Favorite Seinfeld food moments

[Brian S]

It's amazing what dreadful food Seinfeld eats. Elaine likes the Big Salad just because it's big. Food is often used as a proxy for something else. Everyone wants to be given a free meal at Mendy's, not because it's good but because it's expensive. Bread from a good bakery is given as a status gift. But it's amazing how often food comes up. Chinese takeout, Chinese food at a restaurant with a sadistic, churlish owner, lobster (which makes repeat appearances -- in Long Island, as bisque, etc) , lots of scenes at restaurants. And there's some true food wisdom there. Seinfeld befriends a Pakistani who runs a wildly successful restaurant offering ecletic crowd-pleasers. He persuades him to change to rigorously authentic Pakistani food. No one wants it and the restaurant tanks. George wonders how a restaurant with 200 items on the menu manages to keep everything fresh. "Look at that. They got lobster on the menu. Who would order a lobster here. I mean, do they bring a lobster in everyday hoping *todays* the day?"

What are your favorites?

[Leper]

Brian, Certainly the Soup Nazi is on the short list. (From what I understand, he was based upon a real-life character in New York.) One of the joys of watching Seinfeld was knowing that Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer had no social redeeming values--including those associated with food.

[Brian S]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qdhfr...

[laylag]

The Soup Nazi was based on a real guy in NY who had one little soup place - west 55th if I recall correctly. Soups were amazing, prices high and he, Al Yeganeh the owner, was behaved exactly as he was portrayed on the show. I was there years and years ago before Seinfeld. Yeganeh, who made quite a stink with Seinfeld over the Nazi reference, now has a chain of soup places all over the city. I haven't tried them.

[wak]

I went there about a year after the show. There must have been a line of 50 people waiting outside for a $10 cup of soup, including one guy who pulled up in a limo and had his driver stand in line. From what I could tell, at least half the people in line were tourists like me. It was exactly like the show. Place your order, step to the right, and you get free bread. Depsite the hype, the soup was really quite good, although that was a long time ago.

[ESNY]

The soup was amazing and sadly closed a few years ago so he can get his franchise business up and running. His chain, The Original Soup Man, is a disgusting replacement.

And for the record, Babu's Dream Cafe in Seinfeld was anything but wildly successful. There was no one in the restaurant which is why Jerry recommended he change it to a Pakistani place.

[Bob W]

The Soup Nazi also spawned imitators like -- I kid you not -- "Soup Nutsy."

[christocc]

Brian, Babu's restaurant was not successful initially. That's why Jerry tried to convince him to change it to a Pakistani place.

On a side note, I happen to know that the real Seinfeld is a lousy tipper.

[adamshoe]

Said in Babu's thick Pakistani accent "Oh, Jerry, you're a very very BAD man"
Adam

[southernitalian]

I know this is an old post but i was just going to make this comment about it being wildly successful. Not!

[alkapal]

"anything *but* wildly successful" is the quote, though....

[Leonardo]

Elaine takes up residence in a janitor's closet of another apt bldg because a Chinese place won't deliver to her home.

"No soup for you!"

Elaine goes through great lengths to recover a lost nearly-full punch card of a sub shop she hates, all to get that free awful sub.

At the movies, Elaine is called to the hospital because her boyfriend was in an accident. She first takes the time to buy some joogie (sp?) fruits. He notices this and breaks up with her.

Kramer & Jerry, watching an operation from high up in the viewing gallery, flip a Junior Mint into their friend's body while Kramer is trying to force one on Jerry. He almost dies from complications later but makes a miraculous recovery. The doctor credits it to "assistance from above."

Kramer counts the days until the "Mackinac peaches from Oregon" (no such thing-there are great peaches here though) but loses his sense of taste from staying in Jerry's apt while it's being flea-bombed. Recovers it, but has already given away all the peaches to Newman.

Chocolate bobka!

Jerry & Kramer get banned from the neighborhood grocer for daring to return bad fruit.

[Infomaniac]

I like when Jerry and Kramer get banned from the fruit vendor, and Geroge goes out to but them fruit. Geroge then try's some of the mango, and feels like it gives him a vitamin B shot like Viagra.

[lynnlato]

Elaine and the chocolate bobka! The soup nazi goes w/o saying. How about the one where George is sweating in his office from eating the Kung Pao but his boss thinks it's b/c he's involved in recent thefts in the office and fires him. I think he also talked in the 3rd person like Jimmy... HA!

[EllenMM]

Jujee fruits - jujubes that always got stuck on your teeth. They were fruit flavored and shaped like tiny inverted flour pots.

[pinkprimp]

Aren't they shaped like fruits? I thought Dots were shaped like pots.

[alkapal]

here's ellen's jujubes: (see the "heid" brand box) http://www.oldtimecandy.com/jujubes.htm

[CindyJ]

Let's not forget the Marble Rye and the lobster hauled in from the ocean by Kramer!

[wak]

The Marble Rye show is the classic in my mind. And don't forget about the Beefarinos - same episode, Kramer bought huge cans of them at the Price Club and couldn't eat them, so he fed them to the horses. That was all one big show plot centered around food items.

[onefoodguy]

He fed them to the horse which pulled his carriage through central park, and the horse kept farting!

[Leonardo]

The purpose of that particular ride was to take Susan's parents for their anniv, so as to distract them from George trying to replace the marble rye that his parents had brought the night before, but was not served, so they took it back, and Jerry had to snatch the last one from an old lady who was a friend of his parents in FLA, then he hooked it to the end of a line and George reeled it in from the third floor. Of course, because of the horse's farting the ride was cut short, ensuring they would catch George in the act!

[Davwud]

The shot of him having reeled in the rye and holding it up like a trophy fish just as Susans parents walked in is classic.

DT

[wak]

That must rank up there as one of the best plots in SitCom history. The whole show is a classic.

[chickstein]

The Black and White cookie.

[eve]

Yes indeed--tied with George eating the already disposed of pastry from the garbage and the muffin crown thing--selling only the top halves and ditching the bottom.

[xica14]

The muffin top episode is my favorite food related Seinfeld.

[Aloo0628]

Yes! That black and white cookie description inspired me to try my first ever black and white cookie when I first moved to NYC...and Jerry was so right, it really tastes best when you get a little bit of both sides in every bite!

[CindyJ]

Hmmmm... does envelope glue count?

[Katie Nell]

Kenny Roger's Fried Chicken and Kramer getting "fried"!

[cor]

"Newman, you wouldn't eat broccoli if it was deep fried in chocolate sauce!"

[pemma]

The time Jerry couldn't eat because the restaurant chef/owner "Poppy" (sp?) didn't wash his hands after using the bathroom.

[Bob W]

Yes, Poppy was a little sloppy.

[lyn]

I always started drooling when the the one where Elaine wanted that Flounder from the Chinese place was showing (the one Leonardo mentioned) the Kung... POW!!! Chicken one was great do. It also made me hungry

[swsidejim]

great thread,

the Kenny Rogers Roasters was great, especially when Newman spits out the Broccoli., and needs a shot of sauce to get the vile taste from his mouth..

Also I like the one where they are waiting for a table @ the chinese restaurant, and the owner calls out the name Cartwright.. instead of Costanza...

what a great show

[Katie Nell]

I forgot about the broccoli part- I loved that!

Also, when Elaine is addicted to poppy seed chicken and keeps failing the drug tests!

[swsidejim]

It was great that that was how he tipped off Jerry the food wasnt for him,

"Broccoli, I love Broccoli.."

There are so many Seinfeld shows that revolve around food, I didnt realize it until this thread, I am sitting @ my desk almost laughing aloud remembering these episodes..

[Davwud]

"You wouldn't eat broccoli if it was deep fried in chocolate sauce."

Classic line.

