For ‘Psych’ star, it’s a Mexican menu

ACTOR James Roday is one of the beautiful people. People magazine said so just this year -- not that the Atwater Village resident is complaining. Blushing, perhaps, but not complaining. Yet what he’s really proud of is his USA Network series “Psych,” which begins its second season Friday at 10 p.m.

A quiet start

On a Friday night I try to keep it mellow, and that’s where the Sonora Cafe comes in. Even at capacity it never feels too crowded or too hip. You always get a really nice and friendly meal and a warm ambience. And the Texas-style barbecued pork chop is the best I’ve ever had. If you’re feeling adventurous, the ginger margarita is a very nice thing.

Then I’d probably hop over to the ArcLight and catch a flick. They do screenings of classics, and if I got lucky, maybe they’d be having a Bergman festival, and I could sit there and see a beautiful restored print of “The Seventh Seal” in the most luxurious movie theater in town.

Beckham beware

On Saturday morning I’d get up and in 15 minutes I’m in the car and driving to the Valley for a pickup soccer game. We play sort of in Studio City, in a middle school. Is it hard-core competitive? Well, it’s a lot of actors who all recognize that it would be really stupid to get hurt playing soccer. So we’re as competitive as we can be until it comes to that moment when we sense danger, and then we go the other way.

We head back toward my place and maybe stop at Pinkberry on Vermont. I must admit I’ve been sucked in by this craze. I’m a big fan of the green-tea variety. Or we’ll go to Doughboys for something a little more substantial. I’m all about the porridge there. Then we’ll go relax and refuel at my house and catch a sporting event on TV.

Later I’ll grab my girl and a couple of friends and head for the Hotel Cafe on Cahuenga. It’s a wonderful venue to see a singer-songwriter. One of the resident performers I’d want to see is Priscilla Ahn.

After a set of great music, I’ll hop across the street to the Velvet Margarita for some good old-fashioned, not-good-for-you-on-any-level Mexican food, like my grandmother still makes. And talk about cool ambience -- there are sombreros on the wall and black-velvet paintings of famous Mexicans, but as they’d be if they were dead. Like Pancho Villa, but as a skeleton. They have two giant TVs where they play black-and-white Mexican films or Elvis movies in Spanish. It’s an interesting place. I’d probably order the pollo asada taco plate and a pomegranate margarita. Just killer.

Go Titans

On Sunday in my ideal weekend, I’d wake up and it would be football season, so I’d grab breakfast at Fred 62 on Vermont -- scrambled eggs, toast and turkey sausage. Then I’d come home and watch the Tennessee Titans on TV and fall asleep during halftime. Later, we’d circle our horses for poker night at a friend’s house. We make rice and beans and loads of other stuff. I’ll show up with plenty of Steel Reserve high-gravity beer from the Country Store in Laurel Canyon. It’s like drinking really cold lighter fluid. We play Texas Hold ‘Em and listen to really good music, sometimes really bad music, and by the end nobody cares what’s playing. And no one drives until the next morning.