How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Joel McHale
Although actor and comedian Joel McHale has lived in Los Angeles for nearly a quarter-century, he’s quick to point out that Sunday downtime here is a rarity. “I don’t think I’ve had a leisurely Sunday in L.A. since February,” he said during a mid-December interview. “I was gone for probably eight months of the year [for work], and I’m always flying back and forth.” (His sitcom “Animal Control,” which began airing its third season on Fox on Thursday, is shot primarily in and around Vancouver, British Columbia.)
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
McHale brings this up as a way of underscoring that the ideal Sunday itinerary he’s about to sketch out leans very heavily on the ideal part; it’s an ambitious slate of potential things to do and places to eat across the Southland that could easily fill a month of Sundays — and not one he’s actually orchestrated. Given his busy schedule, you won’t likely see him around L.A. (or Studio City, where he currently lives with his wife, Sarah, and their two sons, Isaac and Eddie) anytime soon. But you will be able to find him battling critters (and co-workers) each week on “Animal Control” (which he also executive produces), hosting the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films’ annual Saturn Awards on Feb. 5, and eventually (though not right away) reprising the role of Jeff Winger in the movie version of “Community.” (Yes, it’s going to happen,” McHale said. “We got the money, and Peacock wants it, but we haven’t started shooting.”)
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
10 a.m.: Take in a little tennis
If this is really my ideal Sunday, I’d get up and hopefully play tennis with my wife, my son and my friend Bill Hanson for a couple of hours. Tennis is the last form of a sport — a competitive sport — I can play where I can move around a lot and not collide with a person. I used to play in football and basketball leagues and [play] baseball and all that, and then I just kept seeing all my friends snap their knees and smash their faces, and I’m like, “I can’t do it anymore.”
Noon: Forage the farmers market
Then I’d ride an electric bike to the Studio City Farmers Market — I’ve got this Super73 bike with shopping bags on either side — and I’d get fresh pasta, I’d get pickles, meat, fish, tomatoes and there’s really good ice cream. That’s very vague, but I don’t know the names of the specific vendors.
1 p.m.: Cast a wide lunch net
For lunch maybe we’d head over near USC to Mercado la Paloma to a place called Holbox, which just got a Michelin star. It’s just incredible, [with] wonderful fresh fish. In that same market [ I’d get the] tacos at Komal, which has these really cool tortillas.
Some of the city’s freshest tortillas are bubbling up on the planchas of Komal in Historic South-Central, arriving just-blistered and blue, yellow or white in color.
Before that, we might go to Proof Bakery in Atwater Village, which I think has some of the finest croissants in all the land. Or Saint, a coffee shop on Moorpark [Street] in Studio City [for] a cortado. “Cortado” doesn’t make any sense; coffee names are [generally] all scrambled now, [and] most of them are in Italian. [But the word] cortado is Spanish, and in Italy, the cortado is called a quarto — but nobody calls it a quarto here. And then the British started calling everything a ... flat white, and then the Australians started calling their cappuccinos “Gibraltars.” It’s all very Paul Rudd [in that scene from “Role Models.”]
Maybe I would pick up a pie at Curtis Stone’s Pie Room in Beverly Hills because I do “Crime Scene Kitchen” with Curtis, and his pies are ... amazing. His rabbit pie is one of the best things. It’s so damn good. [Even though Pie Room is usually closed on Sundays] he would open it for me to make my Sunday perfect!
Or let’s say I’m heading out there really far; there’s a taco place out in Muscoy called Tacos de Cabrito y Machito El Lagunero. It’s in the Inland Empire so you’ve got to head way out on the 210 [Freeway]. They’ll roast a goat every weekend, and they’ve got the pictures to prove it, and they always post them. They’re like, “The goat is ON!” and it’s great.
3 p.m. Run along the river
I like to run along the L.A. River, and there are certain sections between Laurel Canyon [Boulevard] and Coldwater [Canyon Avenue] where there’s actually a beautiful trail. Sure, you might have to fight a couple people, but whatever — it’s L.A. and it’s cool!
4 p.m. Check out Lost & Found
I might check out a shop called Lost & Found on Yucca [Street] if I’m going to get something for my wife. They always have this weird, wonderful stuff that she would like. I think that’s the first place I ever smelled palo santo being burned, and I was like, “I’m going to buy that!” The last thing I bought there was actually a book bag for myself — as if I’m on campus all the time, right?
Some solitary writing time, reading with the kids and an afternoon of steak tartare and a martini in Beverly Hills add up to an ideal Sunday for the “Frasier” star.
5 p.m. Log some permit parent hours
[Isaac,] my 16-year-old, just got his driver’s permit, so we’ll go driving all over the place; my right foot will be just stomping into the [floor of the car] as I sit there, and he’s always like, “Calm down, dad, calm down. It’s gonna be OK.” He’s got much better reflexes than I do.
6 p.m.: Wind down at a wine bar
After my son drives me all over the place, we’d come home and he’d probably do some homework and maybe I’d go a to a wine bar with my friend Geoff Johns, the creator of [the] “Stargirl” [TV series] I was on. My favorite is Augustine Wine Bar on Ventura Boulevard. They burned down about a year and a half ago, and now they’re just about ready to reopen. They’re delightful people, and they do a really cool thing where they’ll open something like a 1976 Châteauneuf-du-Pape and [offer it] by the glass, so you can buy these crazy glasses without having to buy the whole [bottle].
Kwang Uh and Mina Park’s reinvention of Baroo, one of L.A.’s defining restaurants last decade, builds on a legacy of creativity and Korean identity. Critic Bill Addison names it Restaurant of the Year.
7:30 p.m. Nosh at n/naka or make a beeline for Baroo
[Dinner might be at] n/naka, which is one of our favorite Japanese places. We know [chef] Niki — who started the place with her wife — from when she had a little place on Melrose and La Brea [avenues]. Or Mina Park’s restaurant, Baroo. She’s so cool and quite a character — and she talks as much as I do, which is saying a lot.
9 p.m.: Savor “Shadows”
My 16-year-old son might want to play tennis again, so it would either be late-night tennis with him or watching [FX Network’s] “What We Do in the Shadows” with my 19-year-old son. We’re very sad the show is over. We talk about it, parse it out, [discuss it] like a fine scotch. It’s just a masterpiece.
Times staff writer Tracy Brown and television editor Maira Garcia discuss the finale of FX’s vampire comedy, favorite moments and what made the series so special.
11 p.m.: Another court date
We might hit the tennis court — again — or shoot the basketball a little bit.
1 a.m.: Some early morning horror
I guess this is actually how my Sunday starts; my 16-year-old will come home from hanging out with friends and we’ll start to watch a horror film. The last one we watched was called “Stopmotion.”
4: a.m.: “The Blade” before bedtime
I’ll sleep six to seven hours — depending on my red wine intake — [and end my night by] scrolling through Instagram, watching a little more TV — I recently watched “Anatomy of Lies,” which is a documentary about a writer for “Grey’s Anatomy” and it’s wild — or listen to an audio book. I’m re-listening to “The Blade Itself” by Joe Abercrombie. He’s a genius. And with Audible you can just set it so it shuts off [after awhile] so you can just doze off.
Sign up for The Wild
We’ll help you find the best places to hike, bike and run, as well as the perfect silent spots for meditation and yoga.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
