A scrooge and a Christmas nut exchange dares through a notebook leading them to numerous famous locations in the Big Apple as each other’s identities stay secretive while their exchange stays strictly between the pages of the red notebook. As the festive dares bring them closer together with a certain distance, will they be lonesome for Christmas or find each other in time for New Years?? If you dare, find out in Netflix’s Dash & Lily. 

Previous Articles on Dash & Lily 

Go check out the previous Dash & Lily article titled “’So This Is Christmas?”: Dash & Lily *Festive* Review (Ep. 1-4)” which breaks down the first four episodes of Dash & Lily by Val Kohan. 

https://talonnews.org/1687/entertainment/so-this-is-christmas-dash-lily-festive-review-ep-1-4/

Festive Soundtrack

[inserts “Last Christmas” by Wham!]

If the overall plot and New York setting was festive enough for you, the soundtrack just adds to the spirit of Christmas. Get ready to revamp your Christmas playlist as Dash & Lily has the most perfect holiday soundtrack. The entire show would not be complete without its classic holiday bops. As Dash and Lily chaotically race around New York, amongst the Christmas chaos, sit back and enjoy the Christmas tunes. Here’s the complete soundtrack from Dash & Lily… 

In Episode One, “Dash”: “Philomena” (by The Decemberists), “Run Rudolph Run” (by Chuck Berry), “River” (Joni Mitchell), and “Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas” (by Eels). In Episode Two, “Lily”: “Sleigh Ride” (by The Ronettes), “Last Christmas” (by Wham!), “Christmas Wrapping” (by The Waitresses), and “Fairytale of New York” (by The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl). In Episode Three, “Hanukkah”: “Manhattan” (by Cat Power) and “Odessa” (by Golem ft. Brandon Seabrook). In Episode Four, “Cinderella”: “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” (by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), “Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance” (by Sufjan Stevens AKA the artist we can thank for the Call Me By Your Name soundtrack), and “The Christmas Song” (by Nat King Cole). In Episode Five, “Sofia & Edgar”: “Sukiyaki” (by Kyu Sakamoto), “Holly Jolly Christmas” (by David Archuleta), and “That Holiday Feelin’” (by Mr & Mrs). In Episode Six, “Christmas Eve”: “Quinzhee” (by The Voluntary Butter Scheme), “I Wanna Take You Out In Your Holiday Sweater” (by Pas/Cal), and “Home Alone, Too” (by The Staves). In Episode Seven, “Christmas”: “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (by Cat Power). And finally, in Episode Eight, “New Year’s Eve”: “Like it’s Christmas” (by Jonas Brothers… Everyone had to expect Nick Jonas to not only make a surprise appearance but also add his own Christmas song as he is the executive producer of Dash & Lily?!), “Stay” (by Gracie Abrams), “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” (by Ella Fitzgerald), and lastly, “Auld Lang Syne” (by Denmark + Winter). 

Enjoying some of these songs?? Check out this fan-made playlist on Spotify that includes all the songs listed above!! 

“Do You Dare?” All the Places Mentioned and Dared in Dash & Lily (New York City Guide)

Through an exchange of countless dares between a scrooge and a Christmas nut through a notebook lead Dash and Lily to numerous famous locations in the Big Apple. Dash & Lily would be nothing without New York City, it is the most pivotal part of the storyline. The depiction of New York at Christmas time is perfect. So, what exactly are all these places in New York City that they go to?? Well, here is a complete list of all filming locations used in Dash & Lily (some in which were already linked above)… Most of these locations are actually in the East Village as seen on Lily’s map in episode two. 

The Strand ; in which Dash and Lily’s story begins. Based on what Reading Addicts said, “The Strand is the largest non-commercialized bookstore in New York and is the sole survivor of Book Row.” The Strand is also, “The Legendary Home of 18 Miles of Books” (as told on not only their website but logo too). 

(More about The Strand HERE)

Two Boots Pizza ; where Boomer works and is a common drop off place for the red notebook. Though the Two Boots Pizza chain of pizzerias is based in New York City, don’t be too upset. One of their locations is actually in Jersey City, New Jersey. 

Macy’s Herald Square ; where Lily sends Dash on one of his first dares to steal Santa’s hat to find out her name. Which is also the place Dash destroys SantaLand but Boomer befriends Jeff the Macy’s Elf. 

Washington Square Park ; one of the places Lily and her caroling group go to sing and perform festive tunes. 

Bethesda Terrace – Central Park ; Lily sends Dash here as a dare to stand in silence as a statue street performer. “To get to Bethesda Terrace, enter [Central] Park at 72nd Street and walk West.” 

Hot Dog Cart on 72nd and 2nd ; Dash sends Lily here to order a pretzel that is absolutely lathered in salt… 

Grand Central Station ; Dash sends Lily to Grand Central Terminal where she must go before the first train leaves. “There are few moments when you can find stillness in the middle of the city, when you can enjoy the heart of New York without the crush of people.”

Ferrara Bakery ; Ferrara Bakery is located in Little Italy and known for its famous cannoli, which is exactly what Lily sends Dash there for, Christmas cookies and cannoli. 

The Alice in Wonderland Statue in Central Park ; Lily leaves the red notebook at the Alice statue as Alice is the “patron saint of weird girls.” The Alice in Wonderland Statue is on the “East Side of Central Park near 76th Street and 5th Avenue.”

The Union Square Holiday Market (please note that as of November 2022 the Holiday Market is temporarily closed. For further information, please visit the link included above) ; this is where the very first scene of Dash & Lily takes place. This is yet another place Lily and her caroling group go to sing and perform festive tunes. This is where Dash first meets Lily when she knocks into him with tinsel. “Well, at least someone knows the words.” 