I also liked the red laser beam coming from Kramers peep hole.

DT

[Sam Fujisaka]

I think that was a poppy seed bagel.

[ESNY]

Poppy seed muffin.

[MOOKIECOOKIE]

definitely a muffin

[butterchicken2nan]

You know a muffin can be really filling!

[llamapyjamas]

It was the poppy seed muffin that made her test positive for opiates. She then convinces Peterman to let her retest and stops eating the muffins. Right before her retest, however, she discovers a poppy seed in her teeth from some chicken Kramer had fed her.

She ends up testing negative for opium because she gets Jerry's mother's urine, but she doesn't get to go to Africa because she's menopausal with a 68-year-old's metabolism.

http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheSho...

[oakjoan]

Wasn't it poppy seed muffins that she had every morning?

[pie22]

i enjoyed the episode where they were waiting for a table at the chinese restaurant as well. i think my fave part was when elaine was so hungry jerry bet her to go to a random table and steal and egg roll and elaine was ready to do it but wanted to make sure there was no fine print attached like putting hot mustard on the egg roll - hilarious and obv the second they left they called their name!

[coll]

When George Steinbrenner loved a certain Italian hero and sent George to get one everyday for lunch, but George didn't put change in the tip jar and the place wouldn't sell him food. He was trying to talk everyone else into going there for him.

Also Elaine gets banned from the Soup Nazi's place, but ends up with his wooden chest and finds all his recipes in there, and goes to his restaurant to taunt him.

[prunefeet]

It was calzone!!

[coll]

Thanks! Wasn't it stuffed with something like eggplant?

[MacTAC]

George was caught taking money from the tip jar. He was retrieving the tip because the counterman didn't see him put it in, so he was going to put it back when the counterman would see...

[MacTAC]

Bruce Mahler played the Rabbi. LD also was a news stand dealer in one episode...

[Leonardo]

Larry David was Steinbrenner, and in one episode was the mysterious man in a cape who was spotted with George's dad (Jerry Stiller) who turned out to be his divorce lawyer.

[Brian S]

His voice is used as Steinbrenner's, but the actor whom you see onscreen is Lee Bear.

[Brian S]

One of my friends saw this and emailed me that I was wrong about the Pakistani restaurant, it got no business when it had an eclectic menu. He's right. http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheCafe.html But my version of the truth makes my point better: that really good authentic restaurants often fail as crummy crowd-pleasing chains prosper. All my favorite Pakistani restaurants have gone belly-up. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/247368 Although the correct version makes a point too: in NY at least some locations seem "cursed" -- every restaurant opened there fails. Either way, it's a funny show!!

[oakjoan]

Re: Brian S. - "all my favorite Pakistani restaurants have gone belly-up"

You should move to Berkeley, CA. There are a few around and a really good one on University Avenue, called Kabana.

[ipsedixit]

The "non-fat" yogurt ...

The poppyseed muffins ...

George and the Snickers Bar ... with knife and fork.

[coll]

Was that the one where Elaine wants to start a business selling only muffin tops?

[ipsedixit]

No, I think the poppyseed episode involved Elaine trying to go on an expedition with J. Peterman, but flunked the drug test.

She blamed the poppyseed muffins she was eating, of course.

Muffin top episode is a classic as well.

[CindyJ]

Top of the Muffin to you!

[Leonardo]

Yes. She goes into business with her former publishing boss.
But they can't get rid of the stumps. The homeless don't want them!

[Brian S]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eipl1...

[kerry6767]

The one where George's date has amazing risotto and reacts more orgasmically towards the food than she does durng sex with George. She admits that he is not as good as the risotto.

[lyn]

well then there was the one where elaine found the lobster bisque more exciting than the action with her date....

[CindyJ]

Wasn't that the "Yada, yada" episode? Another classic.

[Brian S]

Yes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yada...

[AlliantK]

Ha, ha...Seinfeld: "But you yada, yada'd over the best part!"...Elaine: "No, I mentioned the bisque."

[Hue]

How about Joe DiMaggio (The Yankee Clipper) eating at Dinky Donuts and dunking!!!!

[Blueicus]

There's also the one where Kramer tried to cook for a Jewish Singles Function and wanted to recruit George's father to cook, but can't because of a traumatic incident while as a mess cook in the army that sent the boys to the latrine.

[vwbug7]

Oh my gosh...yes, that one where Jerry's father had the flash back in slow motion of the guys in the mess hall was so funny.

[sila]

It was George's, I think.

[madisoneats]

George eating the eclaire out of the trashcan.

George eating the pastrami sandwich during sex.

[Leonardo]

He could only do his best performance while eating pastrami. One of my faves.

[themirthmobile]

pastrami, the most sensual of the smoked cured meats.

[Davwud]

George eating the sundae at the US Open.

DT

[welle]

That's classic. I remember they showed an upclose of Rosie O'Donnell stuffing herself at the 2000 Subway (World) Series - it was a talk at the watercooler next day at the office.

[kloomis]

What about Jerry's obsession with cereal (and displaying them)? I noticed also- - with all the restaurant and food references, it seemed that no one ever cooked, other than cereal. If you have ever watched "Curb your enthusiasm" you can tell Larry David is a little food obsessed(among other things). The food was often a metaphor. Kramer stealing the lobsters was one of my favorites.

[gaiadi]

'with all the restaurant and food references, it seemed that no one ever cooked, other than cereal'

I am a New Yorker and have countless friends with huge, subzero refridgerators that contain:

Britta Water Filter
Left over chinese food
Packets (not bottles) of ketchup and mustard

Some don't even bother to have the gas turned on in their apt. Never plan to use the stove.

[hana]

what about the bizarro episode where the other jerry kept the pastas in the same place that jerry kept the cereals?

[Katie Nell]

That reminds me of the Jerry made out of pasta- "Fusilli Jerry" with a little pasta microphone!

[Blueicus]

Heh, and Macaroni Midler.

[MacTAC]

It was a one in a million shot, Doc...

[Scagnetti]

Kramer goes back to work after the strike against the bagel shop ends.

The owner of Monk's threatens to banish them if they bring in their own maple syrup again.

[Leonardo]

The strike lasted 13 years. It ended only because the minimum wage went up, making the strike a moot point. He gets fired for dropping gum in the dough and pretending as if it didn't happen.

[spades]

I love it when Kramer used to carry his own maple syrup around.

Jerry: You bring your own maple syrup?
Kramer: Got to.

[middydd]

Elaine eating the old wedding cake. I think it was in Peterman's freezer.

[Leonardo]

It was from Prince Edward's wedding to Wallis Simpson in 1937. Peterman got it at auction for $35,000. It was caught on surveillance cam. As it was so old, she got deathly ill.

[Brian S]

That's from the Frogger episode, and there's a lot about various cakes that Elaine is either forced or forbidden to eat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDguXs...

[kloomis]

People in my family do that (carry Maple syrup). I think it's an upstate NY/Vermont thing... We are pretty particular about it.

[silence9]

Putty and Elaine on an airplane, referring to the timid window seat norwegian guy as 'Vegetable Lasagna'.

[vwbug7]

How about the episode where Elaine eats the slice of cake from J Peterman's office refigerator, come to find he paid thousands of dollars for it at an auction because it was a few hundered years old, some Queen's cake or something? So Elaine tries to replace it with a similar piece of cake from Entemann's Bakery, but she gets busted because JP can TELL that it is from Entemann's. She is also shown on video surveillance eating the cake and dancing around JP's office...quite funny.

[Frosty Melon]

That's the Entenmann's Shimsham! A phrase my friends and I still use.

[chef chicklet]

I laughed again just remember this particular episode, omg how funny she was! I think she and George were just the funniest!

[iluvcookies]

Entenmann's... do they have a castle at Windor?
No, a display case at the end of the aisle.

