beauty queens and bossy bridezillas, Mad Men, which follows the complex life of the enigma that is Don Draper, is a sophisticated oasis in a desert of televisual drivel.​

So let’s take one last whiskey sour-soaked walk down memory lane to take a look at the silent star of the show: New York city. After all, although the Big Apple may have changed since Don Draper’s day—desk-side drink cabinets are sadly no longer de rigueur—the elegance of New York never goes out of style.

The Roosevelt Hotel
Location: 45 E 45th St
This New York landmark is located on the corner of Madison Avenue and East 45th, which was the natural habitat of the real-life Don Drapers of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Make your way to the hotel’s stylish Madison Club Lounge, which looks as if it was created by a Mad Men set designer. Order yourself a whisky sour and loosen that skinny tie a little.
Screen Stealer: This is where Don retreated to after being kicked out of the house by his wife, Betty, in season two.

The Pierre New York
Location: 2 E 61st St
After 80 years in business, the famous Pierre New York remains the epitome of New York style and sophistication. Now under the Taj chain umbrella, the Pierre was opened in 1930 by Charles Pierre Casalasco, whose father owned the Hotel Anglais in Monte Carlo.
Screen Stealer: In the season three finale, room 435 was transformed into the temporary headquarters of the new agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Sardi’s
Location: 234 W 44th St
Known for the celebrity caricatures that swathe its dining room walls, Sardi’s is a big hit with the theatre crowd. The restaurant opened back in 1927 and over the years it has been the hang-out of choice for Broadway actors.Screen Stealer: Sardi’s was where Don and Bobbie Barrett celebrated the sale of Jimmy Barrett’s TV pilot with drinks.

PJ Clarke’s 
Location: 915 Third AveOnce the haunt of Frank Sinatra, Jackie O and Elizabeth Taylor, the after-work crowd still pack the bar to listen to Old Blue Eyes on the jukebox and enjoy frosty mugs of beer. And according to Nat King Cole, PJ’s served up ‘the Cadillac of burgers’.
Screen Stealer: In season one, Peggy invited everyone to PJ’s for a drink to celebrate her promotion from secretary to copy writer.

The Waldorf Astoria
Location: 301 Park Ave
This distinguished Park Avenue hotel is the accommodation of choice for New York City’s most prominent visitors, including every US president since Herbert Hoover. It was also the onetime residence of Marilyn Monroe.
Screen Stealer: In the show, Don met hotelier Conrad Hilton in his suite and the hotel magnate raved about the Waldorf Salad.

Image: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC
This feature first appeared, in part, in Canadian Traveller magazine.