How this ‘Ice Age’ star chills: A little sushi, a lot of family time
SURE, everybody loved “Raymond,” but Emmy winner Ray Romano knew that he’d have to choose his outside roles carefully if he wanted to avoid being typecast. That’s why playing a mammoth in the animated “Ice Age” films might be considered a masterstroke (you can see for yourself in “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” on DVD Nov. 21).
Meanwhile, here’s how the real Ray chills out at home in Encino with wife Anna and their four kids.
A movie with the crowd
For a casual Friday dinner, we like to go to this Creole restaurant near us called Stevie’s. It’s kind of a cool, casual place, and musicians come in later and play jazz. But we really go for the food. I usually get the Cajun catfish.
After that, my wife and I try to get to a movie. I don’t like the high-tech type of theaters, the ones with stadium-style seating. It’s almost like you can’t even see the other people and you’re in your own little seat-box, and it takes away from the joint experience that the movies were kind of meant to be. Especially for comedies, because I saw “Little Miss Sunshine” in both kinds of theaters, one kind of high-tech, and it was so much better in the other one.
Bagels and basketball
On Saturday I work out before I do anything else. I go to a gym that’s about 30 feet from my bed. I’ve got a little room with a universal machine and a treadmill and I do my little exercises and pretend like I’m strong in there. After that we have a favorite bagel place that we go to, Western Bagel on Ventura Boulevard. And there’s always IHOP -- the kids love the IHOP.
Then there’s usually two basketball games to go to with the kids, one for the 8-year-old and one for the twin 13-year-olds. After that it’ll be lunch at In-N-Out. My kids love it -- they want to work there, which is good because it means they want to work.
Later, we have a place in Malibu, so we’ll go down there and my wife will just kind of sit around, but I like to go out with the kids and boogie-board. I have a surfboard, but I’m getting older and I like to lay down -- it’s safer to boogie board.
For dinner, we like Nobu with the fancy sushi stuff. And we also like an Italian place nearby, Tra di Noi; I usually get the angel hair seafood pasta with the spicy sauce.
What would we do after that on an ideal weekend? Are you hinting at sex? ‘Cause that’s not going to happen. You’re talking about my birthday. So we’ll rent a movie or look at TiVo.
Getting in some golf
On Sunday I like to golf, but my wife isn’t crazy about me doing it, so the earlier I go, the better. I’ll start around 7 a.m. I play at Lakeside and I’m a member at El Caballero. I get in by 11 sometimes and can watch the end of the first football game.
It’s all sports on Sunday, either playing or watching. I have a friend who’s a big New York Jets fans, and he’ll come over and watch the games with me. Usually we’ll get our hearts broken.
If we’re still out in Malibu, I might barbecue, but I’m not the greatest at that. We might go up to Oxnard to Jim Hall Kart Racing. Legitimate 65-mph go-karts. You have to get a training session in, but the 13-year-olds can do it and they love it.
At night we might go to dinner at Kushiyu, another sushi place that’s kind of a favorite, on Ventura Boulevard in Tarzana. I’m not sure how to spell it. There’s a Y in there. And I think an umlaut.