Corona-Quarantined and Hungry? Travel and Eat Vicariously With Phil Rosenthal

During these times of isolation and not going to restaurants, Phil Rosenthal’s globe-hopping Netflix series “Somebody Feed Phil” is a tasty treat for those starved for travel and culinary adventures. In the show’s five-episode third season launching May 29, Rosenthal’s itinerary takes him from Marrakech to Montreal, with stops in Chicago, London and Seoul.

Having visited many of what he calls “Earth’s greatest hits” since his PBS show “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having” started it all in 2015, the “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator said he “hasn’t scratched the surface” of delectable possibilities in the 28 episodes he’s done to date. He also filmed five additional shows late last year for Season 4. This time, Rosenthal rides a camel and eats couscous with Berbers in Morocco; finds the best deep-dish pizza, subs and pies in Chicago; and goes from fish and chips to lunch with Nigella Lawson and sampling fancy vegetarian fare at Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s Rovi in London. “He made a burger out of celeriac as good as any burger of any kind I’ve ever had,” Rosenthal raved.

But for him, the show is more than what’s on the menu. “I focus on food because I love food. I build my vacations around where I’m going to eat. But the show would be very boring if it was just me eating,” he said. “The food and my stupid sense of humor is the way to get you into the culture, the architecture, the people and the experience of the city.”

In Montreal, those experiences had a Jewish flavor, including visits to a bagel bakery, a neighborhood settled by Portuguese Jews now inhabited by hipsters and Chasidim, and Schwartz’s Deli for corned beef on rye. On the other hand, Rosenthal ate decidedly treif giant crab and still-twitching octopus in Seoul. “I never want to limit myself. I want to try everything,” he said. “But there are things I’m not a fan of — intestines, eyeballs. I’m not Andrew Zimmern or [the late] Anthony Bourdain.”

He revealed his secrets for remaining svelte despite apparently consuming copious amounts of food. “You’re seeing an hour’s worth of footage taken over the course of a week. There are one or two scenes per day, and that’s all I eat that day. I don’t eat until we shoot. And I don’t finish anything because I know there’s a lot more coming, and the crew is looking at me with their tongues hanging out. It’s fun to share,” Rosenthal said. He also works out at the hotel gyms and walks a lot. “It’s hard to believe, but after filming a season of the show I actually lose weight.”

Raised in a Conservative Jewish family in New York on traditional Ashkenazi fare, “I was a very picky eater because I was not exposed to world cuisine,” he said. He never learned to cook and leaves that to his wife, Monica Horan Rosenthal, an actress who runs their education-oriented Flourish Foundation. He attributes the success of their 30-year marriage to “a sense of humor. That’s everything.”

At the end of each episode, Monica checks in via Skype alongside Rosenthal’s joke-telling 94-year-old father (his mother, who appears once, died from ALS in October). “It’s the modern equivalent of the postcard,” he said.

Monica wasn’t Jewish when they met, but in getting to know her husband’s grandmother, she fell in love with Jewish traditions and converted to Judaism, even before Rosenthal proposed marriage. They have two children, Ben and Lily. Although not religious, “I believe in and love the traditions,” he said. “For me, they’re an excuse for the family to get together.”

“I’ve taken everything I learned about how to produce a show and I’m making entertainment about everything I love in life — family, friends, food, travel and laughs. That’s what makes this show the culmination of my existence here on Earth.” — Phil Rosenthal

For Rosenthal, the one positive aspect of the COVID-19 crisis is the increased time he gets to spend with his wife, father and kids. “Ben lives with his girlfriend a mile and a half away from us. We have dinner together every day. Lily just graduated from USC film school. We had a ceremony on our lawn, I gave the commencement speech,” he said. Nevertheless, he’s eager to return to his international travels — and his favorite L.A. eateries. “I’m in Hancock Park and I walk to Larchmont every day to my favorite coffee shop, Go Get Em Tiger. I can’t wait to go back.”

Rosenthal also is using the time to develop new programming ideas. Having “hit the jackpot” with “Raymond” and “Coach,” he would not say no to doing another sitcom, but is happy in his current role. “I’ve taken everything I learned about how to produce a show and I’m making entertainment about everything I love in life — family, friends, food, travel and laughs. That’s what makes this show the culmination of my existence here on Earth. I’m so lucky to have this second chance to do another show that people seem to like, so I’m going to ride this horse as long as I can.”

He’d love to go to India, New Zealand and Sydney in Season 5, and hopes that his family will come along. They will have a greater presence in the fourth season, projected to air in the fall or winter.

“People ask me when it will return to normal and we can travel again. The answer is when we have a vaccine and it’s widely available, tourism will boom. Everyone should be optimistic about that,” Rosenthal said. “The message I want to get out there is ‘Don’t watch it and be sad about a time that used to be.’ Know that it will come back. Watch the show as you always have with an eye toward planning your vacation, because you will go.”

“Somebody Feed Phil” begins streaming May 29 on Netflix.