There’s no time for a bad hair day

Between opening a salon in Beverly Hills and being star of his own unscripted series “Blow Out” on Bravo, hairstylist turned television star Jonathan Antin hasn’t been able to enjoy very much free time lately. But when he can get a break, he enjoys a great meal, some quiet time at home and above all taking time to remember where he came from. The season finale of “Blow Out” airs July 13.

Surf and turf

Friday night I love going to have a really great dinner. Above all I love going to Geoffrey’s on the beach in Malibu. It’s funny because you could easily see me there on a Friday night and again on a Sunday morning. They have these delicious pastas for dinner, but on Sunday morning they also have the best steak and eggs that you’ve ever tasted.

Otherwise some of my favorite dishes in town would be the steak at the Ivy and the tuna sashimi salad at Matsuhisa. It’s just amazing what a great meal will do for you. I gotta tell you, when I get a night off and I get to go to Matsuhisa, it’s like the whole world just sort of stops. The wheels finally stop spinning.

It’s always that much better when I’m on a date and have the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life sitting across from me, but even if I’m just with one of my buddies everything is OK.

Night life escapes

Later that night I love going to hang out at one of the new, hasn’t-hit-yet hot spots. [Club promoter] Brent Bolthouse is a friend of mine, so I’ll call him up and see what’s happening. I like to just roll by these places and see what’s going on.

I like going to Spider Club at the Avalon too. It’s kind of a cool place because somehow it has more of a New York vibe. Everything’s really dark and the music is just blaring, but nobody really cares how they look, what’s going on or who’s who. Even though it’s L.A. and technically everyone cares who’s who, at Spider Club it at least feels like we all get a minute to just get away from it all.

Relaxing in the a.m.

I’m an early riser. Things have been so busy, I’m up at about 6 just so I can enjoy all that’s going on in my life. I wake up, have a cup of coffee and maybe go for a walk with my golden retrievers, Nancy and Alice.

I live up above Sunset off Doheny, and my house is almost like going away to Palm Springs. I have a ‘60s post-and-beam glass house that looks out over the pool and all the way out to Santa Monica Beach. It’s really almost like having a weekend before each day starts.

Memories

If there’s one thing that inspires me, it’s going and having breakfast with my grandmother at the Grove on Sunday morning. I grab my brother and sister and we all take her to Marmalade at the Grove.

But no matter what else is going on or how many times I’ve heard it, I love just listening to my Nanny tell the same old stories about me when I was young or how all of us used to act when we were kids. It really takes me out of my big shoes and brings me back down to earth.

-- Chris Barton