New City native Phil Rosenthal credits his upbringing in Rockland County, along with his parents, for helping shape who is today.
The creator and host of Emmy nominated “Somebody Feed Phil,” an unscripted documentary series on Netflix, and the creator of the hit CBS comedy, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” loves food and loves traveling but more than that he loves sharing his experiences with others so that they, too, can have a similar experience, call their travel agent and eat what he’s having.
Phil Rosenthal who grew up in New City and appears on the Netflix Show “Somebody Feed Phil,” has a new book,, a companion piece to the show, called “Somebody Feed Phil The Book.”
And now he has a new book, “Somebody Feed Phil The Book,” (Simon Element) which is a companion piece to his show — season six is currently airing — as well as a cookbook featuring recipes from some of the world’s best chefs. The book, which debuted Oct. 18 (and has already hit the New York Times bestseller list), also includes dialogue from some of Rosenthal’s video phone calls from the road with his family who have, over the years, played a big part in his series. His parents, Helen and Max Rosenthal, were his inspiration and were highlighted often in his shows; his mother died in 2019; Max passed last year. The current season of his series includes a half hour tribute episode to the longtime New City residents.
The book also includes untold stories and behind the scenes photos and comes in an audio version.
Eating pink pad Thai in Bangkok, bánh mì in Saigo, grilled oyster mushrooms in Tel Aviv and pixelated porridge in Dublin was worlds away — literally — from the way the 62-year-old North Clarkstown grad grew up. The child of Holocaust survivors, delicious meals and travel, he writes in the book’s forward, were not the priorities; “Safety and affordability were.”
Phil Rosenthal and Emily Gipson in “Somebody Feed Phil.”
But his parents did buy Time Life Books’ The Great Cities series, 25 volumes highlighting places around the world that the senior Rosenthals hoped their sons (Phil’s brother, Richard is a producer on the show who occasionally makes front of camera appearances) would use as geographic encyclopedias. “To me,” writes Rosenthal, “the pages were filled with magical places that seemed better than where I was living. And we never went to any of them.”