[alkapal]

the entemann's shimsham? lol! i did that in college, before seinfeld! ;-)).

[welle]

'Mutton' episode, when Jerry and Elaine pretend to enjoy mutton but hid them in the nice linen napkins, Jerry shoves them under couch cushions and Elaine in the jacket pockets. Elaine gets chased by the dogs and Jerry gets busted after the hostess's dog discovers the napkins and the 'Mutton'!

[Frosty Melon]

Great one...that's the one where Jerry tries to be vegetarian and asks Elaine what will be served for dinner. She says, "I don't know...but I'm sure it had *parents*!

[esyle]

that's when Jerry was mortified when he heard himself ordering "just a salad" when he was on a date w/Elaine's mutton-loving cousin.

[Leonardo]

The cousin took Jerry to a steakhouse. He asked the old-school beefy waiter "Do you have anything on the lighter side?" Answer: "We have chicken stuffed with gorgonzola with a lamb chop side" (or something like that). So Jerry ordered a salad, casting doubt in his meat-loving date's perception as to how manly he is.

At cousin's house, Elaine wrapped the mutton in Grandmother's heirloom napkins and stuffed them in her pockets, causing a pack of dogs to menace her on the walk home. Cousin was furious, saying Elaine was always jealous that Grandma loved her best.

[Brian S]

GEORGE: What exactly is mutton?

JERRY: I don't know and I didn't want to find out

I wonder if it is really mutton, which is quite rare nowadays, or only lamb. One famous New York's legendary $40 mutton chops are really lamb.

http://events.nytimes.com/2005/12/14/...

[alkapal]

keen's mutton: a 26 ounce saddle of lamb. now, thatsalottalamb!

[lyn]

what about Poppi not washing his hands after using the restroom and then making Jerry a " veddy especial dish with my veddy own hands.."

[lyn]

or Elaine sneezing on the Pasta Primevera that made the studio exec sick..

[dumpling]

How about "man hands" breaking up the steamed lobster with her bare hands. Jerry can hardly look.... LOL.

[Leonardo]

At the piano recital of a woman George is dating. Jerry offers Elaine some pez from his rather suggestive dispenser. He places it on her leg. Her laughter is uncontrollable & she leaves the hall in hysterics, ruining the performance and the evening.

Kramer uses all of Jerry's plastic food containers to store his own blood.

Kramer uses butter on his skin to sunbathe. He falls asleep, getting burned to a crisp. He takes a soothing bath. Somehow, Newman is there, helping him out stirring it up (adding onions to the bath?). Newman starts seeing (smelling!) him as a turkey with a Kramer head, begins salivating, freaking out Kramer.

[Fargo]

Kramer feeding the horse Beefarino!

The deli slicer episode -- Krmaer getrs a slicer and Elaine borrows it to slide pieces of cold cuts under the door to her neighbors cat, then uses it to slice off an inch from the bottom of her uneven shoe

Kramer and Newman making sausages in Jerry's apartment

The Costanzas offended by the SEinfelds not coming over for Paella

God, once you start rememebring them, you can't stop!!

[gangly handful]

Thank you, I've been waiting for someone to mention the sausage-making episode. For my money, the best one-off scene from Seinfeld. I want that music!

[Brian S]

And here it is, with your music!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAUP1w...

[cor]

Such a delicious cuisine-o
Fit for king and queen-o!

[isadorasmama]

How about when Jerry owes Kenny Banya a meal and Banya insists that his soup doesn't count as one meal so Jerry has to take him out again?

Or when Jerry and George are at Puddy's car dealership (high five) and George can't get the snack out of the vending machine.

[Leonardo]

He wanted Twix from the machine.

[lvmanager]

This is my personal favorite. The "candy lineup" that he spent an hour setting up only to have it all eaten by the employees while they debate the names and ingredients of popular candy bars.

[srcusa]

Wow. It's amazing how many food-related episodes I had completely forgotten about. Here's a link to a listing of the food references in each episode. One of my personal favorites was the "big salad" episode.

http://members.aol.com/Seinfeld10/Foo...

[88GK]

my favourite is when Kramer gets an assistant from NYU who then starts formally calling Jerry to invite him to the coffee shop.

And when Jerry calls the assistant back to inform Kramer that Elaine will be joining them for lunch, Kramer loses his cool and starts screaming at the assistant for not having the message relayed to him. Classic!!

[Brian S]

No one has mentioned the babka yet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i78azsi7M94
That was a great episode.

Or George's parents impressing his fiancee with their knowledge of wine and culinary terms for game hen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ueOxl-4s8o

George mistakes an onion for an apple but doesnt want to admit it so he eats the whole onion raw.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S8mqW...

[Gin and It]

It was just a sight gag, but Kramer and Newman suffing sausages in Jerry's kitchen, which were dangling all over everything... it was the "It's Go Time" episode.

[madisoneats]

When Jerry is on the date (Elaine's cousin?) and wants something lighter than a steak.
Waiter: We have a chicken dish. It's a whole bird, stuffed with gorgonzola.

Jerry: I'll just have salad. (echo-- just a salad, just a salad....)

[Leonardo]

Yes, Elaine's cuz was the meat freak who served them mutton, which Jerry hid in the napkins, as described way above.
She didn't find Jerry to be manly, ordering a salad in a steakhouse.

[tuqueboy]

how about the one where kramer settles the suit against the coffee shop for free coffee (ignoring the check for 50 grand the lawyer was about to hand him).

[laylag]

There are so many and everyone mentioned but must add that the key item in the LI lobster episode is the shrinkage issue and George's revenge on Jerry's kosher girlfriend. Priceless.

[laylag]

As have been posted there are so many because New York and New Yorkers are exceedingly food focused and obsessed and Jerry and company are nothing if not quintessential New Yorkers - although some of us do have redeeming social value.

[ecustard]

Not simply food focused--it also has a bit to do with the fact that many New Yorkers live in shoebox=sized places and meet each other in restaurants and bars, not their apartments.

[oakjoan]

NY'rs are food obsessed but not cooking obsessed. Few of our friends cook but they realllllly know food and where they want to eat. And a lot of them live in large apartments with good kitchens.

[HDinCentralME]

Kramer wanting to go into business (with Poppy?) with a "make your own" pizza concept.

[luv2bake]

I think I read/skimmed every post up to this point, and I don't remember anyone mentioning Jerry's love of Snapple.

Also, the Chinese restaurant one (where they didn't have reservations) was mentioned, but no one mentioned how Jerry said he'd pay Elaine $50 to go take food from the table of some restaurant patrons. And George said for $50, he'd stick his face in their soup. hahaha

This was a fun thread. Might have to watch an episode of Seinfeld tonight. :)

PS to Leonardo - It's Jujyfruits. Try them - they're delicious!!

[calabasas_trafalgar]

on the Kenny Rogers Roasters, where Kramer gets color-blinded by the red sign, and he pours tomato juice on his cereal because he thought it was milk!

[ML8000]

You guys have covered most. I'll add the JuJy Fruits/pop corn break up w/ Elaine and Jake Jarmyl (sic) and the Junior Mint Miracle and straving artist.

[shindiganna]

what about Kramer feeding a price club can of beefaroni to the horse.....

and Festivus dinner.... also beefaroni?

[Brian S]

And don't forget the one where chowhound Elaine tries to buy a gyro from the best gyro stand in Queens during the few seconds her subway train stops there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pJimz...

[Leonardo]

No, it's Kramer. He leaves the train to get the gyro, only his hand holding the gyro makes it back as the doors close on his arm. A guy inside the subway grabs it from him as the train takes off.

