When the mind tells him to relax

GROWING up with 17 brothers and sisters, it wasn’t always easy for Carlos Mencia to stand out in a crowd -- until he decided to stand up. Mencia is one of the busiest stand-up comedians around, touring clubs around the country and this year starring in “Mind of Mencia” on Comedy Central, which will air a season best-of episode on Saturday.

Mencia, 37, lives in Encino with his wife, Amy. They haven’t started on their own 18 kids yet.

A refreshing dip

Because I work a 9-to-5 job with the TV show, I like to come home on a Friday and jump in my pool. When I was young I saw this movie that had a pool with this steam floating up, and I though that was so classy. I told myself that if I could ever afford it, I was going to have a pool heated to 80 degrees year-round. So I jump in and relax a little bit before I shower. It’s my way of saying, “OK, you’ve made it, dude, so have a good attitude about life.” My wife comes in sometimes, but mostly she thinks it’s dumb.

After that, we might go to Matsuhisa. We like the blackened cod, and the yellowtail with jalapeno and cilantro sauce -- oh, my God, it’s so incredible. And if there’s green tea ice cream available, I’m having it. After dinner, I’ll pretend I’m taking her to a movie, but we’ll end up at the Comedy Store. And as soon as I walk in, they’ll say, “Hey, do you want to go on?” and I’ll say, “Gee, I don’t know,” and then I’ll jump onstage. My wife just rolls her eyes. But I used to be the valet parker there, so to have people want to see me perform is still fantastic.

California scene

On Saturday we’ll get up and go to the Inn of the Seventh Ray in Topanga. It’s got really healthy food, but for my wife it’s the atmosphere. Very California. The first time I went I asked what kind of iced tea they had and they said, “It’s very special today; it’s full of energy and light.” I thought, “What the heck are you talking about?” It is kind of cool, but if it’s my choice, we’ll go to Jinky’s in Sherman Oaks and have the scramble and jalapeno sausage. Afterward I’ll go golfing with my brother. At night, my wife and I will go to Mirabelle on Sunset, where they have this fantastic angel hair with tomato and basil. They also have great albondigas soup on Saturdays. It isn’t a Mexican restaurant, but I’ve poked my head in the back and believe me, the chef looks like he can make authentic albondigas. After that, I might try the Comedy Store again, but if that doesn’t work, we’ll go to the Sherman Oaks Galleria for a movie. Sometimes we’ll see two, one that she wants to see and then one for me.

Easy rider

On Sundays I’ll check the weather, and if it isn’t going to rain, I’ll go motorcycle riding. I have five bikes, two old-school and three custom-built choppers. Sometimes my wife goes, but she really doesn’t even like me riding. My brother might come, and he’ll bring over carne asada to barbecue later. Or we might go to the park with my family. There’s always a birthday or a baptism. If you’ve been to Griffith Park and seen a hundred people crowded around a pinata, that was probably us.

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-- Mark Sachs