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Jesse Tyler Ferguson
What I love about staying at a home on Airbnb is that feeling of walking into a place that already gets what you need. The thoughtful touches, the little comforts, the sense that someone really prepared for you to be there. I'm about to experience that again on a trip up to wine country with my family in Napa. I booked this beautiful home with all these views over the hills of Napa. But what I really love about the place is that it has this big kitchen so we can have family breakfasts and meals there. And it has enough space for the entire family to spread out. And it just reminded me how much those little details make a place feel special. You walk in and there's fresh coffee on the counter, there's a note with the WI FI password, and the font's big enough that you don't need a magnifying glass to read it. You know, those thoughtful little touches that really make a difference. And it made me think about hosting my own home on Airbnb when I'm away. But the idea of getting my place guest ready with all those thoughtful little touches is a bit, I don't know, overwhelming. That's where Airbnb Co Host Network comes in. You can hire a local co host to help with all those behind the scenes things that make a stay run smoothly. Guest communication, handling check ins, and even design and styling to make your place feel lived in and cozy. So if you have a place that you've been thinking about hosting, I don't know, a guest room, a studio for the garage, even your whole home while you're away, a co host can help you actually pull it off without adding more to your plate. So if your New Year's resolution is to earn a little extra money or, or finally make use of that space, start the easy way with Airbnb's Co host Network. This episode is brought to you by White Claw Surge. Nice choice hitting up this podcast. No surprises. You're all about diving into tastes everyone in the room can enjoy. Just like White Claw Surge. It's for celebrating those moments when connections have been made and the night's just begun. With bold flavors and 8% alcohol by volume. Unleash the night. Unleash White Claw Surge. Please drink responsibly. Hard seltzer with flavors, 8% alcohol by volume. White Claw Seltzer works Chicago, Illinois. Hey, it's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Here's a little side dish from this week's episode of Dinner's on Me. This week's guest was the endlessly curious and wonderfully Funny. Phil Rosenthal, who's the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond and also the globe trotting host of Somebody Feed Phil. We met up at the always busy Holbox in South la, where the seafood is as joyful as Phil is himself. Over aguachile uni and some truly unforgettable tostadas, we settled into a thoughtful conversation. We talked about how restaurants become little communities in their own right. And we get into my new play, Tru, that I'm currently doing in New York City. And of course we talk about Phil's parents, the real life inspiration behind Max and Helen's. To get back into the conversation. You're pulling up a chair just as I'm telling Phil what compelled me to take on the role of Truman Capote.
Phil Rosenthal
What made you shave? Cause I didn't shave.
Today I'm doing. By the time this comes out, I'm definitely being.
You're playing a 15 year old.
No, opposite. I'm playing a 51 year old alcoholic named Sherman Capote.
Phil, I'm working on the Voice and everything and I'm going to be doing this play in New York.
Oh, my God.
About Shuman Capote. Wow. And when I shave, I look younger than I should look. And it's a problem. It's a terrible, terrible problem. Well, they'll be. There'll be these, these lines that. Remember for makeup in college, the nasal lobby folds.
That's right. When like a 15 year old would play, would play Aunt Eller in Oklahoma. And they just put like the old age makeup on. Yeah, yeah. That's what I'll need to do.
You studied theater in college?
I did.
Where did you go?
We're gonna. College is a liberal word or is a very generous word for where I went. I went to a performing arts academy called the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.
I know it.
Do you?
Yeah.
I didn't go. But I know you know, of was a program where I received a certificate of completion.
But I'm sure your parents were thrilled with that.
They were thrilled. They were thrilled. Yeah. Like, what are we doing with this?
Yes. Yeah. And I don't have to tell you that the whole world was then open
to you when you moved into the city. I know. Well, listen, I mean, for me it was not. Because I did apply to like regular. Regular. I applied to colleges where I would have gotten a degree. Yes. And for me it was about. I needed to be in New York City. I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Yes. Which by the way, if you ever do an episode in New Mexico. You must, like, call me and I will meet up with you. Please of somebody feed Phil. And that's incredible.
Food in Albuquerque.
Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Yeah.
See, Santa Fe that I've never been to. I've never been to either. Yeah. But Santa Fe here is really beautiful.
It's great.
I don't know about Albuquerque.
Albuquerque has some pretty good food.
I know. It's breaking badly.
That's right. And now Pluribus lands.
Yes.
