Somebody Feed Phil in Manila: Where Phil Stayed, Where He Dined
He stayed at The Pen, was in Tagaytay, and did he also visit Pampanga?
(SPOT.ph) Any foodie worth their Maldon salt has Somebody Feed Phil on their list of Netflix comfort shows, and any fan of now-vintage sitcoms knows exactly why this show matters.
Television writer and producer Phil Rosenthal may be a travel-dining show host now, but arguably his most prominent credit in the grand scheme of things is Everybody Loves Raymond starring Ray Romano. But at this year’s ATX TV Festival, Phil let the people of Austin, Texas in on a little secret: Somebody was sort of born on the set of Everybody.
“It took me three or four years to get [Ray Romano] on a plane, he just didn’t want to travel,” the Netflix show host told ATX. “But [we made that Italy episode of Everybody Loves Raymond]… and I actually saw Ray, the person, get it. He comes running to me and he goes, ‘Phil! Have you tried gelato? Oh, the pizza, the pasta!’ And I said, ‘Yes, this is where they make it, Ray!’ And I realized I wanted to do that for other people.”
On the subject of Somebody Feed Phil content itself—that is, how they choose the next location—Phil's brother-producer Rich Rosenthal admits, “It’s as simple as, ‘Where have we gone? And where do we want to go?’ We have our bucket lists… We haven’t been to the Philippines.”
This In Conversation tidbit was filmed back in June. As of October, the Rosenthals have been to the Philippines, and made their way out by the 10th. But who fed Phil, and with what?
Somebody Feed Phil in Tagaytay, and Pampanga too?
In the previous season of Somebody Feed Phil, the Rosenthals made it a point to highlight their return to Sampaguita, a Filipino-American ice cream shop located in Orlando, Florida—“Every bite is fantastic!” says Phil—and so a trip to the dessert’s country of origin was inevitable. Specifically, the Rosenthals had been spotted in Tagaytay and Batangas in the first week of October, staying at the Taal Vista Hotel; the visit was arranged by the Department of Tourism.
It appears that we can expect some of our regular beach fare—perhaps some kind of barbecue—to go with their shots of Pico de Loro, as well as the many local favorites Tagaytay is known for. If we go by the IG post of Mark Lapid, where Phil is seen posing for a selfie with the now COO of Tourism Infrastracture and Enterprise Zone Authority together with DOT chief Christina Frasco, Phil also got to taste Kapampangan dishes. Did the Somebody team also make their way to Pampanga? Very possible. It is, after all, the Culinary Capital of the Philippines.
Before their departure, the Rosenthals also made a point of exploring Metro Manila, although how much of it was filmed, we can’t rightly say. However, a few lucky fans managed to catch up with him at The Peninsula in Makati before he queued for the buffet.
“How they are on TV is how they are in real life” according to the Lagos-Nicolas family, who run Lulu’s Chips and Dip. “Richard and Monica initially thought we only wanted a photo with Phil, but we’ve been huge fans of the whole family [since the first season]. Seeing him in person was so unreal; we’d been hoping for a Manila leg of the show and it looks like it’s finally happening!”
“The hotel management tried to give him the VIP treatment,” adds Bobby Bernas, Somebody Feed Phil fan and member of Facebook group Let’s Eat, Pare, “but he wasn’t having it. He lined up like everyone else, and he was so curious yet respectful. Meeting him almost felt normal. [The Rosenthals] had their meal at their own table, of course, but binalikan pa nila kami to say goodbye! Can you imagine?”
A Peninsula insider tells SPOT.ph the Rosenthals also stayed at the hotel which they booked and paid for themselves. "They're so low key and private. They didn't want fanfare and didn't call attention to themselves," the insider adds.
What the Rosenthals ate: Pasta, pork, chicken and kambing?
Bernas also notes that the Rosenthals had one pressing question: Why don’t the hotels serve much Filipino food? “I told him that the guests tend to be international, and the guests who are local can get great Filipino food naman at home,” he tells Spot.ph. “I asked him if he’d forced Rich to eat balut yet… I think they got him to eat penoy at the very least. I’m excited to see that!”
The Rosenthal family did not lack for that foreign fare that we make our own, though—their visit to Txoko Asador made sure of that, with a feast that included foie gras, octopus carpaccio, mushroom paella, and cochinillo, among the Makati restaurant’s many specials. There was even local pride Carmen's Best ice cream among the desserts served. The owner’s documentation of the experience says everything: Phil really has enjoyed every minute since day one. Berry Tenchavez-Stehmeier who documented the encounter at Txoko said on her post: "You know that Phil likes the food each time he makes his eyes big. He wouldn't stop doing it while eating at @txokoasador."
Sources say Season 8 of Somebody Feed Phil is likely to hit Netflix screens by July 2025. SPOT.ph tried, of course, to score an interview with the host but our request was "respectfully declined."
Somebody Feed Phil has come a long way indeed since its first season, amplifying the popularity of Asian food via Netflix with its Bangkok and Vietnam episodes, and introducing us to this American traveler who seems in all aspects comfortable not being Anthony Bourdain. “The show was greenlit with one line," Phil told ATX in the same interview. "I’ll tell you what I said to them, this is the line: ‘I’m exactly like Anthony Bourdain if he was afraid of everything.’ And they let me do it!...[When I first pitched the show to Rich], he said, ‘What are they gonna call it? Lucky Bastard?”