For years, Phil Rosenthal has spent his career urging viewers to try something new — whether it’s an unfamiliar dish in Bangkok, a hidden neighborhood restaurant in Las Vegas or a cultural tradition halfway around the world.
Now, the creator of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and host of Netflix’s beloved travel series “Somebody Feed Phil” is bringing that same philosophy to children.
Rosenthal and his daughter, Lily Rosenthal, recently released “Just Try It! Someplace New!” the second installment in their “Phil and Lil” children’s book series. Published by Simon & Schuster, the book, which was published in March, encourages young readers to embrace new experiences, even when they seem a little scary at first.
It’s a follow-up to 2024’s “Just Try It!” a semiautobiographical story about a food-loving dad, Phil, encouraging his picky eater daughter, Lil, to try new and unfamiliar bites at a food truck festival.
“We thought, what if the ‘Just Try It’ idea was applied to different things in life?” Rosenthal told The Journal of the latest entry. “Obviously, travel is a big part of my world, and I thought, what’s the first baby step of travel? Maybe going to Grandma’s house. So, it’s ‘Just Try It! Someplace New!’”
The narrative follows a child nervous about visiting her grandmother, a relatable fear rooted in Rosenthal’s own family history. He recalled how his son once flew alone from Los Angeles to visit his grandparents in New York. “My parents were late to the airport to pick him up,” Rosenthal said with a laugh. “After one night with my parents, he was like, ‘Can I come home now?’”
Fortunately, the book tells a much gentler version of the story.
The message, Rosenthal said, extends far beyond childhood. “How many adults do we know who don’t have an open mind?” he said. “Who don’t want to try new foods even, or new places or new ideas?”
The book builds on a theme that has become Rosenthal’s personal mantra. While he may not be scaling mountains or seeking danger in remote corners of the globe, he credits curiosity and a willingness to take small risks with shaping both his career and his life. “Our biggest fear in life is the unknown,” he said. “Children are afraid to walk the first time. They fall down, but they get back up and try again. That’s everything in life.”
That outlook also inspired “Somebody Feed Phil,” which will be moving to YouTube for its forthcoming ninth season in 2027. Rosenthal jokes the haimishe culinary travel series, currently available on Netflix, was borne out of the realization that he isn’t the fearless adventurer that the late Anthony Bourdain was. “I thought maybe there’s a show for people like me who sit on the couch and watch Bourdain and go, ‘He’s amazing. I’m never doing that,’” Rosenthal said.
Yet years of travel have made him more adventurous. “I’ve gotten a little braver over the years,” he said. “Why? Because I’ve tried more things — and I didn’t die.”
The Rosenthals have already signed on for additional books in the “Phil and Lil” series. Future topics could include making friends, sharing, getting a new sibling or even boarding an airplane for the first time. “Everything in life you have to try for the first time,” Rosenthal said. “’Just try it’ is a very good attitude to have.”
Working with Lily has been one of the most rewarding parts of the project. “It was her idea,” Rosenthal said. “She called me and said, ‘You’re good with kids on the show, and kids love the show. Why don’t you do a kids’ book?’ I said, ‘Yeah, if you do it with me.’”
Discerning readers may also spot a familiar comfort food tucked into the book’s colorful illustrations, which are the work of celebrated illustrator Luke Flowers.
“Absolutely,” Rosenthal said when asked if the matzah ball soup depicted in the book was a nod to family tradition. The dish also appears on the menu at Rosenthal’s wildly popular Larchmont diner, Max and Helen’s, named after his parents.
Since opening in November 2025, the diner has become one of the hottest reservations — or rather, non-reservations — in town. Weekend wait times have stretched for hours, generating headlines and a social media frenzy. “There really were eight-hour waits,” Rosenthal said. “But I don’t want people to get the wrong idea. Nobody’s standing in line for eight hours.” Instead, guests add their names to a waitlist and receive a text when their table is ready. Rosenthal intentionally avoided a reservation system so neighborhood residents could still enjoy the restaurant. “It’s a neighborhood diner,” he said. “I would hate to have it that the neighborhood couldn’t even benefit from it.”
For those intimidated by the crowds, Rosenthal offers a simple tip: visit during off-peak hours. ”If you come in-between breakfast and lunch, and in-between lunch and dinner hours, you can walk right in,” he said.
The restaurant’s pedigree certainly helps explain its popularity. Acclaimed chef Nancy Silverton serves as executive chef, while Lily’s husband, Mason Royal, oversees the day-to-day operations. Among the offerings are Max’s fluffy eggs, inspired by his father’s favorite breakfast; a much-buzzed-about waffle with maple butter that the Los Angeles Times called the “drive-across-town dish;” and Helen’s Matzah Ball Soup, adapted from his mother’s — Lily’s grandmother’s — recipe.
Rosenthal admits Silverton improved upon the original. “It’s a very simple recipe that Nancy Silverton took and, I have to admit, made better,” he said. “Mom was not a chef, but she did make that very well.” One secret ingredient? Fresh dill — so beloved by Rosenthal’s late mother that, he joked, “we even buried her with a big sprig of dill.”
Despite juggling a hit television series, a children’s book franchise and a bustling restaurant, Rosenthal remains characteristically grateful. “The secret is just do as much as you can with the time you have,” he said. It’s a simple philosophy that sounds remarkably similar to the message at the heart of his and his daughter’s newest book: Be curious; take the first step; and when life offers something unfamiliar, “Just try it!”
