Moving this thread to media since I deleted the travel board.
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Just watched the Los Angeles episode, and it has even more of the non-food stuff, with well-known actors making appearances. As my other half Mark noted, Phil is basically recommending a bunch of restaurants we canāt get to without flying 3000 miles, and not saying very much about the food (though there were instructions on how to make an omelette).
I guess I donāt understand why this show seems to have to be a serious food/cooking show to have some credibility. BTW, I would only have to drive 50 miles to get to those LA placesā¦ if I wanted to.
I started watching the first episode in Tokyo and got a kick out of it. When he ever ate the eel head and kept picking out bones (cringe!!!)āit reminded me of my own nasty eel experience. The first bite of eel I ever took, my friend next to me said, āWatch out for the bones!ā and didnāt it get stuck somewhere in my throat and ALL NIGHT LONG it would NOT clear?! Yeah, anyone else, please enjoy my portion. His entire commentary on eel just cracked me up.
The top restaurant they visited with the birds chirping through a speaker in the wood was pretty amazing, too. Even if Phil wasnāt talking about food, Iād want to keep listening. Heās just a funny guy. Very interesting overall and his facial expressions amuse me. He reminds me of someone I know who is also rather animated and has many interesting stories to tell. 
I guess I find the non-food stuff in places like Tokyo and Hong Kong interesting, but less so in Los Angeles, where it really just looked like he was trying to include a bunch of his famous friends.
I keep thinking I should not like this show, because Iām not actually learning anything.
But I realize that I like Phil - he seems like a real mensch. He enjoys food. The prospect of trying unfamiliar dishes excites him. He wants his friends, family, and viewers to experience these delicious foods. Heās a sincere, non-jaded, Chowhound - you should pardon the expression! 
He looks a bit goofy, but sweet: a middle-aged, real-life Charlie Brown.
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We agree that Phil is looking for a different audience than Tony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern. Philās adventures are pretty safe guides for the average tourist; Bourdain and Zimmern seem more geared toward the social anthropology of food as insight into a culture.
Just watched the Los Angeles episode. Iāve lived in the area for 50 years but still found most of it of interest. Set aside the celeb appearances (thatās just for audience building and can be debated directly with PBS if it bothers you) and the show gave a pretty decent group of recs for moderately priced, good and interesting food.
Iāve been to the Farmerās Market and Langerās many times but theyāre both classics worthy of return. Grand Central Market is classic too, but has become re-born with the rejuvenation of downtown LA, and is pretty hip these days. The East LA places seem like things Iād want to track down too. Even the place in Malibu was good to know about. The only gratuitous part was the food event IMHO.
Soā¦ Philās OK by me!
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