A note on the refrigerator can be seen reading, "I finished the milk. Will buy more. -George Michael (Michael Cera)," a callback to George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor)'s lesson to his children in episode 1.10, Pier Pressure (2004), to always leave a note.
When Arrested Development was first picked up by FOX, it was for only 13 episodes, so this episode was intended to potentially serve as the series finale. As a result, many of the ongoing story lines from the first season reached some sort of resolution, including the brothers' rivalry over Marta (Patricia Velasquez), Tobias (David Cross)'s never nude disorder, George Michael (Michael Cera)'s crush on his cousin, and Buster (Tony Hale) living with Lucille (Jessica Walter).
A beef consommé is a transparent broth-like soup that takes a long time to complete after a long period of simmering. This episode may be titled "Beef Consommé" due to the "beef" the brothers have with each other and the fact that it is a result of their continual simmering of a relationship over Marta.
Lucille (Jessica Walter) quotes a line of the song "Rose's Turn" ("How do you like them egg rolls, Mr. Goldstone") from the musical Gypsy, A snippet of this song can be heard in episodes 1.12, Marta Complex (2004), and 2.17, Spring Breakout (2005).