Which is excellent. I think. I think. I think the natives of Albuquerque are kind of thrilled about Pluribus because they love Breaking Bad. But they're also like. And it's also about meth. So it's not. It's great, but not great for us. So with Pluribus, like, oh, we like this, like, alien abduction thing that's happening. We like.
Nicer than meth.
Yeah. Nicer than meth. Kinder.
Yes.
So I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and then I was just desperate to get out of the Four Corners area. Yeah. So coming to New York was great for me. And that's where I became, like. That's where I came out of my shell. That's where I, you know, became the version of me that exists today. Because I was very sheltered and very, like, self sheltered in Albuquerque because I was like, you know, not only from the. The sun self sheltering, but also from like the bullies who didn't, you know, understand me. So. Yeah. But it was. New York was a really great place for me to sort of spread my wings.
Did you. Did you have the idea to play Capote?
I did.
I did. And look at you now.
Well, no, that Someone. Someone said you should think about doing this play. I did a reading of the play, and then I was like, we should do this further. And I ended up obtaining the rights for the play. And I did all those things to make sure that what I saw happening would actually happen. I couldn't leave it to someone else.
You've done Broadway before.
Yeah. Oh, Phil, have I done Broadway before?
I know.
Yeah. No, it's.
Ray is doing Broadway for the first time in that.
All in.
That's it.
That's right. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. This play that I'm about to do, we're actually doing it. I'm not doing it on Broadway. I'm doing it environmentally at a brownstone up in the Upper east side. It's this place called the House of the Redeemer, and it's an old Vanderbilt property.
Yeah.
And they've done, like, readings of plays There. And they do concerts there. It's a wedding venue. There's a gorgeous library that was brought over from Italy in the 1600s on two shipping crates. But now, I mean, this isn't bringing me there.
That's it.
Now I can find. I. I've never been able to find this.
You understand the mission?
Yeah, I do.
Oh, my God.
That's incredible.
Incredible.
That's one of the best things I've ever had.
I. I agree with you. Oh, life is good.
You're a very good person for bringing me here.
Wow.
But this plays. I'm doing it in this library.
Yes. I can't wait to see this. When does it start?
I'm starting it March 6th. It's only running for like, 10 weeks. Oh, boy. You might not get to it this time. I'm hoping that it will be a thing. We can bring it to la.
Actually, I want to see it there because the space sounds cool.
Yeah. Well, if I do it here in L. A, I want to do it in a space that's equally interesting. But it's only 99 seats each night, so I'm excited about the intimacy of it all. So the opposite of that.
Does it get into his kind of exile from society?
That's what it's about.
Yeah. Great.
That's when that play takes place. Yeah.
How'd you find it?
Robert Morse did the play in the 80s.
Oh.
Won a Tony Award for it. It's a one man show. And we did a reading of it in Morocco. Tangier, Morocco, to benefit an orphanage a few summers ago. And that's when I kind of discovered it. Great. Yeah. Yeah.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Phil shares a touching story about his father's kindness and generosity and reflects the meaningful lessons he's learned having parents who've survived the Holocaust. Okay, be right back.
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Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And we're back with more dinners on Mean.
Phil Rosenthal
When you look. When you look back at what you've accomplished so far. I mean, it's a bad question. I was going to say, what are you most proud of? But, like, I feel like that's an impossible question. Well, that's great. Yeah. I mean, I know Lily. I. I don't know.
Ben.
I don't know. Ben.
The greatest guy in the world. So funny. Way funnier than I ever was.
I thought you were gonna say than Lily. I was like, wow, vicious.
They're both funnier than me. They're both hilarious. And Monica's the funniest person I. I laugh every single day with Monica, and I laugh every single day with them. And they live close by. Monica and I are now the parents in Raymond.
Yeah.
They live really five minutes from us. Both of them. I see them both every day. How lucky am I? So I just. You think the kids aren't listening? I can't get through them. They want nothing to do with me. And you go through that period. That's nature's way of making it so that they'll leave eventually and form their own families. But you worry. Oh, my God, with all the shit they're exposed to in the world and the Internet and all the horrors, what if. What if they don't turn out to be good people? Well, guess what? You're already doing it. I know you are. You're modeling the behavior that you want to see in them. Yeah. You can talk till you're blue in the face. If they see you doing something terrible, that's what they're gonna remember. Yeah, but it does. You think they're not listening, but then, guess what? They come out of the shell. And then I guess they were listening.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I'm even experiencing that with my kids at the age that they're at, like.
Yeah.
You know, the things that they regurgitate. To me that might.
