"The One With Five Steaks And An Eggplant" is the fifth episode of the second season of Friends, which aired on NBC on October 19, 1995. When planning a birthday party for Ross, the six discover money is an issue in life, even among friends.
Plot
When a sexy woman calls Chandler by mistake (she is looking for her ex-boyfriend Bob), Chandler answers the phone in Bob's stead and fixes himself up on a date with her at the coffeehouse. Ross is reluctant to let Chandler hit on Jade, but Chandler has his way when he steps in and accuses Bob of being a jerk for not showing up (of course, as Bob never got Jade's message, he couldn't know about the date in the first place). Meanwhile, behind Ross' back, the guys are planning his birthday party. Rachel, Phoebe and Joey find it an expensive plan, and they get to talk about the fact that Ross, Monica and Chandler are too drowned in money to notice that they are more financially challenged. Monica comes in and unknowingly rubs their face in this when she proposes a fancy dinner that night to celebrate her promotion at the restaurant.
At dinner, Chandler shows up late and tells Ross that he has had a great date with Jade. The waiter arrives for the orders. The rich ones (Ross, Monica and Chandler) have extravagant orders whilst the rest take the basics. When Ross splits up the bill between them, it leaves the poor ones to pay more than what they ordered, which makes Phoebe and Joey bring up the money issue. Ross is also revealed to have a gift and a Hootie and the Blowfish concert waiting for him on his birthday. The guys agree to try and solve the money issue.
The next day, Monica brings dinner for everyone - five steaks and an eggplant for Phoebe, which Monica has obtained from the new meat supplier. The rich ones also let it out that they have gotten tickets for everyone for the Hootie concert as their treat, but Rachel, Phoebe and Joey refuse to be paid for as if it were charity. The rich ones go to the concert anyway, whilst the poor ones stay home to guess how many fingers Joey has behind his back. Chandler tells Ross that he's had sex with Jade, and soon after, the phone calls. Chandler answers in Bob's stead, and asks Jade how her "fling" was. The replies he receives are not at all what he expected - she found him "eeh", kept biting her lip from screaming Bob's name out loud, and found the time way too short.
At the coffeehouse, Monica, Ross and Chandler reveal to the others that they met with the band after the concert, making the poor ones totally jealous (especially after Phoebe finds a hickey on Monica's neck, which is "the work of a Blowfish"). The money argument comes up again, with no apparent solution, when Monica receives a call from work where her boss tells that the five steaks and the eggplant weren't a gift but a kickback, and as she accepted them she broke corporate policy and is fired. The money argument is immediately forgotten and everyone consoles Monica, and Joey takes the coffee bill to pay it for her, but turns and asks Chandler for five dollars as he doesn't have any.
Some time later, Jade calls again at Chandler's. As Chandler isn't there, the answering machine takes the call and prompts for the message. Joey suddenly springs up from the couch, listening intently. When Jade requests one last night of sex he jumps up to grab the phone, but slips and falls.
Cast and Crew
Main Cast
Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green
Courteney Cox - Monica Geller
Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay
Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani
Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing
David Schwimmer - Ross Geller
Supporting Cast
Brittney Powell - Jade
Chris Young - Steven Fisher
Spencer Cherashore - Waiter
James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited)
Crew
Directed By:
Ellen Gittelsohn
Written By:
Chris Brown
Trivia
- According to the script, Matt LeBlanc was supposed to grab the phone and say "Bob here!" when Jade called, but he missed and fell from the couch. The editors chose to go with the latter as they found it funnier.
- The waiter at the restaurant the gang go to is the same one who served Monica and Judy in the uncut DVD version of "The One With The Fake Monica" (S1E21). The restaurants, however, are different.
Goofs
- When Ross is talking with Julie on the phone, he asks everyone to say 'Hi' to her. After the camera angle changes to show the rest of the gang, you can see the sound microphone hanging above them,
- The same thing happens later on in the episode when Rachel, Phoebe and Joey are talking in the living room.
- When Monica is talking on the phone near the end of the episode, the phone switches hands so she's holding it against her opposite ear, with no time to do so.
In this episode Monica gets fired from her job, yet in 'The One With Phoebe's Wedding' she says that she's never been fired.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Preceded by "The One With Phoebe's Husband" |
"The One With Five Steaks And An Eggplant" | Followed by "The One With The Baby On The Bus" |
| << Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 >> | |||||||
| #01 | "The One With Ross' New Girlfriend" | #09 | "The One With Phoebe's Dad" | #17 | "The One Where Eddie Moves In" | ||||
| #02 | "The One With The Breast Milk" | #10 | "The One With Russ" | #18 | "The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies" | ||||
| #03 | "The One Where Heckles Dies" | #11 | "The One With The Lesbian Wedding" | #19 | "The One Where Eddie Won't Go" | ||||
| #04 | "The One With Phoebe's Husband" | #12 | "The One After The Superbowl, Part 1" | #20 | "The One Where Old Yeller Dies" | ||||
| #05 | "The One With Five Steaks And An Eggplant" | #13 | "The One After The Superbowl, Part 2" | #21 | "The One With The Bullies" | ||||
| #06 | "The One With The Baby On The Bus" | #14 | "The One With The Prom Video" | #22 | "The One With The Two Parties" | ||||
| #07 | "The One Where Ross Finds Out" | #15 | "The One Where Ross And Rachel... You Know" | #23 | "The One With The Chicken Pox" | ||||
| #08 | "The One With The List" | #16 | "The One Where Joey Moves Out" | #24 | "The One With Barry And Mindy's Wedding" | ||||