Poncho Sanchez

* The percussionist and his Latin Jazz Band play the Conga Room on New Year’s Eve. His new CD, “Latin Soul,” was recorded at the club.

Fresh Fish and Cookin’ Jazz: What my wife, Stella, and I have done many times is go to a restaurant called Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach, where they have the freshest fish I’ve ever tasted. There’s always a lot of people there on the weekend because of the food. And then we go right to Spaghettini’s, also in Seal Beach not far from there, where they have jazz every night. Sometimes we’ll do it the other way around, get Italian food at Spaghettini and the we’ll go walk on the pier afterward.

Salsa on the Side: I like to go to the Conga Room, even if I’m not playing, where they have a great dance floor and crowd and great salsa bands. There’s also that great Cuban restaurant and dance club--La Floridita--in Hollywood. When Albert Torres presents salsa at the Sportsman’s Lodge in Studio City, that’s always a great salsa crowd.

New Hide-Out: I found a little hide-out, right at Wardlow Road and Long Beach Boulevard--Phil Trani’s. There’s a guy named Dale Spalding and his band plays ‘50s and ‘60s swing and rhythm and blues stuff--more of a get-down thing than ‘40s swing. He sings really good and plays the harmonica. I don’t dance swing, so we just go to listen. It’s an Italian place and there’s good food to eat, then you slip into the cocktail lounge.

Morning Soup: I live in Norwalk, and there’s a couple little mom-and-pop places that made great menudo, like Angie’s Mexican Deli, and that’s where it’s best. At Angie’s, you can take in your own pot and tell them fill it up to about here and bring it home.

Go Deep: I used to go deep-sea fishing a lot when I had my own boat, but I’d still put that on my list. Out here, depending on what season it is, you can catch bass and halibut down off the bottom. That’s my favorite. You let the bait sit there and in the meantime fish off the top for yellowtail or something.