You heard that? You heard that?
Yeah.
And that includes every bad word you've said.
That's right. That's right.
But it's fine. It's. It's. You show them that we. We give to charity.
Yeah.
We help people.
Yeah.
That gets through. I remember my dad, he had a. He didn't seem to like people very much. He thought everybody was. Because, you know, coming from where they came from, they saw the worst of the worst of humanity. Yeah.
I mean, we'll say a little bit about that. I mean, your dad is a Holocaust survivor.
He got out after Kristallnacht, but he was Kristallnacht, if you know what that was. That was the night of broken glass. That's what that means in German. It was the night where, okay, all hell is breaking loose. This is how we really feel about the Jews. And we're going to smash their businesses. We're going to burn down the synagogues. We're going to beat up any Jew we find in the street. This is your message that we don't like you. He saw this firsthand. Most Jews, by then, it was too late to leave Germany. His dad had a connection, got them out. They came to Washington Heights in Manhattan.
Wow.
When he was 12, 12 years old. My mother, not so lucky, got captured when she was 10 or even younger, concentration camp, but survived and came to America. They had every right to not trust humanity, but instead they became, or just naturally were sweet, loving, really funny people. Yeah. A little messed up inside, but who isn't?
Yeah.
You can only use your past as an excuse for so long, and then you have to be a human being. So they. They were. They were great. And one thing I saw was he was a tailor in the garment center in New York. But the way they met was on his nights off, he went to amateur club in New Jersey on amateur night. And we get up and tell jokes. This skinny little tailor, my mother was on a date one night with a guy and saw this skinny Max Rosenthal telling old Jewish jokes and said, I think I like that guy better than this guy. And I always say, if my dad wasn't funny that night, I'm not here.
Right, right.
So we owe everything to a sense of humor.
Yeah.
So he's a tailor, and then his dream is to have a little kids clothing store in our upstate New York little county in Orangeburg, New York. He had a Young World. That was his store, and it was very modest. It was part of a strip mall.
Yeah.
Just a little store. One day we see in the newspaper, we happen to notice in the local paper this family, I think they might have been from Puerto Rico. They didn't have enough money for a Christmas tree. They weren't going to have gifts this year. And without telling us, he sent them a ton of clothes from his little store. That gesture was so unexpected and so beautiful. This is not our religion. These are not our people. Right. But he does this because it touched his heart. Didn't say anything about it. Didn't have to. This has stayed with me my entire life. To see your dad do something like that. Yeah. Right?
Yeah.
So that's what I mean by you model the behavior you want to see. Yeah. Yeah.
It's really incredible. I just. I love seeing you interact with your parents. I think. I mean, it's such a gift that you've been able to honor them and honor their remembrance and, like, we all have gotten to know your parents to your TV show. And there's so many people that you don't even know who love your parents because they loved watching them.
Makes me so happy.
Yeah, it must. And you know, through the diner, through just the way you've honored them on your TV show, through doing a special episode about them, which I highly recommend anyone to watch. It is such a joy.
I'm so happy we did it. My brother and I are so happy to have it as a home movie for us.
It's incredible. It's such a wonder. It's like a 30 minute love letter to your parents. I mean, it's such a gift.
Well, I. I just feel so lucky to have been their kid.
Yeah. Yeah.
And I owe them everything.
Yeah.
My career is pretty much built on making fun of them.
Yeah. I hope they do that. They do that. Yeah.
My dad kind of love being recognized. My mother was like, oh, I don't. I. This is not.
This is not.
I don't care about such things. I don't even want to be on the show. Your father enjoys it, but I don't. Until she was recognized in the street. Oh, thank you.
Yes. Yes.
Oh, hello.
So funny.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Phil and I get into our favorite Los Angeles restaurants and he shares what makes Max and Helen's food so good. Okay, Be right back.
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Phil Rosenthal
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Phil Rosenthal
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Jesse Tyler Ferguson
And we're back with more dinners on me.
Phil Rosenthal
Tell me your favorite restaurants in la.
Okay. And a Jack Thai.
Amazing.
Oh, my gosh.
I feel like we had their fried chicken at Lily's wedding. My daughter's wedding.
Did you really? Yep. I mean, incredible. You know, I. I just ate at Mozza again, and it is consistently incredible.
Always great. I think the best pasta in it.
I. I love bestia downtown.
Great. He's a. He's a genius.
Yeah. Yeah. I gotta say, Max and Helens is. Is up there.
Thank you.
Yeah.
