The Lower Haight's "Orange Is The New Black" Connection

The Lower Haight's "Orange Is The New Black" ConnectionLionsgate
Andrew Dudley
Published on July 18, 2014
Fans of the Netflix show "Orange Is The New Black" might be surprised to learn about the real Piper and Larry's fateful meal at Kate's Kitchen.

In a post on Medium, Larry Smith, the inspiration for the character Larry Bloom (played by Jason Biggs on the show), details how he and Piper Kerman first met.

Though they crossed paths in a summer program in 1989, they didn't truly connect until 1994, when Larry was living in San Francisco.

"My six-week search for a place to live ended when I wandered into a garage sale taking place inside a three-bedroom apartment in the Lower Haight. For $800 a month, it was all ours."
One day, an old friend of Larry's left a message on his answering machine.

"She invited me to join her and a friend for brunch, which I almost blew off because I had a writing deadline. But when I realized they were meeting three blocks from my apartment, I powered down my Mac Classic and arrived halfway through their meal at Kate’s Kitchen."
That friend's friend turned out to be Piper Kerman, upon whom the character Piper Chapman is based.

"Piper and I got off to a good start, bonding over our love of Kate’s bacon-cheddar pancakes."
By the end of the meal it becomes clear that Piper and Larry have a connection. They go back to Larry's Lower Haight apartment, watch Melrose Place, and the rest is history.

So, there you have it: an $800 Lower Haight 3-bedroom, a Mac Classic, and a serving of bacon-cheddar pancakes were the prequel to the story that landed Piper in jail, spawned a best-selling memoir, and resulted in a Netflix show that held the nation in thrall. Who knew?