[silence9]

No, it's Elaine as well (later in the episode). She in fact does get the gyro and ends up spilling the hummus/tahini on the TV Guide she was returning to George's father's collection. He rebukes her spilling gyro sauce on his precious TV Guide.

[Hue]

The Al Roker on the front TV Guide

[ipsedixit]

Not necessarily 100% food, but what about Jerry's date with the "man-hands" and how she breaks open the lobster claws with her bare hands at dinner ...?

[QueenB]

1. "Top of the Muffin...to YOU!"

2. When Kramer washes lettuce in his shower. That one cracked me up.

[lvmanager]

Ah, the germaphobe episode! Classic.

[personalcheffie]

Didn't he put a garbage disposal in his shower?

[Leonardo]

Yes. He prepared a salad in the shower, serving it to a recovered germaphobe. After telling her where he made it, she promptly had a terrible relapse.

[luv2bake]

ROFL I can't believe I forgot that one! Classic.

[oakjoan]

The funniest thing is "recovering germophobe" ROTFL!

[shindiganna]

ROTFLMAO @ the memory of Kramer washing lettuce

[personalcheffie]

Kramer feeding the horse Beefaroni! The infamous Price Club shopping episode.

Macaroni Midler!

[Sam Fujisaka]

George tricks a guy his size out of a half-off suit. He then has lunch with guys interviewing him for a job. Team play is important. Dessert comes, he is prompted by the others to give it a try, but he sees the guy he tricked is part of the cook staff and is aware of George's eating in the resto. George refuses to eat the pie, doesn't get the job, but doesn't--like the others--get violently ill.

[Leonardo]

Right. The boss fired the previous person for not being a team player. So it's a major snub when George refuses to try the dessert.

[tony michaels]

Waitress at Monk's Restaurant: Tuna on toast, cole slaw, cup of coffee.
George Costanza: Yeah. No, no, no, wait a minute. I always have tuna on toast. Nothing's ever worked out for me with tuna on toast. I want the complete opposite of tuna on toast. Chicken salad on rye, untoasted, with a side of potato salad and a cup of tea.
Elaine Benes: Well, there's no telling what can happen from this.
Jerry Seinfeld: You know, chicken salad's not the opposite of tuna. Salmon's the opposite of tuna, because salmon swim again the current and the tuna swim with it.
George Costanza: Good for the tuna.

[Gary Soup]

Kramer wants fresh eggs so he buys a chicken. Jerry tells him the chicken isn't laying eggs because it's a rooster. Kramer turns the chicken and stares into its rear end.

[aecs]

Oh I love this post! My favorite (that hasn't been mentioned yet) was the one where they keep mentioning Drake's Coffee Cakes...Jerry is seeing the girl who's boyfriend is in the coma and he bribes Newman not to tell the guy with Drakes Coffee Cakes. I can't help but laugh everytime I see one in the store.

[Polecat]

I had to go out and buy a few of those after seeing that episode. What Jerry refers to as the "big boy" is a lot smaller than I remembered. Or perhaps it's just that I've gotten bigger....

[YumTum]

"I got news for you. I show up with Ring Dings and Pepsi, I become the biggest hit at the party. People be coming up to me, "just between you and me I'm really excited about the Ring Dings and the Pepsi. Europeans with the Beaujolais and Chardonnay . . ."- George Costanza- "The Dinner Party"

[ericalloyd]

jerry at his folks in del boca vista florida who insist they go to dinner at some ridiculously early afternoon time so they can catch the early bird special. so true to life. my folks in florida do the same thing!

george thinks his model girlfriend is 'refunding' dinner in the restaurant bathroom. "i'm paying good money. the least she can do is digest!"

[iluvcookies]

Jerry: I'm not force feeding myself a steak at 4:30 in the afternoon to save a couple of bucks!
Jerry's Dad: By the time we sit down, it'll be quarter to five.

[madisoneats]

Kramer bastes himself in butter to sunbathe. All Newman can see when he looks at him is a giant turkey.

[basicfoodgroupie]

All of the above posts are great! They definately bring back fond memories of the show.

I love the episode where the gang is going to see a movie (I think "Rochelle, Rochelle" and Kramer has the jones for a hot dog from Papaya King.

Mmmm, hot dogs.

Patrick

[Polecat]

The way Kramer and Newman feel about the Macinaw Peaches - that's how I feel about Pink Lady Apples. The good ones, anyway. P.

[luv2bake]

Whole Foods hooked me on good Pink Lady apples.

But if I could ever consistently find truly delicious, non-mealy, huge, juicy peaches again in my life, I'd give up Pink Ladies...

[isadorasmama]

Before we went to bed last night I told my husband about this thread and we laughed ourselves silly trying to remember the ones that hadn't been posted here the last time I checked. We couldn't believe no one mentioned the Trifecta! When George has a goal of eating, having sex and watching TV all at the same time. Remember...the woman who says that corned beef is her favorite of the cured lunch meats?!

And, how about when George wants to be referred to as T-Bone?! Ha!

And, I'm pretty sure no one has mentioned Double Dipping!

[personalcheffie]

Ah yes, double dipping created a new standard by which to pay attention.

I just saw Season 7 for sale right before Xmas. I only had up to Season 6. Anyone know when the rest of the seasons will be released?

[eve]

thanks for adding this doozy of food related mention.

[john]

The trifecta is absolutely hilarious.

There are a couple of other great episodes that seem to have been missed:

1) When the Cuban cigar makers get hired to roll up wraps and roll them too tight

2) The issue where Poppy doesn't wash his hands

3) The episode where Kramer has been on strike for several years from his job at H&H Bagels

[Blueicus]

The Dominican cigar wrappers were making crepes and rolled them too tightly (at the Magic Pan, IIRC), causing the insides to squirt at people when they cut into it.

[personalcheffie]

Yes, YAC (You are correct), but the clincher was that they suffered burns from the hot crepe insides.

[laylag]

These pretzels are making me thirsty!

and does Pez count as food or it just kitsch trivia? - the one where Jerry puts a pez dispenser on Elaine's lap at George's girlfriend's piano performance.

[luv2bake]

Oh, my GOSH, I can't believe I forgot that! We use that line (or rather a variation of it) at least weekly! "This pizza is making me thirsty," etc., using their inflections, of course.

[oakjoan]

Wasn't that from the Woody Allen episode when Kramer got a speaking part? His line was "These peanuts are making me thirsty." He says it with every possible inflection.

[Leonardo]

"Pretzels" not peanuts.

[Polecat]

In general, Seinfeld nails diner culture to the wall. Just the way, after lingering long enough over that third or fourth refill of coffee, people start digging into what really matters - such as the Wrath of Khan and masturbation contests (which, when you think about it, are not all that different).

[BJK]

"Hey George, the ocean called, they're running out of shrimp!"
"Yeah? Well, the jerk store called, they're running out of you!"
"Yeah? Well, you're their all time best seller!"
"I slept with your wife!"
"His wife's dead."

:)
BK

[dmleo]

One of my all time favorites is the episode where George's girlfriend tells him they can no longer date because he's not Latvian Orthodox, then proceeds to order the lobster for dinner, which Elaine and Jerry ultimately wind up eating.

[welle]

What about Geoge's mother's paella she cooks for Seinfields? I think Kramer is the CH of the bunch - he's the only one who cooks on the show (sausages, salad), discovers new foods (he's the one who got them all into Soup Nazi). He's the connoisseur of fine things on the show - not food related, but I love the episode with Cuban cigars.

[jdf]

Yeah, especially when Kramer is in the shower bathing and making a salad at the same time.

[Kbee]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Mr. Pitt eating the snickers bar with a knife and fork!

[luv2bake]

ipsedixit did yesterday. :)

[Leonardo]

...and by the end of the show, it seems as if everyone in NY is eating candy bars in that way!

