Every sitcom seems to have an iconic location that the main cast gathers around to eat and discuss the ongoing events of their lives. How I Met Your Mother has MacLaren's Pub, Friends has the Central Perk and Seinfeld of course has the iconic Monk's Cafe.
Of all these places, Monk's seems to be the most ordinary with a basic menu and interior, but it's the people and how it shaped the show that make it memorable to fans to this day. Well, we're going to take a closer look at some of the hidden details both behind and in front of the scenes that some fans of the show may not have noticed. So as the K-Man Cosmo Kramer would say, giddy up!
9 What's On The Menu?
Fans of the show will know about some of the usual orders of Jerry and the gang at Monk's but true fans might be a little more hard-pressed to know what were the items on the physical menu props used by the actors. Well now thanks to entertainment.ha.com you can pick up your very own!
Obviously the prices of the food are beyond cheap (which kinda makes sense as to why the notoriously... frugal George would eat here all the time) and the cafe doesn't have many of these items (no big salad!), but it's still fun to see something only those in production would have seen.
8 Based On A Real Restaurant
Those who live in the Morningside Heights region of New York might already know this fact, but yes the restaurant used as the exterior for Monk's Cafe is indeed a real life restaurant.
Located at 2880 Broadway in New York City, fans of the show and locals can take a seat in a piece of Seinfeld history. Looking at the reviews for the restaurant however shows an unfortunate tale. While it's not all bad, there's definitely a recurring theme that you don't attend this place for the food, you go for the novelty. Still, it's fun to know that iconic cafe is still in business.
7 The Waitresses Are Family
In the season 4 finale "The Pilot", the entire cast is all focused on the launch of Jerry's (the character on the show) pilot creatively called"Jerry". However they each get their own subplots going on and Elaine's involves an investigation into the hiring practices of Monk's Cafe. It's remarked by Jerry to Elaine that the waitresses seem to all be of ample chested sort.
Smelling some discrimination against smaller chested women at play, Elaine seeks to unveil the dark underbelly of the new management at Monk's. However in the closing segment of part 2, Elaine confronts the new owner only to find out that all the waitresses are his daughters. The gang laughs it off and it serves as an end to Seinfeld's most critically acclaimed season.
6 Babu's Employment
One of the most important side characters on the show would have to be Babu Bhatt. Although he only appeared in 3 episodes of the series, each one of his appearances is a gold mine for his interactions with Jerry. A normally kind and gentle soul who becomes fractured from Jerry, Elaine and the rest of the gang's shenanigans, Babu lost his restaurant due to the ill-advised suggestion of Jerry to turn the Dream Cafe into an all Pakistani restaurant.
Jerry in a rare moment of kindness secures Babu a job with Monk's in the season 4 episode "The Visa". Although things go well at first, George's bungling of his relationship with Cheryl (the Asian-American lawyer he dates in the episode) causes Babu to get deported back to Pakistan. A short-lived stint for the man who would put the nail in the coffin of the gang's trial in the series finale.
5 There's A Bizarro Rival
At a couple of points in the series, some members of the gang mention a seldom talked about rival to the iconic Monk's Cafe called "Reggie's". Although it seems to have an almost identical menu to Monk's the lack of an egg-white omelet and a big salad cause Elaine and Jerry to groan every time the name is mentioned.
Despite their aversion, George, Elaine and Jerry still head there in season six's "The Soup". Of the classic foursome, only George would return in "The Pool Guy" after Elaine and Susan's budding friendship causes his worlds to collide. The final appearance of the restaurant comes in "The Bizarro Jerry" as Elaine's ex boyfriend Kevin and his gang all frequent there much like George, Kramer and Jerry do at Monk's.
4 One-Liner Cashier
An often seen but never discussed character, the cashier at Monk's has been in the background ever since fans can remember. Although she has technically been present for many a hilarious conversation in the show's history, she almost never said a word. Until George Costanza took notice however.
In the episode "The Gum" from season 7, Costanza is convinced that the cashier stole 20$ from him. Of course at the end of the episode we find out that George is mistaken, but that doesn't stop him from unleashing a tirade against poor Ruth. Effortlessly however, Ruth fired back with a polite "your car is on fire" which is true and causes George to flee. She also hits him with a "Merry Christmas" for good measure. It would be the only speaking scene she had in the series, but it was a good one.
It's also worth noting that she has the most appearances in Seinfeld outside the main cast of George, Kramer, Jerry and Elaine.
3 Wasn't Always Monk's
It seems blasphemous for the gang to eat and hang out anywhere but Monk's but in the pilot episode of the series that was exactly the case.
Instead of eating at the familiar Monk's, Jerry and George are seen eating and debating at Pete's Luncheonette. "The Seinfeld Chronicles" would be the only episode in the entire series which features this set which is actually a leftover from the movie Muppets Take Manhattan. It is never mentioned or seen again which is likely for the best as it looks a bit too out of date by the 1990s.
2 Waitress Begone!
To many who lived through the 1990s, Elaine Benes was the undisputed queen of comedy of weeknight television. She almost wasn't going to be anything more than a thought of the writer's room however as originally the main female cast member was set to be a waitress at the aforementioned Pete's Luncheonette.
Named Claire, she is shown to be friendly with Jerry and George in her brief interactions with them, notably having fun with George over his fixation on coffee. However, NBC wasn't high on the character and wanted a new female character to be added to the core set of characters. And thus, Claire was shut out in favor of Lainey.
1 Terrible Counter
Jerry and the gang normally sits at one of two booths in Monk's Cafe. If they have to go elsewhere, it bothers them heavily. Worse of all though would be sitting at the counter, which happens only once.
In the season nine episode "The Maid", the gruesome foursome find themselves trying to have a conversation at the counter and are failing miserably to communicate effectively. In this madness, Kramer mistakenly thinks that Newman is dead and Jerry remarks just how much he hates the counter. Thankfully a booth opens up shortly after but the lesson is learnt; never sit at the counter of Monk's.
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