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Room for song, talk and comfort food

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The Chris Isaak multimedia machine is in full force these days, with “Mr. Lucky,” his first new studio album in seven years, just released last month and his entertaining talk show on BIO, “The Chris Isaak Hour,” airing new episodes on Thursday nights.

“My first show [on Showtime] was like ‘I Love Lucy,’ but without the tremendous talent,” said Isaak. “The new one is like ‘The Tonight Show’ if the world were run by musicians.”

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Down to the ‘Bone

One of my favorite restaurants is the Boneyard Bistro in Sherman Oaks. Aaron Robins is the chef, and he cooks things that I understand, like hamburgers, ribs, corn bread, collard greens too -- there’s nothing in there that you won’t like. It’s delicious comfort food, and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. He’s also got an outdoor area, and I like it out there. I get the full rack of ribs. There’s no entertainment, but it’s right on Ventura, so cars are driving around, and that’s good for people-watching.

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Old-school haunts

And down the street from Boneyard is another great place, the Sportsmen’s Lodge, which is the last of a dying breed -- a hotel where you can actually park your own car.

I’ve got a ’64 Chevy Nova, and I don’t want any valet parking it. They’re used to parking Mercedes and stuff, so they give me dirty looks whenever I pull up.

The Lodge has great breakfasts too, and you’ll see more stars than there are in the heavens, as they say.

I get Joe’s Special -- scrambled eggs and meat and biscuits.

You don’t have to eat for days.

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Dog day afternoon

Maxwell Dog is near there too. It’s a pet store, and there’s always 10 or 12 dogs hanging around and they always end up giving them a treat, and that’s as funny a thing to watch as anything you’ll see. People don’t look at pet stores as entertainment, but if you don’t walk out of there with a smile on your face, there’s something wrong in your life.

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You wear it well

I have a great clothes place for you -- Jaime Custom Tailor on Lankershim. You’ll think you’re in the wrong neighborhood because there are all these funky antique stores and used-car lots, but it’s awesome. Jaime Castaneda makes all my stage suits. I’m in show business, so I get to dress up. It’s hard to have a decent relationship, but you can have a black sequined suit. He measures and fits you, and one week later, when you put on that suit, you’re officially in show business. All you need is an act.

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Night life

I don’t really go to nightclubs much because I spend so much time playing in them, but I do like Casa Vega on Ventura, some of the best Mexican food in town, but it also has music. It’s really dark, but you can just tell everybody is good-lookin’. Not that they’d have anything to do with me. I also like the Joint -- Waddy Wachtel always brings in the best players in town to jam.

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A cut above

The secret to looking like you stay in shape is getting a good haircut, and I go to a place called Kinara Spa on Robertson. Koji Toyoda there is an old buddy of mine. If you get one good haircut a year, go to Koji, because he does it right.

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mark.sachs@latimes.com

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