Taqueando with Bill Esparza

Phil Rosenthal on Leaving Netflix, Bad Food Influencers, and the Ultimate Taco Crawl Faux Pas

July 15, 2026·54 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Somebody Feed Phil host Phil Rosenthal joins Bill Esparza at Max & Helen’s, his Los Angeles diner created with Nancy Silverton, for a wide-ranging conversation about food, travel and the value of remaining curious. Phil reveals why Somebody Feed Phil is leaving Netflix for YouTube, calls out the negativity and rage bait driving food-influencer culture, and finally learns why filming pirated DVDs during their legendary Tepito taco crawl nearly got the entire crew kicked out.Bill also asks the legendary comedy writer to judge his official Dos Equis “legend line”: “When there’s no line at Max & Helen’s, people wait eight hours just out of respect.” Plus, Phil and Bill debate whether LA pizza has caught up with New York, explain why Los Angeles has America’s best Mexican food, revisit cow-udder and beef-lung tacos, and discuss the restaurants Phil believes are defining the city’s food scene, from Pizzana and Pizzeria Sei to Courage Bagels and Max & Helen’s.Produced by Robert Haleblian.

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