My Favorite Weekend: Dan Povenmire

The Disney Channel characters Phineas and Ferb look like escapees from a geometry teacher’s doodle pad, but as co-creator Dan Povenmire explains, they’re just a couple of good kids with time on their hands.

“They are two stepbrothers who try to make the absolute best out of every day of their summer vacation,” said Povenmire, who lives in Pasadena with his wife and two daughters. “They have a sister who always tries to get mom to see the outlandish things they do, but she’s never successful. And they have a pet platypus who, unbeknownst to them, has a secret life as a secret agent battling the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.”

Got that? Chances are your kids already do. Povenmire already has won a writing Emmy for the show as well as a handful of nominations with series partner Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, and Phineas and Ferb now live on school backpacks, shirts and notebooks everywhere. Povenmire, who also has “The Simpsons,” “Rocko’s Modern Life” and “Family Guy” on his résumé, says his projects keep him awfully busy, but he always has his weekends.

All aboard

Most of our weekends involve taking the girls places, and they’re at an age where the choo-choo train is the best thing ever, so we’ll take the Gold Line down a couple of stops to have lunch or go to a park. Or maybe the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaur puppet. We took it to Chinatown the other day and had some dumplings and walked around. My daughter said, “Look, just like ‘Kung-Fu Panda’!” They love those kinds of outings and I love to see them so excited about discovering the whole world.

A night away

If we’re lucky enough to get the sitter overnight, sometimes my wife and I like to stay at our favorite hotel, the Langham in Pasadena. It’s just a really nice atmosphere, and my wife loves the spa. It’s a real old-style hotel with beautiful grounds, and it feels as if you’re a thousand miles from L.A., like you’ve really gotten away for the weekend. Very relaxing.

Local treasures

For a special dinner, we like Shiro in South Pasadena. Delicious food; we celebrated there when the show got picked up. They have a miso-soaked catfish that’s just wonderful. But it’s a hard restaurant to find even if you’re looking for it. There’s another great place on Green Street in Pasadena that I’m really hesitant to mention because I don’t want it to get any more crowded. Oh, what the heck — it’s called Cafe Verde. My wife is from Venezuela, and she says it feels very much like home. It’s almost like a Cuban and French fusion. They’ve got a dish called shrimp tostones that’s just about the best appetizer I’ve had anywhere.

A little night life

For entertainment, we love Disney Hall. We saw the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra there conducted by Gustavo Dudamel before he became “The Guy.” I also really like the Ahmanson. I remember seeing “Avenue Q” there and outside there was this incredible art exhibit that had a super-high-speed film of people dancing but projected at a really slow speed. At first when you looked at it, it appeared to be a big projection of a photo, but then you realized that the people were slowly moving. It was one of the most incredible art exhibits I’ve seen, and there it was, just outside the theater downtown.

Sunny Sundays

On Sundays, I get together with some guys that I know and play volleyball. We’re pretty competitive, and we always have a good time. And sometimes our family will go to the Huntington Gardens, and it’s fun to walk around all the greenery and fountains with the girls. And the high tea is really delightful.

mark.sachs@latimes.com