Jon Favreau Snuck The Same Tasty Easter Egg Into Iron Man And Elf

Jon Favreau swore off directing Marvel Cinematic Universe movies after "Iron Man 2," but Kevin Feige might want to consider whether it's worth trying to change his mind. Marvel Studios hasn't been having the best time in the past couple of years, what with a seemingly-constant barrage of MCU content making everyone uninterested in the superhero genre. Up until the studio's recent decision to dial back the amount of media it was putting out, we had too much of the MCU and it was getting ridiculous. But back in 2008, when Favreau was hired to direct the inaugural film in this now-gargantuan franchise, things looked very different.

"Iron Man" became the unlikely superhero film that changed Hollywood forever, establishing what would become the highest-grossing blockbuster franchise in cinema history. Without Favreau at the helm, however, there's every reason to think the MCU's start wouldn't have been quite so auspicious. Not only did the director help Robert Downey Jr. get cast in the lead role (surely one of the finest casting decisions in Hollywood history), he actually had a guiding principle for his movie that seemed to separate his work from other entries in the MCU. Namely, he wanted to make Tony Stark's first cinematic outing "plausible."

That didn't necessarily mean Iron Man wasn't going to fly around in a high-tech suit of armor and blow a bunch of stuff up. It just meant that Favreau was as concerned with the smaller, more character-focused elements of his movie. While that most obviously manifested in the movie having a strong emotional core, it also allowed the director to inject some fun, idiosyncratic elements, such as Tony Stark's penchant for a particular pizza. As it turns out, this reference to food was actually a Favreau trademark that can be seen throughout his filmography.

One of Favreau's lesser-known but actually pretty good films is 2014's "Chef." In fact, in a ranking of Jon Favreau films, we at /Film placed the movie at number two, owing to its fine balance of drama and comedy and its small, character-focused story. It reminded audiences more accustomed to Favreau's work on things like "Zathura" that the actor/director had a real talent for these smaller-scale, more intimate movies. Also, it was full of genuinely delicious-looking food.

It seems for Favreau, gastronomy has been an ongoing passion. Even in his larger-scale work, you can find references to specific food. In a conversation on the Dinner Party Download podcast, the director was asked about this aspect of his filmmaking, explaining:

"People are constantly eating [in my movies], I'm sort of noticing. In 'Elf' I added that whole wrinkle, as I was developing that script, about him stuffing his face, and how much elves eat. And then in 'Iron Man,' he's talking about flying Ray's Pizza in from New York. It always seems to sneak into everything I do."

Will Ferrell's Buddy in 2003's "Elf" did indeed have an insatiable appetite. His predilection for chocolatey piles of spaghetti even inspired a Hello Fresh meal kit back in 2022, as well as an "Elf" cereal the year prior. But there's an even more specific food-based link between "Elf" and "Iron Man." In the former, prior to his New York adventure, Buddy gets some advice from Santa (Ed Asner) about how to survive in the city, including how to find his way to the original Ray's Pizza:

Meanwhile, in "Iron Man," Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) returns from New York and visits Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, presenting him with a Ray's Pizza box on arrival.

It's not just Jon Favreau that likes to slip Ray's Pizza references into his films. In fact, modern film and TV history is replete with allusions to the pizzeria ... or is that multiple pizzerias? The thing about Ray's Pizza is that there are several — dozens, in fact — of pizzerias bearing the "Ray's" name in NYC, and none of them are affiliated with one another. This has led to an ongoing joke in popular culture about the fact that there are so many pizza spots with the same name, and nobody knows which one is the original. 

"The Simpsons" alluded to this in the 1997 episode "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson," in which he comes across a pizzeria named "Original Famous Ray's (Not Affiliated With Famous Original Ray's)." A year after that, "Seinfeld" made a similar joke when Kramer finds himself lost in the city and tries to describe his whereabouts to Jerry using a Ray's Pizza location, only leading to more confusion about his position. There are also "Ray's" references in "Friends" and "Sex and the City." 

At this point, then, "Ray's" has almost become a communal brand which any aspiring NYC pizza maker can adopt. But for anyone interested, the whole debacle actually goes fairly deep.

A 1991 New York Times article notes how the proliferation of pizzerias bearing the name led to a "pizza war," with three guys (none of whom were named Ray) teaming up to trademark the name. One of these three, Ralph Cuomo, did however appear to be the original Ray. The 22-year old Sicilian immigrant established the very first pizzeria to use the name at 27 Prince Street back in 1959. Since then, dozens of knock-offs sprung up, leading to legal battles and ongoing widespread confusion around "Ray's Pizza" — which is perhaps why Ed Asner's Santa in "Elf" was a little confused on the point.

Knowing what we know about the Ray's Pizza saga, we can safely say that Santa's advice to Buddy in "Elf" about how to find the original "Ray's" was actually wrong. Ed Asner's St. Nick tells Buddy, "There are, like, thirty Ray's Pizzas. They all claim to be the original. But the real one's on 11th." There were indeed "like 30" of the pizzerias bearing the "Ray's" name — more, in fact. But as we know thanks to The New York Times' important investigation, the real "Ray's" was not on 11th, but on Prince Street. That original location sadly shuttered back in 2011, but part of its former premises is now occupied by Prince Street Pizza. Still, when "Elf" was released in 2003, the original "Ray's" was still very much in operation, and Santa was seemingly as confused as everyone else about its location.

All of which is certainly interesting. But there's still the question of why Jon Favreau snuck these "Ray's" easter eggs into "Elf" and "Iron Man." 

A man who made an entire movie about a Chef and his various delectable creations, clearly has a passion for food and Jon Favreau's upbringing in New York clearly contributed to his interest in food generally. He elaborated on this in his Dinner Party Download appearance, explaining that as a child, he could recall food being a "topic of interest" in his family. The director explained:

"If my uncle discovered a new Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn — my uncle the cabbie — that was something we all would go out for. Food was always a lubricant for conversation and something that brought people together."

Having been born in Queens just seven years after Ralph Cuomo established the first "Ray's," Favreau grew up amid the rise of the "Ray's" name, which might explain the references in "Elf" and "Iron Man." But more generally, Favreau seems to think of food as more than just fodder for delicious easter eggs. It speaks to his desire to focus on character and bring a sense of life and even "plausibility" to his films. To him, food was an important part of his upbringing, and seems to represent something foundational and pure — something that brought people together. As the director told the Dinner Party boys:

"It's not like, you know, with smartphones and iPads, that's when everybody stops sitting at the table together. Even back then, people were all off doing their own thing. But when a meal was served, especially around a holiday... Christmas Eve with the Italian side of the family, the meal was the focus and the presents came later."