This episode (and two others) does not have the word "the" before the title. The writers figured creating simple titles like The Chinese Restaurant (1991) and The Parking Garage (1991) were better because they were simply the main idea of the show, and the writers would not have to spend time thinking of clever titles. They also figured many people would never see/hear the titles.
Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up performance in this episode was filmed twice. Originally, the set was made to look like a church basement to show that comedians perform in a variety of places. But it was decided that the nightclub set should continue to be used and the material was performed again.
This was the first episode produced after the pilot (Good News, Bad News (1989)) which makes it the first episode produced with Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine. (The Stakeout (1990) the second episode to air.) In early drafts of the script, Elaine does not appear. The character was added during pre-production because NBC demanded that a female character be added to the cast. Elaine appears in only one scene. The character was originally to be named "Eileen" but was changed just a few days before filming.
An alternate ending was filmed in which Joel (Kevin Dunn) asks Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) if he can date Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Jerry "breaks up" with Joel. Joel leaves, only to return to say that he will come back the following week to return a k.d. lang tape he borrowed from Jerry.