And now the tables are turned

THE landmark L.A. restaurant Campanile has made its way onto many a My Favorite Weekend list, so it’s only fair that Mark Peel, the eatery’s owner and chef, got out of the kitchen and into a weekend with his comedian-actress wife, Daphne Brogdon. The couple and their 5-month-old daughter, Vivien, live in an area they describe with a chuckle as “Hancock Park adjacent.”

First, a workout

Daphne: Since Vivien was born, an ideal Friday might be washing my hair and taking a nap. But I’m trying to get my stomach down, so we’ve been going to Easton Gym on Beverly.

Mark: I do weights and cardio, and then I go get a milkshake and do some paperwork while Daphne takes the baby.

DB: I like to walk at the Grove or along Larchmont, then I’ll end up meeting Mark for lunch at Cafe Midi. We love the curried egg salad in half an avocado.

MP: In the evening, we’d go to Lucques on Melrose. The chef is a master with pork dishes.

DB: Or we could go to Grace for that wonderful chestnut soup with truffles. I could bathe in it. We could stop at the Campanile bar, where we met. I was drowning my sorrows after a crappy stand-up gig.

MP: She could have walked into any gin joint in the city....

Ready to rumba

MP: On Saturday we like Cafe Verona for breakfast. We call it “Quickie Lube Cafe” because it shares the building with an oil-change place. But it’s got great coffee and delicious frittatas with sweet potatoes and sour cream. I also like them with artichoke, and I add prosciutto.

DB: Then we have lessons at 3rd Street Dance.

MP: We’ve been doing it for a year, and it’s so much fun. We’re doing salsa and rumba.

DB: It’s a nice way to reconnect after rushing around all week. When we’re dancing together, it’s like I fall in love all over again.

MP: Then we’ll go to lunch at the Breadbar on 3rd Street -- good salads and sandwiches. After that, we might have friends over for dinner. I’d do something simple, like slow-roast chicken on the grill.

DB: And then after dinner, I love to play games, like Scattergories. I’m a big games person.

MP: I’m not, but I am a team player.

DB: On Sunday we’d have Mark’s son, Oliver, over, and we’ll have breakfast and then I’ll go to Embodyment Pilates Studio. I’ve taken pre- and now postnatal classes, and there’s a great camaraderie with the moms.

MP: They have competitive baby-picture showings.

DB: Later, I’d pack some snacks and we’d go hiking up into Will Rogers State Park. Mark is the professor and wants to stop and talk about plant life, and I charge ahead doing my cardio work.

MP: After that we’d go to Osteria Latini in Brentwood for lunch, which has some of the best Italian food in the city. Great execution, perfectly cooked fish.

DB: And the chef has a great personality, like Roberto Benigni. I’ve done some cooking myself, but recently I was in the kitchen chopping garlic and I thought, “You know, I’d rather sleep with a chef than be one.”

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--Mark Sachs