On “Friends,” the health inspector Phoebe dated was named Larry.
Larry appears in Season 5, Episode 7, “The One Where Ross Moves In,” which originally aired on November 12, 1998. Phoebe meets him when he inspects Monica’s restaurant kitchen, and she is immediately attracted to his authority and unusual profession. Gregory Sporleder played Larry.
The relationship quickly becomes inconvenient for Phoebe and the others. Larry is extremely thorough—or perhaps excessively strict—and keeps finding health-code violations in the restaurants they visit. He shuts down several of their favorite places, turning romantic dinners into disasters and making Phoebe realize that dating a health inspector has practical drawbacks.
A common mix-up is confusing Larry’s character name with Gregory Sporleder, the actor who portrayed him. Another nearby detail fans often remember is Phoebe’s parting line, “See you ladle,” a pun referencing the cooking utensil after she decides the relationship is no longer worth the trouble. The episode also features Ross temporarily moving in with Chandler and Joey, while Rachel pursues her new neighbor Danny.