[Blueicus]

I loved the skittles with a spoon. If only I can do that with reeses pieces...

[Sam Fujisaka]

Yes, and the end piece has Elaine getting up and yelling at everyone, "What's wrong with all you people...have you all gone nuts?"

[Newburyport John]

2 more:

1. Snapple

2. Non-fat yogurt

[a_and_w]

Clams Casino -- a specialty of the house.

[ESNY]

Nonfat frozen yogurt - with Rudy Guiliani and the best line from Newman "Another round of strawberry for me and my friends!!" followed by everyone giggling.

In the pilot episode the waitress told Jerry not to worry about George being quiet because she switched his decaf with caffenated coffee so that should "Perk him up"

The US Open when George is eating a Sundae and gets hot fudge all over his face and is soon all over the TV.

Cinnamon Babka takes a backseat to no Babka!!

[hana]

it's chocolate babka that takes a backseat to no babka. the cinnamon babka is inferior to the chocolate

[ESNY]

Nope, they sold out of chocolate babka. When the lady behind the counter offerred them the cinnamon version Elaine said that they couldn't show up late with babka that was inferior to the chocolate babka, thus Jerry replied that "Cinnamon babka takes a backseat to no babka!"

[Bob W]

IIRC, chocolate babka is "a better babka."

[MOOKIECOOKIE]

a couple of other good ones are when kramer is trying to get the latvian orthodox nun to NOT be attracted to him and he bathes in garlic and something else... vinegar, maybe so she is no longer attracted to him.

the other food theme not mentioned is when jerry finds the chunky candybar wrapper in his couch, which instantly informs him who has been in his apt> "OH, I KNOW THE CHUNKY THAT LEFT THESE CHUNKIES.... NEWMAN!!!"

[a_and_w]

Kavorka!

[dmleo]

There's also the episode where Elaine is dating a guy who is really poor and rummages in the trash for food and subsequently finds the elusive bear claw.

"You know, Elaine, you are the bear claw in
the garbage can of my life."

This is also the same episode where Elaine comments on what type of food she would chose prior to being executed:

"I mean, if I was getting the chair, I'd go for
something hot and spicy. You know, thai, maybe Mexican. Lethal injection,
feels like pasta. You know, painless, don't want anything to heavy."

[ndl]

possibly the funniest moment on that show (although that is a huge statement, i know) is when george has to share his bed with his father, and he gets in, and his dad turns to him, holding out a bowl and says "kasha?"

what about when they're auditioning people for the sitcom and the guy who plays kramer steals the raisins(?) from the table.

then there's also the meeting with the japanese TV executives, when they bring them oranges, thinking they're this great treat.

also the primavera that makes the nbc exec. sick.

the one when joe divola is outside the diner (or jerry thinks he is) and asks the cop to walk him out, and the cop says he's just having coffee and a muffin first. then he orders a sandwich. "i got hungry." "a muffin can be very filling!"

when kramer is dating elaine's roommate and he strains his tomato sauce in the colander, so all the holes are filled with seeds.

when elaine is blacklisted from the chinese restaurant delivery. but i can't remember why...

does the peach schnapps count, in the backwards episode?

i know these have been mentioned but i love "these pretzels are making me thirsty" and "thanks for mutton!" and "vegetable lasagne".

[MMRuth]

"when elaine is blacklisted from the chinese restaurant delivery. but i can't remember why..."

I believe she was blacklisted because she lived outside the delivery zone and commandeered (sp?) a broom closet in a building w/in the zone and pretended it was her apartment.

[Bob W]

later in the episode she used her boyfriend's name, Ned Isikoff, to order food from the same restaurant. When the guy showed up he saw elaine and told the bf he was blacklisted too. The bf, who was possibly a communist, asked why? The restaurant guy pointed at Elaine and said, "SHE NAMED NAMES!"

[Polecat]

"ater in the episode she used her boyfriend's name, Ned Isikoff, to order food from the same restaurant..."
Bob W and MMRuth:
Those are two separate episodes.
P.

[ESNY]

The episode where Elaine was blacklisted is the same episode with Ned Isikoff. She was blacklisted because they tried to deliver her something that she didn't order and refused to pay for it.

The episode where she takes over the janitor's closet so she can order the flounder is a different episode.

[Leonardo]

Ned by association was also blacklisted because she "named names". , meaning she used Ned's name to make the order. This is epsecially bitter for Ned the communist because his dad was blacklisted for real in the 50's, and he and his friends were always welcome to hang out in this Chinese restaurant.

[isadorasmama]

ndl, those are GREAT ones! it's amazing how many there are...and how incredibly funny the show is. genius. pure genius.

[oakjoan]

Oooh, that's what it is? I knew it wasn't pizza that was making Kramer thirsty...I thought it was peanuts.

[Niblet]

When Jerry squirts grapefruit pulp into George's eye causing George to wink inappropriately:

Ow, you just squirted grapefruit pulp in my eye!
That didn't go across the table, pulp can't move that fast.
Pulp can move, baby!
I eat healthy, if I have to take out an eye that's the breaks.

...so you're going for a massage, huh? [wink] Enjoy your massage....

[silence9]

Another: Elaine's much-older boyfriend passes put on Jerry's couch, then Kramer put's a cookie in the unconscious guy's mouth and proceeds to manually work the guys jaw to chew the cookie (thinking he's diabetic). Later in the same episode, they have Elaine nursing the fellow back to health (turns out he's had a severe stroke), spoonfeeding him soup and treating him (condescendingly) like an infant ( i HATE the mean-spirited, non-funny, and unnecessary jab this episode takes at stroke survivors, btw)... Also, another episode when George makes tuna salad sandwiches for his new rock-climbing buddy (actor Dan Cortese?), Elaine's male-bimbo boyfriend...

[chef4hire]

navy bean, navy bean, l liiiikkkee my navy bean!

[coney with everything]

Yankee bean, not navy :)

[beetlebug]

The contest episode... classic. Tangential to food, but one of the funniest episodes ever.

George's mom is in the hospital, after catching him...

George goes to the hospital to visit. The mom is starving, "George, I'm hunnnnnnggggrrry."

"in a minute, Ma."

The reason why he won't pick up food for his mother? He wants to watch the mom's roommate receive a sponge bath.

George's sex fantasies trump his mom's food needs... didn't he offer her a mint while he waited?

[Brian S]

Well that episode begins, as so many do, with the gang of four chowing down at their favorite restaurant hangout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBRlO6...

[Davwud]

Yes, he flipped her some tic tacs.

DT

[Tonto]

And that was an ad lib on George's part which brought the other actor's to their knees. A Tic Tac was the offering. Hilarious!

[calabasas_trafalgar]

How about the Junior Mint Kramer and Jerry dropped into a patient's body while they were watching him have surgery?

[lyn]

...when Elaine decribes the smell of georges parents' house as "Kasha and dandruff".

[CindyJ]

I never realized how prominently food plays in Seinfeld before all of these wonderful posts. Gee... why aren't the reruns on the Food Channel?

(That Kasha episode was just on yesterday or the day before. Soooooo funny!!)

[Brian S]

I never realized it either -- and I started the thread! It's awesome!

[CindyJ]

This is one of the best threads I've ever read! Maybe that's because I'm such a huge Seinfeld fan, and I can recall just about every mention posted here. Come to think of it, I actually had a dream about Seinfeld last night. In this dream, I was standing on line at a movie theater. I turned around to speak to a young man who was about 4 people behind me. I said to him, "Do you really think Seinfeld is a show about NOTHING? Well it's not ... it's a show about FOOD!"

[Brian S]

I like this! I could use it about my life. It's not about nothing, it's about food!!!

[CindyJ]

LOL! I have a feeling that that's a line quite a few of us here could use.

[sila]

certainly me!

