STREAMING ‘FEED’
Phil Rosenthal’s Netflix meal ticket
PHIL Rosenthal’s latest quirky dive into mixing food and travel differs from his last series in three key ingredients: a new TV home, a new title and even its own theme song courtesy of band Lake Street Dive.
The six-episode Netflix original series, “Somebody Feed Phil,” premiering Friday, features the “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator traveling around the world (stops include Portugal, Saigon, Bangkok and Tel Aviv), sampling local delicacies and giving viewers a travelogue-type glimpse into each country’s culture. And, unlike the award-winning “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having” — which aired on PBS in 2015 — “Somebody Feed Phil” will be available to a worldwide audience.
Rosenthal, 57, chatted with The Post about “Somebody Feed Phil” — and what goes into producing a series of this scope.
Where does the show’s title come from?
I thought you want to convey a little bit of humor in the title and I thought it denotes character, like I’m somebody you would need to take care of. Or if you forgot to feed the dog in your family: “Hey, somebody feed Phil!”
How do you choose your destinations and plan your itinerary?
I work with an amazing production company called Zero Point Zero. They do [Anthony] Bourdain’s show [CNN’s “Parts Unknown”] and have contacts all over the world. They tell me about new, hot things and connect me with chefs. I do my own research as well. Everyone can do their own research; they have the greatest research tool in their pockets — they just Google stuff on their phones. It’s not that hard. I find 50 articles with everyone’s opinion and start cross-referencing; if two or three articles mention Ramiro [restaurant] in Lisbon, for instance, then I know it’s worth checking out.
How long do you spend in each location?
We’re always there nine or 10 days in each place, and we take little side trips to see what’s around. We all love food and I plan my trips around food — I know a lot of people do. The food and jokes are a hook, but there’s real value in traveling. It’s the greatest thing.
You’re a pretty thin guy. How do you stay that way eating so much food?
Every single day I do something. I have to, as I get older. Maybe I used to be thin as a kid but your metabolism slows down. This series does very little to maintain body fat. I have to limit what I eat. You know how they starve a dog right before the dog food commercial? I try to eat very little until I’m making the show. They’re just pummeling me with food and it can become a chore and I never want it to be that, since I love food almost as much as anything in life. Here’s the other secret: I’m not finishing it. It’s very rare that I’m going to finish [a meal]. I don’t want to get too full. And I have a crew of ppeople drooling and I have to give them some. s We try to limit it to two-to-three meals m a day, like l a normal person. pe
Is I there one dish that stands out from this season?
Something just popped into my head. There’s a dish in Bangkok, in Chiang Mai in the north. A great Thai chef took me to a place for something called Khao Soi, a bowl of coconut curry soup with ... whole drumsticks of chicken or big, huge pieces of stewed beef over fresh noodles. And then there’s pickled mustard greens and shallots and onions and chilies and then there’s crispy noodles put on top. So this is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten in my life and it costs $1 — if you want chicken or beef it’s $1.50 ’cause they have to make a deal.