No need to call 911: He knows how to unwind after a stressful week

TOM EVERETT SCOTT is not an emergency medical technician, but he’s about to play one on TV.

Scott, the offbeat drummer from Tom Hanks’ 1996 hit “That Thing You Do!,” stars as a gambling-prone med school dropout turned EMT in “Saved,” a TNT series premiering Monday. He also just finished a movie, “Because I Said So,” with Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore.

The 35-year-old Scott lives in Encino with his wife Jenni, kids Arly and Finn and a pair of dogs who answer to Moose and Daisy. With a hectic work schedule and a full-house private life, Scott still managed to have a weekend saved for pure fun.

Taste of Old Hollywood

On a Friday night, the wife and I might get a sitter and head out to Dan Tana’s. It’s an Old Hollywood type of place, and we like that vibe, but it’s the food that keeps us coming back. Just good Italian cooking, and I especially like the chicken parm. We always make plans to see a movie afterward, but we usually take so long at dinner that we tend to end up going to a bookstore, sometimes to browse and sometimes to buy. What bookstore? I don’t want to plug any big corporate chain.

So many food options

On Saturday mornings we get up and watch cartoons, and then we’ll go to the Griddle on Sunset and Fairfax for breakfast. My kids like the huge M&M; pancakes, my wife orders the fiesta scramble, and I’m an oatmeal guy. The eggs Benedict are out of this world, but I’ve sworn them off. Got to watch myself there.

After that, we’ll take the kids to Griffith Park. The kids are big into the trains at Travel Town. Then we’ll go home and take a stroll around the neighborhood, which is really a lovely part of the city, very quiet. And we can walk for pizza at Mulberry Street, which we love, and then go over to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream. Whoops, I guess I just mentioned a big chain.

But the great thing about the area is that a lot of our favorite places are right there. If we want hot dogs, there’s the Stand. We like the Habit for burgers. And one of my favorite little restaurants is Amir’s Falafel. We go to Domingo’s Italian deli for meats and cheeses, and they make a mean grinder. There’s Nicolosi’s bakery for dessert -- delicious cannoli.

After that, we’ll go home for a half-hour of video games -- that’s the limit, for the kids and for me -- then my wife and I will go out to our favorite restaurant, Brandywine in Woodland Hills. It gets a 27 for food in Zagat’s. There’s a John Dory that melts in your mouth, and it’s got the best steaks I’ve ever had. We just love that place.

Burning calories

On Sunday morning we’ll have some breakfast at home and then go to Fryman Canyon for a hike. All the way up to TreePeople and over to Coldwater Canyon, then back down. It’s a nice loop. Then we’ll go over to Belwood Bakery in Studio City for a snack, and then maybe drive up to Santa Barbara and go to the zoo. We also like to drive up to Paradise Cove, where we can eat and then lie on the beach.

In the evening, we’ll have a cookout in the backyard. My specialty is chicken wings, which my daughter Arly especially likes. She’ll see me with the marinade and ask, “Dad, are you making chicken bones tonight?” Chicken bones -- that kills me.

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-- Mark Sachs