[jenniebnyc]

how about when george ate the eclair at his GF's parents apt...OUT OF THE GARBAGE

thanks for the clarification leonardo!

[Brian S]

"While other humorists target undiscussed aspects of reality, few do so as dramaturgically as Jerry Seinfeld. ... They eat food prematurely redefined as trash"

-- from "Sociology of Humor and a Critical Dramaturgy" by P Paolucci, M Richardson, 2006 - Univ California Press (thank you, Google Scholar, for finding this)

[welle]

LOL, I think later he accidentally spills coffee on someone's windshield, and while wiping it gets busted by the same woman - later to his gf: 'I have a job! Well, did she see a squeegee? Well, you're not going to make a dime without a squeegee.'

[Leonardo]

It was a pre-Susan GF. It was a chocolate eclair. And it appeared to have not been previously eaten, so what's the problem, lol?

This was already mentioned as have been many others. I think people aren't reading previous posts.

BOSCO! How could we have forgotten?
It was George's ATM PIN. Kramer came close to actually guessing it until George stormed out in a panic. Then he told Peterman's mom on her deathbed. It was her final dying word. Peterman kept pumping George for its meaning, but he wouldn't cough it up.

[Brian S]

One bite of the eclair had been eaten.

JERRY: So lemme get this straight: you find yourself in the kitchen. You see an éclair, in the receptacle. And you think to yourself, "What the hell, I'll just eat some trash."

GEORGE: No, no. No, no, no. It was not trash!

JERRY: Was it in the trash?

GEORGE: Yes.

JERRY: Then it was trash.

GEORGE: It wasn't down in, it was sort of on top.

JERRY: But it was in the cylinder!

GEORGE: Above the rim.

JERRY: Adjacent to refuse, is refuse.

GEORGE: It was on a magazine! And it still had the doily on.

JERRY: Was it eaten?

GEORGE: One little bite.

JERRY: Well, that's garbage.

GEORGE: But I know who took the bite. It was her aunt!

JERRY: Well, you, my friend, have crossed the line that divides Man and Bum. You are now a Bum.

[jenniebnyc]

Love it! Thanks for the recap!

[Polecat]

Brian,
You've let loose what could very well be a record-breaking thread here, in terms of the volume of quick responses. Could it be that your Seinfeld completism and expertise rivals that of your knowledge of and enthusiasm for Chinese cuisine? Or, is it just that you're logging in some serious couch/TV time in Tulsa?

Question: In the episode where Kramer purchases the old, classic movie theatre - the same episode where George marches about in a Henry the 8th costume, and a recovering Lloyd Braun thinks Elaine is coming on to him - doesn't he actually eat an ancient hot dog from the concession stand, just to prove that Lloyd isn't still crazy? My oncoming senility is preventing my brain from wrapping itself around this Seinfeld memory.
P.

[coll]

Is that the one where he finds the Mike Douglas TV set furniture in a dumpster? But I hardly remember anything else....

[Leonardo]

K resurrects the Moke Douglas show in his apt., totally different episode.

Yes, K-man eats an 80 year old hot dog to prove that Lloyd is not crazy. Same episode as the horrible Chinese gum.

[coll]

I can't believe there are a few episodes I never saw, I'll have to start watching again.

[queenscook]

It was actually the Merv Griffin Show's set.

[Shrinkrap]

Is this the movie theatre where Elain is buying popcorn and is offered butter. She asks "is it real butter?", and I believe the girl at the counter sys "it's yellow".

[chaddict]

Ah, the one where Jerry is dating a woman with a primo toy collection. Elaine can't wait for a crack at the Easy Bake Oven (never mind how old the mixes), someone needs the gumballs (can't remember why), and the gang knocks the girlfriend out with turkey and red wine so that they can play away

[mark]

wasn't there one where jerry winds up with an entire case of ginsing gum?

[silence9]

Yes, Jerry mistakenly gives George's nemesis, Lloyd Braun, a one hundred dollar bill to purchase some crappy gum in chinatown (egged on by Kramer). Later on, Jerry, Lloyd and kramer are sitting together on a couch like pitiful 'sausage-party' losers,chewing the awful gum...

[Leonardo]

I'm not sure if it's gingseng. He hates the gum, but Lloyd just got out of the mental hospital, and everyone's afraid to upset him.

[isadorasmama]

How about the seltzer/salsa episode?
And...
fusilli Jerry
When Jerry gets banned from the fruit stand

[Hue]

The time bending episode where we are kept up to date by the size of Kramers All Day Sucker.(The FDR Episode?)

[silence9]

More (some tangential): a) Kramer is visiting with Elaine's psychiatrist/svengali boyfriend and acts perplexed when the psychiatrist cannot make a fancy latte beverage for him at the office. b) Elaine maces Crazy Joe Divola in the eyes with cherry binaca, when he shows her his shrine of infatuation. c) Kramer is jonesing for a Papaya Dog while holding a place in a movie line, setting in motion several missed encounters. And my favorite (but very tangential): d) when Elaine gets caught by her new boyfriend and her bitchy girfriends skipping out on the film 'The English patient', the disdainful boyfriend spits out the condescending comment: " Enjoy Sack Lunch! ".

[butterchicken2nan]

Psychiatrist - Would you like something to drink?
Kramer - How about a decaf cappucino?
Psychiatrist - We don't have that.
Kramer - Don't you think that is a little strange?

[personalcheffie]

Does hot coffee count? How can we forget Kramer burning himself on the coffee at the theater, trying to sneak it in, and then he hires the infamous Jackie Childs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jenniebnyc]

How about the pudding tops? Wasn't this a Seinfeld episode as well.

[silence9]

Yes, George 'invent's pudding-skin singles...

[Blueicus]

Oh man, a coworker was talking about that while we were working. Ha, I guess I never watched that one.

[pellegrino31]

I don't think this was mentioned yet (have to credit my SO for the reminder) and it's somewhat tangential: Not That There's Anything Wrong with It - when Jerry has that NYU reporter up to his apartment for the interview, George is complaining to Jerry about whether he washed the fruit (apple?) enough - they banter back and forth and George finally says "you see how he talks to me?" and the reporter replies "you should see how my boyfriend talks to me".

[welle]

Not food related, but I just saw a guy in a fur coat - everytime I see a guy in a fur coat, it always reminds me of the Seinfield episode 'It's not a purse, it's European'...

[MOOKIECOOKIE]

yes, it's not a purse, it's a european carry-all.

[personalcheffie]

Well, they've put a whole new meaning on life -

Regifting (Red Lobster G/C thread)
Double Dipping
Master of Your Domain
FESTIVUS!

Yikes!

[Leonardo]

Actually, Festivus was invented by some eccentric professor type back in the 60's. There were airing of grievances but no feats of strength.

What was the traditional food served at Festivus on Seinfeld?

[coll]

I can't remember the food on the show, but I named a cookie I make at Christmas a "Festivus Cookie". Just because I couldn't think of a good name otherwise.

[CindyJ]

Gosh -- a Seinfeld trivia question I can't answer. But I'll guess anyway -- was it Kasha?

[AlliantK]

"Do you have Tutti Fruti?" ha, ha...Kramer is running around the city trying to find Tutti Fruti flavored Italian Ice for Bette Midler.

[shanda013]

"Yah you sold me a hair with a bobca around it" or "Look to the cookie Elaine" same episode. Oh yes and when Kramer prepares a whole meal in the shower. haha.

[Polecat]

Yes, yes. Only on Seinfeld can "look to the cookie" be perceived as a mantra for improving race relations.
P.

