Phil Rosenthal Names His Top Street Eats, From Chiang Mai to NYC
Phil Rosenthal, host of Somebody Feed Phil, has eaten in more than 90 countries and still prefers the street. He picked five favorites, including a Chiang Mai khao soi shack and a New York hot dog counter where two dogs and a drink cost $8.50.
Phil Rosenthal, host of the food docuseries Somebody Feed Phil, has eaten in more than 90 countries and still ranks street food above them all. He considers it the "quintessential food of mankind", and he has now named five street eats he cannot stop thinking about.
Rosenthal has won two primetime Emmys and a James Beard award. He also hosts I'll Have What Phil's Having, and both shows are now on YouTube.
A baguette in Paris
His love of eating outdoors began in 1983. Rosenthal was 23, the future creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, on his first trip overseas, with a baguette and some Brie in a Paris park.
"I said, 'Oh, this is what your money's for!'" he said. "[It's] for these experiences, not the fancy stuff."
Four decades later, the appeal has not changed. "It's the thrill of being surprised," Rosenthal said. "Great street food strips away the pretensions of sit-down fancy restaurants. And it's all about the flavour of the dish."
Khao soi in Chiang Mai
His first pick is khao soi, a northern Thai noodle soup, at a shack called Khao Soi Loong Prakid Gard Gorm in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Chef Ian Kittichai took him there. Chickens run around inside and outside, and the cook makes one dish only.
The broth is coconut curry. The noodles are fresh and hand-pulled, which Rosenthal compared to the best pasta he has had. Pickled mustard greens, chilies, onions, crispy noodles and a squirt of lime finish the bowl.
On the show, he usually takes a couple of bites and passes the plate to the crew. Not this time. "I said, 'Get your own!'" he recalled. He finished the bowl, then a second one with beef, something he has never done on camera.
He said it has to sit at the very top of street foods he has eaten, and might justify another trip to Chiang Mai.
A $8.50 hot dog deal in New York
Second is the hot dog at Gray's Papaya in New York, a storefront "barely" there on 72nd and Broadway. Two hot dogs and a medium papaya drink cost $8.50.
Rosenthal likes the portability and eating with his hands. He also praised the snap of the casing. The dogs are griddled rather than boiled like cart-style "dirty water dogs", then dressed with sauerkraut, onions in light tomato sauce and good mustard, in a soft roll.
"I'd rather have a great hot dog than a four-hour sit-down tasting menu at this point," he said. "My back hurts just thinking about it."
He also offered a rule of thumb for spotting a good stall. "A queue is usually a good sign," he said, though he warned that a queue can mean an Instagram sensation, and he has been fooled before.
A hamburger in Oaxaca
Third on his list is a hamburger at Paseo Juarez El Llano in Oaxaca, Mexico. Rosenthal described the city as the artistic centre of the country, "so lively and colourful", and said it is like Mexico City with a Greenwich Village.
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