I'll Have What Phil's Having

1/13/18. Let me say that this is one of the best food and travel series you'll see. Rosenthal makes for a great tour guide because he knows the right people to be HIS tour guides, locals (who fortunately speaks English). You get to see him taste the creations of probably the best chefs in each location, sprinkled with mini-tours to local cultural places so you get a sense of the country. Really worth catching.

This is a winner at multiple levels. It does a wonderful job showing off highlights of the cities visited. It gives you a reasonably intimate glimpse at the restaurants, chefs, and other fine food purveyors Phil interviews. Everyone's love of food and respect for process, ingredients, and the people they serve comes through loud and clear. Most of all it gives you an extended look at what makes Phil tick in his crazy, quirky way, and he turns out to be amazingly entertaining and personable. The show is almost worth watching solely for the boyish glee that rushes over him when he tastes something truly delicious.

WARNING: do not watch if you're hungry or susceptible to the travel bug--it will only aggravate your condition(s).

"Somebody Feed Phil" is a terrific travel and culinary show on Netflix which stars Phil Rosenthal, the guy who was the executive producer of "Everybody Loves Raymond". This show has brought him lots of fame and now Rosenthal is traveling the country with a live show due to the Netflix series' popularity. However, before this, in 2015, he made a six episode mini-series for PBS, "I'll Have What Phil's Having" and it's very similar to this later Netflix series. In both, he travels to various places around the world...making new friends, reacquainting himself with old ones and tasting lots of delicious looking food. The main difference is that the PBS series is a tad rougher...and Phil's lovable personality is there...just not as fully. In the later series, he seems to love everything and everyone. In the PBS series he's a bit more picky about food and even says he dislikes some items after he tastes them...something you really did not see in the later series. It makes the Netflix version a tad more positive...and a bit more polished and enjoyable. My advice is to do what I did...see the newer (and slightly better) series first and then this shorter PBS incarnation.

I'll Have What Phil's Having is my very favorite food/travel show. I streamed it on Netflix. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is there were only 6 episodes, and I can't find out if there will be another season! Phil Rosenthal's enthusiasm for food is contagious, and made me laugh often. He is just as enthusiastic about family, friends and new acquaintances. Each of 6 episodes (nowhere near enough) takes place in a different city, with Phil exploring and sampling a variety of local wonderful food. There is the rare odd traditional food, but he braves them all. Everyone should live such a fun & enthusiastic life; and yes, I WILL have what Phil's having.

Recently aired in my part of the world, it has since become my favorite culinary show. However, it's far from being just about food or on how to cook fancy dishes. Firstly, Phil has a delightfully refreshing sense of humour, so naturally alternating ingenuity, goofy or greedy looks with witty remarks, all with a very deep human touch. Secondly, the show shines through the excellent choice of travel settings, locations, their variety, elegance, traditionalism and the way in which they appeal to our very inner dreams and aspirations of how our world should look like. An alternative title could have been "A Bite In Dreamland With Phil"... My personal favorite is the Italy episode, however the other five are also exceptional. Throughout the show, Phil's guests and hosts are warm and funny, yet very knowledgeable as regards local traditions, cuisine and food produce, hence highly inspiring and entertaining. I also loved Phil's conversations with his Mom and Dad in each episode, so simple yet humorous and heartwarming. I wasn't around when the "Raymond" series were being regularly aired, I was too busy with my own work. Now, having finally had a very eloquent introduction to Phil's excellent entertaining talents, I would gladly give it a try...