The Dinner Party (Seinfeld)

"**The Dinner Party**"
"The Dinner Party"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 5; Episode 13
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry David
Production code	514
Original air date	February 3, 1994
Guest appearances
	Fred Pinkard as Newsstand Guy; Frank Novak as Clerk; Mark Holton as David; Suzy Soro as Barbara; Kathryn Kates as Counterwoman; Langdon Bensing as Man on Street; Sayed Badreya as Foreign Man; Amjad J. Qaisen as Hussein; Roger Eschbacher as Man with Cane; Larry David as Hussein (voice, uncredited);
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Stall"	Next →; "The Marine Biologist"
	Seinfeld season 5
	List of episodes

Last updated November 26, 2025

"The Dinner Party" is the 77th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . This is the 13th episode of the fifth season, and first aired on February 3, 1994.^[1] The episode follows the cast's struggles to pick up gifts before a dinner party.

Plot

On a very cold day, Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer go to a dinner party. George's new Gore-Tex winter coat is so puffy and overstuffed that he can only fit in Kramer's car, which has no heating. As they head to pick up wine and cake, George protests that invitations come with strings attached, then suggests that soda and junk food would be more appreciated.

Elaine and Jerry get dropped off at a bakery, where Elaine eyes the specialty, chocolate babka. Having forgotten to take a number to get in line, they demand that two other customers give up their number, but then realize they are picking a fight with fellow party guests. Unsympathetic, the other guests get the last chocolate babka, and head to the party victoriously to tell everyone what happened.

Kramer and George manage to park at a liquor store without resorting to double parking. George is forced to pay because Kramer never carries a wallet, or money, but the clerk will not break George's $100 bill. A newsstand man demands George buy several things before he will make change. Kramer throws in a candy bar and a Penthouse Forum for himself, insisting that the scandalous reader letters are all real.

Elaine settles for the "lesser" cinnamon babka when Jerry comes to the defense of cinnamon. Jerry gets a black and white cookie, meticulously eating both halves equally as a metaphor for "racial harmony". The babka has a hair on it; unable to stomach this due to a traumatic childhood overreaction to a hair in his farina, Jerry takes another number to wait for a replacement. The new cake is handed over by a sickly clerk having a coughing fit.

George and Kramer get trapped in their parking spot by an unseen double parker, who still has not returned as night falls, leaving Kramer freezing without a coat. Ranting, George wonders if the double parker is a genius who had a fit of stupidity, or a future dictator in the making. He also fears Elaine's wrath, which she indeed vows to visit upon him for keeping her waiting. The two halves of Jerry's cookie do not "get along", making him throw up for the first time in 14 years. A hobbling man crushes Elaine's foot under his cane.

Kramer takes refuge back in the liquor store, where George's coat knocks over a display of wine bottles. George gives up his coat as compensation, and they are both thrown out in the cold. The double parker returns, turning out to be a dead ringer for Saddam Hussein but for his soft-spoken politeness.

Everyone finally meets up, driving to the party in miserable silence. They duly drop off their gifts and leave immediately.

Production

The Saddam Hussein lookalike cast for the episode, Amjad J. Qaisen, could not speak intelligibly enough for television production purposes, so the voice of "Hussein" was added in post-production by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David.^[2]

References

↑ "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.
↑ Seinfeld Season 5: Notes about Nothing - "The Dinner Party" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

External links

"The Dinner Party" at IMDb

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[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.

[2] Seinfeld Season 5: Notes about Nothing - "The Dinner Party" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

[1]

[2]

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode

The Dinner Party (Seinfeld)

Contents

Plot

Production

References

External links