Find out how to have the very best Sunday in L.A., in keeping with Ken Marino

Ken Marino loves dwelling in L.A.

Living right here has definitely been good for his performing profession. Though he broke into the enterprise as a member of NYC-turned-MTV sketch comedy group the State in 1994, he moved to L.A. within the fall of 1997 when he landed a task within the second season of “Men Behaving Badly,” an NBC sitcom. Marino shot simply 13 episodes earlier than the present was canceled. Still, he stayed in L.A., touchdown roles in much-loved reveals like “Veronica Mars,” “Party Down,” “The Residence” and “Running Point.” He’s additionally co-written a number of issues, together with “Role Models” and “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,” out July 10, which was filmed in and round Los Angeles.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. individuals give us a play-by-play of their best Sunday round city. Find concepts and inspiration on the place to go, what to eat and learn how to get pleasure from life on the weekends.

“Working around L.A. and running around to jobs is how I got to understand L.A.,” Marino says. “It’s just a very comfortable city to live in. I just think it’s fun to be able to bounce around and do anything you feel like doing.”

Here’s how Marino would spend his excellent, carefree Sunday in Los Angeles.

This interview has been edited for size and readability.

6 a.m.: Dog strolling, espresso and flowers

We have two canines. They must go outdoors within the morning and eat, and they’re very vocal about it. For some time, each morning at 5:58 my one canine, Dot, would begin whining and transferring round till I’d go “yeah, OK, let’s feed you.”

In our household, I’m the one who feeds the canines and takes them out, as a result of I’m a morning particular person. I get pleasure from it when it’s not absolutely gentle out, perhaps making myself a espresso or taking a stroll to this place known as Project Bloom Coffee. It’s slightly mother and pop sort of place and so they have terrific espresso and breakfast sandwiches. They’re additionally a florist. Sometimes they even use this cool paper holder with a deal with the place, on one facet you set the espresso after which on the opposite facet you set your lovely flower show. So then you definitely get to stroll dwelling together with your espresso and your flowers collectively and it’s one thing I’ve by no means seen wherever else.

7:30 a.m.: Online chess

After I am going get my espresso and stroll the canines, I’ll nonetheless be the one particular person up so I’ll get on my pc and get a few video games of chess in. I play individuals from all over the world on-line on Chess.com, and I often both get annoyed or really feel like I’m the very best chess participant on this planet. Anyway, I’m getting my score up on the app and I’m very enthusiastic about it. I’ve gone down the rabbit gap of chess tutorials on TikTok and YouTube that train me learn how to play higher.

9 a.m.: More espresso and “911”

If I am going to Project Bloom, I’ll convey my spouse a espresso and a few flowers but when not, we’ve slightly espresso and cappuccino maker so I’ll use that to make her a cappuccino, which I’ll convey to her in mattress. She’s at all times very joyful about that after which I’ll go attempt to wake my [16-year-old] daughter up, which often takes about two or three tries till I take her cellphone, set the timer for 5 minutes, after which put it on the opposite facet of her room so she has to get out of her mattress to show it off when it sounds.

She and I’ve been religiously watching “911” not too long ago. We began with Season 1 and now we’re about six or seven seasons in so I’ll make her breakfast — perhaps a Nutella crepe with some little cherry tomatoes on the facet, which is bizarre however she likes it or perhaps some oatmeal — after which we’ll watch “911” and speak about our favourite characters, like Buck, Chimney and Bobby.

Noon: Lunch on the Westside

We have slightly house in Marina Del Rey that’s proper by the seashore so generally I’ll go on the market with the canines, simply to take a seat for some time and revel in. I often stroll between the Venice pier and Washington Street, however generally I’ll go additional north and stroll alongside Venice Beach if I need to hang around with some freaky deakies.

When I’m over on that facet of city, there’s a few locations that I’d go for meals, like this Italian restaurant known as Ospi that’s in Venice. They’re unimaginable. They make their very own selfmade pasta and it’s scrumptious. There’s additionally this chain known as Guisados, and I really like their tacos so generally I’ll do this too. Venice Ramen is sweet too, and so they do this stuff known as jumbo gyoza which are completely scrumptious. They’re like 2.5 occasions greater than a standard gyoza, like palm-sized, and I actually like them.

2 p.m.: Play apply and a pint

My daughter is in two performs proper now at this place known as the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica, so it’s my accountability to take her over there and drop her off for apply. When I do this, if it’s a Sunday, I’d need to seize a Guinness someplace and watch basketball. There’s a bar known as Weary Livers down the road that has a whole lot of board video games and it feels such as you’re in someone’s basement, which is sweet. It’s additionally proper subsequent to the Brixton, which is one other good bar that I’ll go to occasionally if I’m ready for my daughter to complete rehearsal as a result of it’s a whole lot of driving in any other case.

4 p.m.: Garage band apply

Typically on Sunday, we’ll even have a rehearsal for the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band. [Editor’s note: Marino co-founded the group with David Wain, whom he’s known since “The State” and who co-wrote “Wet Hot American Summer.”) We’ll play for a couple of hours in David’s garage, trying out new songs and working out what we’re going to do at our next live show.

6 p.m.: Guerilla promotion

Right now, David [Wain] and I try to determine completely different promotional issues we will do for our film, “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,” so perhaps we’d do some extra of that. It’s a very humorous film and we offered it at Sundance.

Anyway, two Sundays in the past we walked round with our pal Frank Barrera, who can be one of many digital camera operators on “Gail Daughtry.” We went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and we shot promos for the film the place we have been speaking to completely different individuals and pretending that the Gail Daughtry cinematic universe is huge and has been round for many years, like we have been asking individuals what their favourite Gail Daughtry film is. It confused a whole lot of them, however each occasionally someone would say one thing so we’re utilizing these for promo spots.

I additionally spent a while simply operating up and down the road being very overly enthusiastic and screaming “the new Gail Daughtry movie is coming out!” after which we shot individuals’s reactions, which have been sometimes “confusion” and “not caring.” Like, “Stop yelling at me, weirdo.”

7:30 p.m.: Thai takeout

On weekends, my spouse and I prefer to order from a selected Thai place that’s gained many awards. It’s known as Luv 2 Eat Thai Bistro and it’s completely implausible. The crab curry is so scrumptious and so they do these avenue meals sausages that we crave. They include ginger and peanuts and garlic, plus a giant slab of uncooked cabbage and a few scorching peppers and we’ll eat them like popcorn, simply throwing them in our mouths whereas we atone for “Survivor.” The taste is simply insane, and we take into consideration how good they’re on a regular basis.

9:30 p.m.: Checkmate

After we watch “Survivor,” often what occurs subsequent is that we’ll find yourself going, “Should we watch a movie?” Then we’ll go searching for a film for some time after which my daughter shall be like, “Hey, Mom! Come in here and watch this YouTube show with me” so my spouse will get pulled away, and I’ll instantly decide up my pc and begin taking part in chess once more. I prefer to bookend my day with a quiet chess sport within the morning and one other quiet sport at evening. It’s a pleasant solution to wind down.

I’ll sometimes play a minimal of about three video games earlier than my eyes begin to shut as a result of they’re making an attempt to go to sleep. That’s once I’ll stop as a result of I’ll be making silly strikes and it impacts my score, like “Oh, I just lost that game because I fell asleep while my computer was on,” in order that’s how I do know once I’m performed.