George brings Steinbrenner calzones every day in “The Calzone.” Steinbrenner notices the calzone George is eating during a meeting, tries it, and immediately orders George to provide one for lunch each day.
The episode is the twentieth installment of season seven and first aired on April 25, 1996. George’s new access to Steinbrenner makes him feel influential, but the arrangement collapses when a restaurant owner mistakenly believes George is stealing from the tip jar and bans him from Paisano’s, the restaurant supplying the food.
George then recruits Newman, whose mail route passes the restaurant, to obtain the daily calzones. When Newman is unavailable, George turns to Kramer, whose attempts to solve the problem create the episode’s other major comic disasters, including burnt clothing and Steinbrenner’s sudden interest in heating Yankees uniforms.
The title refers to the central food, not to a generic Italian lunch. The story was inspired by the writers’ experience contributing money to a tip jar without the counterman noticing.