The Foods Phil Rosenthal Won't Eat On Somebody Feed Phil
Three seasons in, Somebody Feed Phil has earned its rightful place on Netflix's roster of essential food and travel programming picks. Hosted by Phil Rosenthal, the creator of the long-running sitcom, Everyone Loves Raymond, the food-centric travelogue sees Rosenthal take his signature enthusiasm and appetite to locations around the world to eat, drink, and dialogue with the people responsible for making all of the dishes that bring smiles to the wisecracking host's face.
Over the course of the first two seasons, Rosenthal has enjoyed countless culinary experiences, ranging from easy to swallow (think empanadas in Argentina and classic New York slices) to more out-there fare like ostrich in South Africa and sea buckthorn popsicles in Denmark (via Food & Wine). Season three, which premiered on May 29th, sees Rosenthal tackle five locations, some familiar to the host and others a bit more exotic. In the most recent season, Rosenthal pushed himself to venture outside of his comfort zone, according to an interview with The Wrap.
Speaking to The Wrap about fellow food travel hosts, Rosenthal admits that he's not quite a fearless of a feaster. "In certain cultures, they'll eat an eyeball. I'm never gonna be that guy. I'm not Andrew Zimmern, who is like a superhero to me. I'm not Anthony Bourdain, who was a superhero to me. I'm the guy watching them and saying, 'They are amazing, I'm never doing that.'"
A few things that fall on the 'no thanks' list
Over the years of adventurous eating, Rosenthal has certainly opened his horizons, but there are a few things that fall firmly on the "no thanks" list, namely "certain intestines, certain guts," and the aforementioned eyeball. He more or less seems to be describing offal, i.e., animal organs and entrails.
Of course, it wouldn't be much fun for viewers to watch Rosenthal stick to the script. In the premiere episode of season three, he sampled a plate of sannakji, a still-wiggling, freshly killed octopus, while dining in Seoul. Living in close proximity to Los Angeles' Koreatown, Rosenthal is no stranger to the cuisine (via The Times of Israel), but when chatting with Variety, he wasn't so sure that this particular octopus preparation would be making a repeat performance: "I love to try things. I know the worst thing I can happen is that I won't like it. As a child, that's the worst thing: You put something in your mouth and you hate it. As an adult, the worst thing you can say is, 'It's not for me.' Am I going to have live octopus at every meal? No. But I'm glad I tried it."