Just don’t take it too seriously

The late-night talk-show graveyard is brimming with hosts whose tenure was measured in months rather than years. Yet Jimmy Kimmel remains alive and well, now in a third year of presiding over his brand of midnight malarkey on ABC weeknights.

Kimmel, the co-creator of “The Man Show” and “Crank Yankers,” earned an Emmy as host of “Win Ben Stein’s Money.” He lives in the Hollywood Hills and spends time with his girlfriend, comic Sarah Silverman, and his two children from a previous marriage. Like his show, his weekends are enjoyed with tongue in cheek.

The Zen of Costco

On Fridays, after we do the show, everybody hangs out in the dressing room. I’ll order some food from a place at the Farmers Market, Sushi a Go Go, which sounds terrible but is actually very good. I get the party platter for 30 and eat about 10 people’s worth, then everyone shares the rest. If we decide to go out, we might end up at Frankie’s on Melrose, which is fun because they have a singer, Italian music and the food’s really good. I like Ashton Kutcher’s place too, Dolce. I like places where the music isn’t overwhelming and you can actually talk and eat. And I oppose dancing in any situation.

Almost every Saturday morning I’ll go to Costco. It’s my Zen time, and I have a pattern that I follow as I go up and down the aisles and buy things I don’t need. Or I’ll go to Fry’s Electronics, which is the greatest store with the worst service. It’s like a Third World country. Then I’ll go to Crunch, where I teach a Booty Ballet class. Later I’ll get fish tacos at Kings Road Cafe in West Hollywood or go to Toast, where the banana pudding is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had. I like the lox or smoked fish there too.

Later, I’ll go to this massage place in Thai Town where they walk on your back for $40. Or if I have the kids, we’ll go to a movie at the Grove.

For dinner, I like the steak and lobster or the linguine and clams at the Palm, and the Ivy has great fried chicken and is the perfect place to take your parents if they’re in town. Then we’ll go to the Improv if my girlfriend is doing a set, and afterward we’ll just come back to my house.

I’m not a clubber at all. I like to have people over for karaoke. I have the whole setup, and I’ll keep going until I get drunk and take off my shirt and am left alone screaming to some Scorpions song.

TVs for the crowd

On Sundays, I get up early and pressure-wash my deck. You can cut off a toe with that thing if you point it in the wrong direction. I even try to get over to the neighbor’s yard and wash off their stuff too.

If it’s football season, I’ll have a bunch of guys over to watch the games. I have 17 TVs, so we can watch all the games simultaneously. I always cook for the group, something simple like hamburgers, shrimp salad sandwiches, steak sandwiches or maybe some ribs. When the kids are there I’ll cook too, usually Italian food because it’s the only thing we can agree on, food-wise.

I love to cook on Sundays, but later, if we decide to go out to dinner, I might go to Angelina Osteria on Beverly, where everything is good. They have these tiny little meatballs, but they give you a whole plate -- Italian meatballs, not Swedish. It’s always packed, so sometimes we sit on stools in back at the counter so we can see the kitchen and we watch them make the pizzas.

-- Mark Sachs