My favorite weekend: ‘Glee’s’ Jayma Mays eats up free time

Last year, actress Jayma Mays figured she had scored a nice gig on a quirky little TV show. But what she had signed on to turned out to be the pop-cult phenomenon known as “Glee,” which opens its second season Tuesday night on Fox. The flame-haired Mays portrays high school guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, who in Season 1 had a will-they-or-won’t-they dalliance with Spanish teacher-turned-Glee Club maestro Will Schuester ( Matthew Morrison). But we hear tell that a newcomer played by John Stamos is about to make Emma’s life even more comically complicated.

FOR THE RECORD:
Jayma Mays: The My Favorite Weekend feature in the Sept. 17 Calendar section quoted “Glee” actress Jayma Mays recommending Los Feliz Cafe for coffee. She has since said she meant another restaurant in the area, Cafe Los Feliz. —

“I can’t give away too much because I really don’t know too much — the writers never tell us, and I like it that way,” says Mays, who lives in Los Feliz with actor-husband Adam Campbell. “But John is an amazing actor and a great addition to the cast. It’s going to be fun.”

Los Feliz fanciers

A nice night out for us is to stay in this neighborhood that we love so much and just maybe dress up a little bit and walk down to Little Dom’s. It’s Italian, but not strictly so; I think they’ve got some other influences there as well. The pasta is always a treat because we try not to eat too much of it at home. I always get the gnocchi and Adam goes between the pappardelle or sometimes the steak. And we have this theory that you can never go wrong with the house wine.

After dinner we’ll walk on down to the Vista, the best theater in town. It’s got that Old Hollywood feel, and every time we go, the manager is there to greet us and take our tickets. It’s such a nice gesture. The theater is so beautiful inside, and they always have a great film selected.

Doing the town

In the morning we’d get up early and go to the Silver Lake farmers market. It’s the perfect size; I get overwhelmed when they’re too big. After that we’d grab some coffee at the best place in town, the Los Feliz Cafe. We always order the Americano and some croissant.

Then we’d hop on our bicycles and ride straight up the hill to the Griffith Observatory. It’s a hard ride, and I have to stop a couple of times, but we feel so good afterward. We’ll hang out up there for a while, enjoying the view and maybe catching a show at the beautiful Observatory. Then we’d come down the other side to the entrance to Griffith Park and stop at Trails Cafe — I told you our weekends revolve around food! I always have the egg salad sandwich. It’s such a wonderful place, you have to go. I’m from Virginia, and the beautiful wooded area there kind of reminds me of home.

Shopping, hiking

I do love clothes, I’m not going to lie, and my favorite shop is on the other side of Los Feliz on Hollywood Boulevard — it’s called Confederacy. First of all, the space is amazing, even if you’re just going in to look around. Ilaria Urbinati and Danny Masterson both have a really amazing eye for great pieces and they really have a way of putting things together.

Later, a great hike is up at Solstice Canyon in Malibu. It’s kind of dry near the start but by the time you get to the top, it’s like this beautiful, lush oasis, and there’s the remains of a house that burned down many years ago. The footprint of the house is still there along with the bathtub and stove, so it’s a very unique place to spend some time.

A bit of N.Y.

A nice, relaxing place for Sunday might be Forage in the Sunset Junction area. It feels kind of like a New York eatery, and they have these wonderful salads there behind the glass, or maybe you’ll have a slice off the fresh whole chicken. It’s almost like cafeteria style, but in the best sense. It’s a very organic-type place; they only want you to eat the best food. I love the lentil soup and homemade bread.

mark.sachs@latimes.com