[Feed_me]

Kind of tangential, but what about Elaine's nemisis Sue Ellen Mishky? The heir to the O'Henry candy bar fortune. After Kramer is injured in an accident being distracted by Sue Ellen walking in public using a bra as outerwear he goes to his lawyer Jackie Childs. Jackie isn't all that excited until he learns of Sue Ellen's fortune. Jackie's rapid fire talk about the bars is pretty funny. I think he says, "outstanding" at the end. One other small one is the episode where George fails to read a book and tries to rent the movie at the video place. The video is out on rental. George finds out who has it out and talks his way into their apartment. Before they start the video George asks if they have anything to "nosh." He ends
up spilling grape juice on their nice, white sofa. I had to strain for these scraps. You CHers must have watched as regularly as I did.

[ndl]

this is kind of addictive. here are 3 i think haven't been mentioned:

the summer of george. jerry says something like "it's kind of disturbing that your idea of luxury is eating a block of cheese in your underwear."

the one where it comes out that george's dad was a great cook in the army but quit because he once made everyone sick (hilarious slow-mo war flashbacks, soldiers keeling over, etc.) he goes off on g's mom, tells her her meatloaf is dry, etc. and then i think kramer convinces him to cook for some event, and he thinks someone gets sick from the meal and freaks out, overturning all the tables.

the one when jerry is in first class and elaine's in coach (this is the kosher meal episode too, i think), sitting next to a model. at one point they're sharing an ice cream sundae. jerry says the reason it's good is that they put the fudge on the bottom, maximizes the fudge quotient, or something. the model says "i never met a man who knew so much about nothing."

[iluvcookies]

but the block of cheese is the size of a car battery...

[Sam Fujisaka]

The only time Jerry's oven was put to use was when George stuck his head in it after hearing from Donna Chang (not Chinese) that his (George's) parents were getting a divorce. Geaorge was not upset about the divorce so much as having to make two visits every weekend.

[dmleo]

Also tangential, but in the fusilli Jerry episode Kramer wears a shirt with red lobsters all over it.

[CindyJ]

...just saw that "Fusilli Jerry" episode last light. I had forgotten that that's the same episode that begins with George and his mother at Monks, commenting about the lobster on the menu.

[welle]

This morning news about Vincent Sardi Jr's passing away reminded me of the episode when Kramer wins a Tony and goes to Sardi's to celebrate, where he is told by producers that he has to fire Raquel Welch in order to keep his Tony!

[MOOKIECOOKIE]

this is just on the brim of being a "food" episode, but how about when elaine's friend, the runner from somewhere in africa, is winning the nyc marathon only to grab a cup of what he assumes is water since kramer is standing right next to the water station. he mistakenly grabs kramer's cup filled with scalding hot coffee and dumps it on his head right at the end of the race.

[ESNY]

Don't forget in that episode Elaine also burned her blueberry muffin because she set the microwave for 2:00 instead of twenty seconds.

[personalcheffie]

That's OK, I mentioned Kramer getting burned with the hot coffee!

[dmleo]

Steinbrenner muses about his lunch in "The Jimmy" episode while George slowly squirms his way out of the boss' office:

"Well lets see what I have today. Darn it it's ham & cheese again and she forgot the fancy mustard. I told her I like that fancy mustard. You could put that fancy mustard on a shoe and it would taste pretty good to me. Oh! she made it up with a cupcake though. Hey look at this, you know I got a new system for eating these things. I used to peel off the chocolate now I turn them upside down, I eat the cake first and save the frosting for the end. It's almost like its own dessert."

[JennS]

In case anyone doesn't know this bit of Seinfeld trivia, Larry David was the voice of George Steinbrenner.

[Leonardo]

Larry was also the mysterious Man in a Cape, with whom George's dad was seen hanging with on a city street. Elaine & Jerry were so weirded out by seeing this that they avoided them. Turned out to be his divorce atty.

[sila]

and he was the Rabbi that lived in Elaine's building!

[oakjoan]

Larry David was the rabbi that lived in Elaine's building? The nerdy guy who gossips about her to others? They guy who hits on her?

Are you sure?

[Leonardo]

Larry David was in no way the chatty rabbi in Elaine's building. Not a chance.

[Brian S]

You're right

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Ma...

[Polecat]

Has anyone mentioned the episode where George introduces Steinbrenner to calzones?

Or what about when George is sweating so much from the Kung Pao Chicken he's eating, that his supervisor thinks the sweat is due to nervous guilt over recent thefts (?)

"George likes his chicken spicy"

[jenniebnyc]

RE: Calzone
and George takes the tip out of the jar b/c the counter guy didn't see him put it in originally!!!

[silence9]

Inauthentic NY-style pizza: Ever notice (the once or twice) when George and Jerry are eating take-out/delivered pizza at Jerry's place, the pizza George is stuffing into his piehole is most definitely NOT thin crust as you would get in NYC? A sure telltale sign that the series was not being filmed in the Big Apple! The 'pizza' that they eat looks like something that the sit-com's L.A. catering service would have on hand, i.e. thick-ish crust and clay-like cheese veneer... Also, when Jerry is eating a sandwich at the corner diner, he tends to chew with his mouth open, generally (such as the episode where Elaine is crying about the recounted plight of the Bubble-Boy and she hands out a kleenex to wipe away tears and Jerry uses it to wipe his mouth as he eats his sandwich; right before he wipes his mouth, notice how he chews with his mouth agape...

[lila]

Most of my favorites have already been mentioned, but here are a couple of other ones I thought of:

1)

In the same episode that has the candy bar lineup, Elaine, Jerry and Puddy are all at the car dealership...

Elaine: my new Salesman boyfriend took me to lunch to celebrate his promotion!
Jerry: where'd you guys go?
Elaine (flustered and vague): uh... to a restaurant...
Puddy (proudly): Arby's.

Later in the episode, Elaine is fighting with Puddy. She looks at him and grumbles to herself in disgust... 'takin' me to Arby's!' (spoken like a true Chowhound).

Later still, Jerry is trying to get them to make up so he can get a good deal on his car. This whole scene of getting them back together is set up kind of like a car negotiation and part of the terms of them making up is Elaine's demand of "Arby's no more than once a month".

2)

In the Bubble Boy episode, Elaine and Jerry stop at a diner near the Bubble Boy's house. Elaine makes a point of not being hungry and just orders a glass of water, but she makes Jerry give the diner lady an autographed picture even though he clearly doesn't want to, and as "revenge" Jerry orders a big meal for her while she's getting the photo from the trunk of his car. This backfires, though, because later you see Elaine eating and she comments that the food is delicious.

3)

Banya writing a whole series of jokes about Ovaltine

4)

This one's really random - in the episode where George is diagnosed as a "rageaholic", he's eating with Jerry at Monk's and right in the middle of the conversation he suddenly stops and angrily yells "this bread has nuts in it!", apropos of nothing.

Was the hot dog Kramer is obsessed with in the movie theater episode Papaya King or Gray's Papaya? I've tried both when visiting NYC, mostly because of Seinfeld.

[Polecat]

I'm pretty sure that Kramer, in a whiny tone, stated that he wanted a Papaya King hot dog (as opposed to the movie theatre dogs).

[Sam Fujisaka]

There was an episode seemingly all about food:

a. Poppie getting re-instated as a restranteur and serving great duck;
b. Jerry and Elaine calling a day ahead to order but not eating the duck because of Poppie's stand on abortion (and Jerry getting Elaine to ask Poppy about that stand);
c. Kramer and Poppie going into the make your own pizza buisiness;
d. K & P disagreeing as to the appropriateness of putting cucumber on pizza;
e. George asking for nosh, getting peanuts rather than popcorn, and spilling grapejuice on the couch of the family with the copy of "Little Women";
f. Poppy ruining Jerry's new couch followed by Elaine's moving guy ruining Jerry's old couch, again with grape juice.
g. In the whole episode all that gets consumed are peanuts (George) and cereal (Elaine).

