The Cafe

Where to start. First of all, we have George having to do well on an IQ test to get the girl. Of course, he has to cheat by engaging the brainy Elaine. The method by which she takes the test for him is incredible. Then we have the Pakistani restaurant owner who can't get a single customer (he serves Beans and Weenies and Rigatoni, among other ethnic dishes). Add to that Seinfeld's discourse with him, practically putting him out of business. And, of course, Kramer, who comes along an single handedly destroys the game being played.

The Cafe is justifiably praised as one of the finest episodes of Seinfeld's third season, all because of two words: Babu Bhatt!

Babu (Brian George) is the owner of a café right across the street outside Jerry's apartment, and Jerry decides to take a look after observing the poor guy's lack of customers for days. Once he sets foot in the café, he makes friends with Babu and even throws in a little business tip: since Babu is from Pakistan, why not serve Pakistani food? As a matter of fact, this makes things even worse, and while Jerry struggles to keep his new acquaintance happy, George has a problem of his own, as his new girlfriend has asked him to take an IQ test and he's so afraid to look stupid (what a surprise) that he asks Elaine to help him cheat.

Bars, cafés and diners have always had an important role in American sitcoms: just think about Arnold's in Happy Days, Cheers in the eponymous comedy or, pots-Seinfeld, Central Perk in Friends. It shouldn't surprise, then, that the writers of the show decided to make fun of one of the very staples the genre is based on. That it works isn't just due to the witty lines or Kramer's flawless presence (by the way, The Cafe marks the first time the studio audience applauds when he makes his entrance); fundamentally, the episode's appeal boils down to Brian George's delightful portrayal of the progressively neurotic Babu, an exercise in mania that culminates in one of the program's many quotable catchphrases: "You're a bad man! Very, very bad!". To paraphrase him, this is an essential chapter of Seinfeld: very, very good.

All Jerry do was try to help. Babu Bot is actually the bad man. Plus Jerry is Jewish. You know... He's got the golden door. He knows best.

March 15th 2023rd

About: Jerry tries to help out a Pakistany called Babu Bot with his buisness.

George takes a rigged iq test.

Elaine helps George.

Kramer wants a jacket.

Story and production: A good episode filled with laughs. After you rewatched the episode the George explaining what happened to the Iq test isn't as funny as the first time.

Nevertheless a creative episode based on a true story.

Highlight: George explaining the messy test.

Laugh meter: 10

Girlfriend attractiveness level: 8

Villian: Sorry but it's Babu Bot because he was rude to Jerry despite him trying to help... And Who ever made the Iq test.

What can be learned?: be thankful Babu bot failed. Look at Brampton. It's a cesspool. The whole of Ontario is becoming a cesspool.

I adore "The Cafe" and it is yet another episode of the third season that rides the show's newfound momentum very well. It is an excellent follow-up to "The Parking Garage" that returns the show to a more familiar narrative with multiple storylines that intertwine both effortlessly and quite naturally and it's also an episode where all its constituent parts are highly entertaining.

Probably the thing "The Cafe" is best known for is the introduction of the beloved character of Babu Bhatt, superbly played by Brian George, and while the entire Babu storyline is entertaining and very well done, my favourite aspect of this episode has always been George.

Yes, Brian George is hilarious and his transition from a restauranteur who is amicable to one who is cynical, frustrated and cold is hilarious (I especially adore how he just carelessly draws out a seat for Jerry during his second visit inside the restaurant) and Michael Richards shows some of his ability for physical comedy but I have always been very much a fan of George Costanza here in this episode. He opts to cheat on an IQ test, embarrassed about his lack of intelligence, even when the girl he's dating (whom he is doing this for as a favour to her) could not be less concerned about IQ tests. If the idea of George using Elaine to cheat on an IQ test to impress his girlfriend isn't funny enough, the direction it takes when the plan does not smoothly follow through is hilarious. The scene in which he continuously lies, almost in a pathological manner, to his girlfriend after he returns the paper (drenched in coffee, sandwich stains) is absolutely genius. Jason Alexander is on top form here and I absolutely adore the way he plays that scene in particular, and the means with which he lies is fantastic. For every question the girl asks, he almost responds with another question or a half answer, just enough time to contemplate where he will next take the lie. It's brilliant comedy, it's classic George Costanza and in my opinion, it's pure 'Seinfeld'.

"The Cafe" is excellent. Something prevents me from giving it the nine stars this time around that I had always given it but my enjoyment was not much less. Every storyline works very nicely here and the means with which they come together is yet another example of 'Seinfeld' writing at its best. Every character gets something great, George the most in my opinion, and arguably even more importantly, Elaine is becoming more and more a pivotal character in the series.

This to me is the best Seinfeld episode. It revolves around a Pakistani immigrant trying to start a new business near Jerry. He goes there, realizing immediately that there was a lack of authenticity in the menu and advises Babu, the owner to pursue a more authentic Pakistani menu. It's a pretty hilarious concept and of course Babu takes it, meeting only failure. Meanwhile, George tries to prove his smartness to his latest date by taking an IQ test. Knowing full-well he will fail, he gets Elaine to help, but her initial attempts are thwarted by the singing Babu, resulting in hilarious fallout for George.