Only in New York City (Kramer's Reality Tour)

We recently had an Only in NYC experience.  We took Kramer's Reality Tour.

Kenny Kramer is a long-time NYC stand-up comedian and he is the basis of the Seinfeld character Cosmo Kramer.  Kenny was a neighbor of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David and remains his close friend.  And, once you meet Kenny in person, there can be no doubt whatsoever that Kenny is the real Kramer. 

On the 3-hour tour (no shipwreck involved), we heard all about the creation of Seinfeld.  The tour began in a small theater setting where Kenny shared stories.  Then, we ventured out in a tour bus to see all the Seinfeld sites on the West Side of Manhattan.  As Kenny said, "If there can be a TV show about 'nothing', there can be a tour of places that no longer exist".

Some spots still exist, however, most notably the soup stand where the Seinfeld characters stood in line to get hot soup.  We braved the 9 degree windy weather to get our soup, too.  (No questions are allowed or you might be told, "No soup for you!").  The Mulligatawny was very tasty, and best of all, it warmed us up.

The tour was a great experience and we highly recommend it (unless you have no idea who or what Seinfeld is).  Kenny has been doing it for twenty years, and he now limits the outings to four months per year, and only on Saturdays.  We got lucky!

Here are some photos from the tour.

Kenny Kramer, the real Kramer, tell stories and jokes

Photo of Kenny Kramer in front of Monk's Diner near Columbia University.  The diner where Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David created the Seinfeld Chronicles (original name) is on 9th Avenue near 44th Street.

The tour includes a stop at the Original Soup Man, aka the Soup Nazi.  The Mulligatawny was excellent!

Kenny Kramer with some random hottie

Serving up the soup, plus extra treats if you behave.  Otherwise, it's . . . . (next photo)

Translation:  "No soup for you!"

Kenny sells some great merchandise.  And yes, that is an authentic autographed Assman license plate.

P.S.  It turns out that The Kramer Reality Tour is not an Only in NYC experience.  Kenny travels the world with a stage version of his show, from Ames, Iowa to Israel.  Who knew?