That's very sweet of you.
I. I go every day. Do you really? Yeah, I mean, I've been there.
I need healthier things on the menu because I'm gonna get fat. There's a lot of butter.
There's a lot of butter.
That's a dirty secret of every great restaurant. You're eating half a cow's worth of butter every time you go to the restaurant.
Yeah. That's why you go. That's why you go. Let them deal with that.
This is so much better than my house. I mean, I make this, but why isn't it. It's good butter. Because you don't have this much butter in your fridge.
Even Paula Dean was on to something. Yeah. What I. What I was going to tell you is when. So I brought a few of my friends to the diner, and when the menu is set in front of them, there's this look that comes over their face of like, oh, my God. Because you recognize what that menu is. You see the things that are on it. But even just the way it's been laid out, it's also faded. So thoughtfully. It's faded.
Yes.
The way it's categorized, the cup of coffee comes. You're like, that's a diner cup of coffee. Everything about it has such comfort. And so I just want you to know that those details have not gone unnoticed.
You know what it feels like when I walk in there? It feels like we have a hit show.
Yeah.
It's the exact same feeling.
Yeah.
Because when people would come to the taping of Raymond, you see that they're happy to be there. They laugh, they're joyful. Same at the diner.
Yeah.
It's all show business. Right. We built a set.
Yeah.
We cast it. The food are the jokes that have to be good, otherwise nobody's coming back. Right. It's the same thing. Did you ever want to do something like that? Did you ever want to have a restaurant?
You know, I also invested in a few restaurants. None of them are around anymore, but I'm very proud of them all day. Baby was one of them.
Me, too. I was in that. We were partners. Great.
Long live long. And they did such a great job through the pandemic.
Don't you love Lynn? Isn't she the greatest?
Love her.
I hope she gets back up on the horse and does another.
We keep in touch with her. She's so great.
We have mutual friends. Ellen Bennett. Love her. She's great.
Well, yeah, you are.
Her wedding.
I was in her wedding.
That what I have to say. I had a nice wedding. Oh, that wedding looked. It was so spectacular.
I mean, she's.
From her dress to the party, every single aspect of it.
I mean, you know, I mean, she designs, obviously, for.
Yes.
For listeners. Ellen Bennett, the founder of Hadley been an apron.
She.
She has an eye and she has inspiration. She's an inspired person, and she created a whole empire, and she has basically cornered the market for, like, kitchenware.
Yes.
And rightfully so. I mean, her. She's impeccable taste. And her aprons are incredible.
Yes.
So she brings that attention to detail to her wedding. And I mean, the food alone was the most insane spread of food I've ever had in my entire life. And then on top of that, the color and the, you know, she. She. She wanted to figure out a way to get her guests from the venue, which was at this amazing hotel, to the after party. And so she basically bribed all the public transportation, the buses, and just gave people cash so that they would come off their route to pick up their guests and take them to the venue. And so we have all these incredible photos of us and public transportation going from. I mean, fly by the seat of her pants, but also, like, planned within an inch of its life. It was incredible.
I. I swear, I looked at that. I said, that's how to do it.
It is. Yeah.
Yeah. Truly, she's great.
She's so great.
Nicest, sweetest. Yeah, yeah. No, she's.
She's incredible.
You should have her own.
I should, yeah.
She.
But to answer your question, have I ever wanted to.
Yeah. Yeah.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
The answer is yes.
Phil Rosenthal
I mean, I. I admire the culinary world so much. I got to host the James Beard Awards a few times. Were you nominated that year? I know you. You won a James Beard.
Did you? Yeah, actually, we won best travel show.
The.
The first season of the PBS show, and then pbs, even after we won, they couldn't afford to do the show anymore. So here come this startup called Netflix, and now we're their longest running show. Crazy. Yeah.
But also such a reminder. And I think this is something we, we have learned to, to. To do in the entertainment industry, but never take no for an answer, at least the first time. I mean, there's a point, I think, you know, where I, I have learned to back off a little bit. But even then I feel like I hear so many success stories that are born from rejection. So much rejection.
Look at the Oscars. Every single one that wins the Oscar goes. We tried to make this movie for 10 years.
That's right.
Every single speech is the same. So what does it teach you? That if you make something a priority in your life, you simply won't stop until it's done.
Yeah. Now there's reasons you really believe in it. Yeah.
