MY FAVORITE WEEKEND
Rewarding Routine: I cherish the hours, especially on Saturday mornings, that I spend running errands in my Larchmont Boulevard neighborhood. I get my car washed, go to the laundry, go to the bank, go to the barber shop, get my shoes shined, go to the photo store. I enjoy these things because I know people at each one of these places. It’s an opportunity to just hang out and talk.
Familiar Food: I have a whole network of regular places where I know the menu backward and forward and I know everybody there. Those places are usually very traditional, historic places like Musso & Frank in Hollywood and the San Antonio Winery & Restaurant on Lamar Street in Los Angeles. I don’t go to trendy nightspots, clubs and bars. A good Saturday night for me would be to go with three or four friends to Musso & Frank, drink a couple of their Charlie Chaplin martinis and have some prime rib and some cream spinach, and sit around and talk for three hours.
Another Side of Venice Beach: I discovered that Venice Beach has a totally different feel to it at 7 or 8 a.m. on Sunday than the Venice Beach we think of with the crowds and all that stuff. It’s very low-key and local. It’s people sitting around and talking and having coffee. It’s really a neat feeling.
That Small-Town Feeling: On Sunday mornings, I always go to the Hollywood Farmers Market on Ivar Avenue near Hollywood Boulevard. I know about 30 of the vendors by name. I’m a regular at certain places to buy certain things. If I have visitors from out of town, I love to take them there to show them that side of L.A.: the side with the small-town charm and the sense of community.
Discovering L.A.: I sometimes get in my car and explore, almost block by block, a part of the city that I’ve never been to before. I’ll meet people along the way, or people come up to me and say hello and start talking to me about programs of mine that they’ve liked. They’ll take me to a place in their neighborhood or show me something around the corner, and it just turns into a whole day.