Yonah Schimmel Knish ; Dash sends Lily to the Challah Back Boys’ secret underground Hanukkah concert. “Weird is cool, Lily, and I’m going to prove it.” 

Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing, LLC ; Dash and Boomer go there while using the red boot she left at the Hanukkah party to try and track down Lily. This scene from episode four, “Cinderella”, was actually filmed in Long Island City at Helen Uffner. “Look, you… you don’t know me, but I’m like the Phantom.” “His name is Erik.” (Please note that while streaming Dash & Lily during this specific scene while the captionings are on the quote says, “Eric”, where the character of The Phantom in the book actually spells it with a “k”). 

Dyker Heights, Brooklyn ; this is a popular neighborhood in Brooklyn which is nicknamed “Dyker Heights” during the holiday season while all the houses are all decked out for Christmas. Lily sends Dash here to see “The Nutcracker House” (located at 1152 84th Street). The Christmas light displays are only up temporarily from Thanksgiving (dates will vary) up until January 6th. 

McSorley’s Old Ale House ; The Kitchen said, “Ms. Basil E tells Lily a story about how she went to McSorely’s before they allowed women in. This is based on the fact that women weren’t allowed in McSorley’s until 1970.” McSorely’s is a historical Irish Pub and is actually New York’s oldest Irish Pub. 

Cha-An Teahouse ; Lily sends Dash to attend a Japanese cooking class here where he makes mochi. “Listen to your mochi.” 

First Dog Run – Tompkins Square Park ; Lily goes to this dog park and feeds all the dogs her homemade dog treats even though she doesn’t have a dog of her own, in which Edgar calls that “weird” for Lily to do. 

Monkey Bar ; Dash has to painfully go through yet another dinner with his father and whatever girlfriend he decides to bring. There Dash and Sofia (Dash’s ex-girlfriend) are reunited just like old times. 

Four & Twenty Blackbirds – Pie Shop ; Dash and Sofia go here as a dare after Lily dares Dash to try pie with cheese melted on it. Viewers also see Lily here with some of her carolers. 

The Morgan Library & Museum ; Sofia brings Dash to The Morgan Library & Museum after hours after leaving Priya’s Christmas Eve party. This library and museum holds the largest collection of literary and musical works. 

Village East Cinema ; Once Dash believes in the Christmas spirit once again he goes to the Village East Cinema to buy two tickets for Pixar’s Collation (fictionalized Pixar movie strictly made-up for Dash & Lily) for Lily and him to see. Dash later in the season actually goes to see Collation by himself.

Levain Bakery ; Langston buys Lily a box of cookies from Leavin Bakery that has various locations throughout Manhattan. Leavin Bakery is quite famous for its original cookies that are worth the hype and wait.

The Vessel at Hudson Yards (please note that as of November 2022 The Vessel at Hudson Yards is temporarily closed. For further information, please visit the link included above); Dash goes to the Hudson Yards to find Boomer who is at a Jonas Brothers concert with Sofia and Priya. The Jonas Brothers do make a small cameo as well as Nick Jonas which is no surprise since Nick is a producer on the show. 

New York Buddhist Church ; Lily, Langston, Grandpa, and the rest of her family go here to celebrate Christmas Eve. 

Break Room (no link provided) ; Dash sends Lily here (based on the sign in the show, the Break Room is located on 15 West 116th Street in New York). Here Lily makes a muppet of what she thinks “Notebook Boy” looks like, snarly is the best way to describe it. There is no information of the Break Room online so it is assumed it was just a short-term pop-up rage room. 

Slam Poetry – Zinc Bar ; Though this place was not used as a bar during the filming of Dash & Lily, the Slam Poetry Lily and Edgar participated in was actually filmed at the Zinc Bar in New York. Here Lily lets out all her rageful feelings in front of an audience and Edgar about how Edgar kind of ruined her life. The Zinc Bar is home to some of the best “live Jazz, Latin, and World music” around!! 

Lily’s Apartment ; For exterior shots they used 92 Orchard Street for Lily’s apartment. 

Enjoy reading about all the filming locations in New York?? Read more about the city with “250+ Things to Do in NYC”.

Dash & Lily Review (covered by Val Kohan)

Disclaimer: Please note that I, Val Kohan, have not only binged Dash & Lily multiple times since its initial release but am also a fan and avid reader of Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan’s book trilogy, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily, and Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily. That being said, I was especially ecstatic for the Netflix series which did not disappoint at all. Yes, there are some changes for the adaptation like most book to movie/series adaptations but they were actually for the better and even added more to the story. I believe readers of the book or viewers of the show can find parts of themselves in both Dash and Lily. Though I am a complete Christmas nut like Lily during the holiday season, Dash is quite relatable between his sarcasm and just hatred for anything remotely social. Dash & Lily is one of the best bingeable series I’ve seen on Netflix in a long time. Yes, the storyline is projected for teenagers and the characters resemble that. Initially the turnarounds are predictable, everything is so unique, viewers can see right past all of that. The entire series is just festive, between seeing New York at Christmas time and the perfect soundtrack with Christmas songs played throughout the entire series gets you in the spirit of the holidays. Though this is technically a rom-com, it is so unique, it should be watched every year. Dash & Lily is one of those rare perfect series on Netflix. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a whopping 100%. Even though Netflix canceled it after one short season, it is a sweet, festive, whimsical holiday binge with a unique storyline that really gets viewers into the holiday spirit.

Look Out For “‘Dashing All the Way’: Dash & Lily *Festive* Breakdown” Coming Soon!!