[queenscook]

Just read through this entire thread. Minor correction: George was watching Breakfast at Tiffany's, not Little Women.

[Leonardo]

I thought the horrible barber ruined the couch by peeing on it.

George: "The sea was angry, my friends...like an old man returning soup at a deli!"

[Polecat]

Poppy wasn't a barber, he was a restaurateur with some serious bathroom etiquette deficits. You're thinking of Enzo Martinelli, from another episode.

In my wildest dreams, when Brian started up this most-fun thread (thanks, Brian), I - a Seinfeld devotee - never would have imagined that there could have been this many relevant food references. The floodgates are busting.

You can actually break them up into categories. In the "Too old to eat" category, for instance, we have Elaine - in the Mike Douglas/injured squirrel episode - eating batter from an Easy Bake Oven that's over thirty years old, while attempting to serve up those great old '70's gumballs to her halitosis-suffering, sidling co-worker. In another episode, she eats that ancient piece of cake that Peterman purchases at Sotheby's. Then, of course, there's Kramer eating the frizzled lone dog in the movie house he has just purchased.

This thread might just make a great coffee table book some day. Hey - there's another reference: Kramer's coffee table book about coffee tables! (I think it's safe to say that his spitting up all over Kathy Lee's KL Casuals is a bona-fide food moment. We could easily put it in the Spilling Coffee category, along with the scene where George, after purchasing flowers for his girlfriend, tosses coffee onto a guy's windshield, or the classic moment where Kramer, hiding coffee in his pants while attempting to see Plan 9 From Outer Space, spills it on himself and gets scalded).
P.

[CindyJ]

No -- that was Poppy's "accident." That was the sofa that George's father slept on, much to his dismay when he found out about it. And doesn't Poppy sit down on a new sofa at the very end of that episode?

[Polecat]

He sure does. "Poppy's a little sloppy".
P.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Yes, Poppy pissed on Jerry's new white couch.

[Brian S]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7a7PQ...

[Bob W]

"Poppy was a little sloppy" was Jerry's commentary on Poppy's toilet habits from the earlier Poppy episode.

[num nums]

i just saw this awesome thread! i've read every post and think i've managed to come up with a few moments not mentioned:

the calzones episode is already mentioned, but there's the part where kramer gets his shirt dried, actually burnt, in a pizza oven.

newman and kramer have the bottle deposit return scheme. newman chugs bottles of pop. is the pop mellow yellow?

at a critical moment when jerry and george are pitching nbc on their sitcom, kramer drinks the old milk and vomits on susan!

in the kenny rogers chicken episode, already mentioned is when newman is forced to eat the broccoli and spits it out and then washes his mouth out with gravy. the best part is when he says in absolute disgust: "vile weed!"

this episode was just on tonight: george says "i love you" to a woman and is unsure if she heard him. the situation is summed up by jerry as "that's one giant matzah ball hanging out there". later george orders a matzah ball soup.

there's that crazy friend of kramer's who bootlegs movies. at the theatre he brings a huge bag of snacks (oh what was it!). jerry says "that's quite the feedbag". later that guy gets sick from eating all of it and jerry has to finish bootlegging the movie.

this one is surprising, only because it dates how old the show is: jerry and george discussing why ketchup doesn't in a squeeze bottle like mustard. i think it comes up because jerry goes to his grandmother's house to open her ketchup.

i'm sure there's still even more!

[Polecat]

num nums,
in the kenny rogers roasters episode, newman washes his mouth out with honey mustard.
p.

[puppymomma]

I loved the one where everyone started eating the snickers bars with forks and knives.

I also loved the one when Seinfeld gets that guy to make his Pakastani restaurant.

[Leonardo]

The Pakistani had a world-cuisine eclectic restaurant The Dream Cafe, which was dying. Jerry convinced him to borrow tons of $ to make it a Pakistani place, complete with decor, music, etc. The place still died, only this time the crushing debt ruined him. Of course he blamed Jerry, wagging his finger "You are a veddy veddy bad man!" This was after all through the episode Jerry had been telling himself what a good guy he is.

[calabasas_trafalgar]

Yeah Kramer and Newman rented a truck to drive soda bottles to Michigan because the cash redemption value was a few cents higher than in new York!

[CindyJ]

Wasn't it a USPS truck they were using?

[Polecat]

Yes, and after Kramer boots Newman off the mail truck for weighing it down, Newman finds solace in a pie cooling off on a farmhouse windowsill, and then with the farmer's daughter, after claiming to have been attacked by a crowd of "mail-hating survivalists".

[onefoodguy]

People have already mentioned the Nonfat Yogurt episode, but also in that episode, Jerry weighs his bowl of cheerios because he's getting fat from the non-nonfat yogurt! And George is walking around Jerry's apartment with that thick crust non new york style pizza.

"Well, the yogurt verdict is in....FAT!"

[Davwud]

No one's mentioned the one where J. Peterman is writing his memoirs. He's at home and has the most boring home life. He gets all excited because he has a coupon for the pizza he's ordering.

DT

[himbeer]

Heh heh this is stretching it, but Elaine saying at the party "maybe the dingo ate your fiancee".

anyone actually tried lobster in their scrambled eggs?

We can segue to will & grace; is this milk still good? it has 2 more hours.

[lyn]

I have been off the grid for a little while so I may have missed it, but good lord has no one mentioned Kramers "bran flakes...one hundred percent?" after he kept missing his "window of oppurtunity"

[Tonto]

Was the cooking under the hood of Jerry's car by Kramer mentioned?

[beth1]

What about Kramer's shower salad?

[winstonater]

I have searched this thread for hours, looking for a reference that hasn't been mentioned. Finally found one...

Clark Bars!

[Edited: More.]

The one where Jerry ate the nuts that his date spit out and left on the plate...

And where Elaine sings: "Yankee Bean, Yankee Bean, I WIKE my Yank. Ee. Bean."

And the Kramer NYC tour? You shouldn't make a pizza bagel out of a cinnamon raisin bagel, nor a donut.

[bryan]

Now that's commitment. Well done.

[winstonater]

Oh, and the one where Jerry ate the nuts that his date spit out and left on the plate...

[winstonater]

Elaine sings: "Yankee Bean, Yankee Bean, I WIKE my Yank. Ee. Bean."

[sila]

And the rabbi (larry david) that lives in Elaine's building, talking around everyone's secrets, he offers her something jewish to eat, I don't remember what, a very funny story...

[mickie44]

Didn't the rabbi offer Elaine a Snackwell at one time?

[Leonardo]

Yes, & then he launched into a lengthy pedantic discourse as to their nutritional value "They're fat-free, yet I am somewhat concerned as to that, because perhaps people will take it as an invitation to eat far more than they otherwise would, thus consuming the same or greater caloric amounts than had they not been fat-free...."

[Leonardo]

The rabbi is most emphatically not played by Larry David. Much higher voice, lots of hair.
He offers her some kasha, cheesecake (?) and some vernischkes (or perhaps kischkes). Is the latter some kind of stuffed intestines?

She then "confides" in him that she's angry at George because he got engaged before she did, and worries that it will never happen for her, although she feels more deserving, calling him a "loser". Of course, the rabbi promptly relates this story on his TV show ("There's this woman: let's call her 'Elaine'"....)

[luv2bake]

Bruce Mahler played the Rabbi (several episodes)

[luv2bake]

Oh, and the recipes I found for Kasha Varnishkes have kasha, chicken fat & stock, eggs, onions, salt & pepper, and pasta (usually some egg pasta).

[CindyJ]

Kasha varnishkas = kasha with pasta bows. Kishka is a whole other thing -- beef casing stuffed with a seasoned bread/cracker/matzoh meal stuffing.

Delete.These were already mentioned.