If we give up, it means because something else became the priority. Like having a normal life where you're not just beating your head against the wall. But I kept beating my head against the wall until it made a crack. And in my head,
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
that was more for my conversation with Phil Rosenthal. If you haven't heard our full conversation yet, make sure to check it out on Dinners On Me. This episode of Dinners On Me was recorded at Hole Box in South la. Next week on Dinners On Me, you know her as a dance judge on World of Dance, from films like Step up and as Firefighter Bailey. On the ABC series the Rookie. It's Jenna Dewan. We talk about her journey from backup dancer to number one on the call sheet and the pressure to pick a lane. Plus navigating a public breakup and finding love again. Dinners On Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Fergus. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Behr engineered this episode. Hans Dale. She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tameka Balance Kolasny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.
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Phil Rosenthal
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Episode: Side Dish: More Phil Rosenthal
Release Date: March 26, 2026
This “Side Dish” episode features a warm and candid continuation of Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s conversation with Phil Rosenthal, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond and the beloved host of Somebody Feed Phil. Over a meal at LA’s Holbox, they explore topics ranging from the formative power of food and family, to Jesse’s new theatrical project, to the deep influence of Phil’s Holocaust-survivor parents. The episode is filled with humor, relatable family moments, and heartfelt reflections — peppered with L.A. food talk and showbiz insights.
(03:08–08:41)
“I needed to be in New York City...That’s where I became, like. That’s where I came out of my shell. That’s where I, you know, became the version of me that exists today.”
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (05:42)
Notable moment:
Phil jokes about Jesse looking too young for the role after shaving — and they both laugh at the challenges of “playing old”:
“When I shave, I look younger than I should look. And it’s a problem. It’s a terrible, terrible problem...There’ll be these lines...nasal lobby folds.”
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (03:28)
(04:59–06:20)
“But it was. New York was a really great place for me to sort of spread my wings.”
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (06:19)
(10:28–17:41)
“To see your dad do something like that...that gesture was so unexpected and so beautiful. This is not our religion. These are not our people. Right. But he does this because it touched his heart...This has stayed with me my entire life.”
— Phil Rosenthal (15:25)
“You can talk till you’re blue in the face. If they see you doing something terrible, that’s what they’re gonna remember...But then I guess they were listening.”
— Phil Rosenthal (11:11, 12:22)
Phil recounts his parents’ stories: his father escaping Germany after Kristallnacht, and his mother surviving a concentration camp as a child.
Jesse warmly acknowledges how Phil honors his parents on his TV program, calling the episode about them a “30 minute love letter to your parents.”
“And there’s so many people that you don’t even know who love your parents because they loved watching them.”
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (16:29)
(18:47–22:19)
“You know what it feels like when I walk in there? It feels like we have a hit show...when people would come to the taping of Raymond, you see that they’re happy to be there. They laugh...Same at the diner. It’s all show business. Right. We built a set. We cast it. The food are the jokes that have to be good, otherwise nobody’s coming back.”
— Phil Rosenthal (20:39)
(23:30–25:07)
“Every single [Oscar] speech is the same. So what does it teach you? That if you make something a priority in your life, you simply won’t stop until it’s done.”
— Phil Rosenthal (24:34)
On breaking out of small-town roots:
“I was very sheltered and very, like, self sheltered in Albuquerque...New York was a really great place for me to sort of spread my wings.”
— Jesse Tyler Ferguson (06:05–06:19)
On parenting and legacy:
“You show them that we give to charity...We help people. That gets through.”
— Phil Rosenthal (12:37–12:44)
On the diner as community and showbiz:
“It’s the exact same feeling...It’s all show business. ...The food are the jokes that have to be good, otherwise nobody’s coming back.”
— Phil Rosenthal (20:39)
On persistence in creative careers:
“If we give up, it means because something else became the priority. Like having a normal life where you're not just beating your head against the wall. But I kept beating my head against the wall until it made a crack. And in my head.”
— Phil Rosenthal (24:49)
The conversation is by turns playful, affectionate, honest, and deeply heartfelt. Both Jesse and Phil bring warmth, self-deprecating humor, and vulnerability to the table—literally and figuratively—with Phil’s stories about family and Jesse’s perspective on art and self-creation providing the heart of the episode. The dynamic is natural and inviting—like sitting in on an exceptionally charming dinner among friends.
Listeners are encouraged to check out the full Dinner’s on Me episode for a deeper dive with Phil Rosenthal, and to watch the special episode of Somebody Feed Phil dedicated to his parents. Next week’s guest is Jenna Dewan, promising new conversations about dance, resilience, and love.