Always on the lookout for an interesting eatery

Although the actor has appeared in more than 200 television shows and 50 films to date, his best-known portrayal is Stanford Blatch, Carrie’s gay pal on “Sex and the City.” With that character’s outre couture, Garson is probably the only actor on the show who doesn’t want to keep his wardrobe.

Ridiculous spots

My weekends usually revolve around food, liquor, gambling, friends and the outdoors.

My friends call me the meal hunter because I’m always looking for the interesting meal. So Friday night, we like to go someplace ridiculous for dinner, to have a chuckle. I like Palms Thai Restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard. They have the Thai Elvis, an impersonator who’s maybe 4-foot-11. The guy is truly an artist. I also like the Matterhorn in the Valley. It’s a German restaurant for old people, with singing and dancing and Wiener schnitzel. Then there’s Billingsley’s, at the Van Nuys airport, which is old-style continental dining. Big red banquettes and a hundred-year-old piano player.

After dinner

If we stay in town, we go to Musso & Frank. Then, if a friend has a movie opening, we’ll go see it. Or maybe a play, if I have to, at gunpoint.

I go to the gym first thing when I wake up, every day except Sunday. Then it depends where the horses are running. If they’re local at Hollywood Park or Santa Anita, I’ll go there. Sometimes we’ll go down to Del Mar near San Diego. If not, then I’ll try to do something else outside, like tennis or Ultimate Frisbee.

Take over a bar

I like to travel in a pack; I have a lot of good friends here. But it’s hard to go anywhere with a group of 20 people on a Saturday night. And some of us are recognizable so it’s a little bit of a hassle. So we go find the worst, cheesiest, alcoholic bar, that only has 10 customers on a Saturday night, and we take it over. There’s the Tee Gee lounge on Glendale Boulevard, and the back of the Red Lion is good too if you get there early. It’s like your own party, but nobody’s house has to get trashed.

Breakfast: Yum!

I’m a breakfast fanatic, so Sundays are great for a hotel. I love the Fountain Room at the Beverly Hills Hotel, in the basement. All they’ve done to it since the ‘40s is clean it. Another place is the Sunset Marquis, by the pool. Maybe the greatest place for breakfast is the Tallyrand, in Burbank. They serve a cinnamon roll the size of a hubcap, completely covered with butter -- it’s the craziest piece of food in the city. Sunday afternoon, it depends on where the flea market is that weekend, and what I’m looking for. Long Beach is good for furniture, Pasadena for records. After that I usually chill out. Then my friends and I have a Sunday family dinner. We’ll go some place like down to M & M Soul Food in Crenshaw, or Taylor’s in Koreatown, or Empress Pavilion in Chinatown.

Then I’ll see what bands are playing around town, at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, or Spaceland in Silver Lake, or the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. If I’m not working Monday morning, Sunday night is just another weekend night for me.

-- Lisa Rosen