The ‘Cougar Town’ star is a bachelor about town, oftentimes with his pet pooch in tow.
Josh Hopkins plays Grayson Ellis opposite Courteney Cox’s Jules Cobb on ABC’s “Cougar Town,” and their on-screen chemistry is worth watching.
“I guess I have what you might call a contentious relationship with Jules,” said Hopkins. “Grayson is sort of the neighbor who pushes her buttons, and she pushes his right back. But there’s definitely an underlying attraction too.”
You can also catch Josh on Saturday night in Lifetime’s holiday movie “12 Men of Christmas” starring Kristin Chenoweth.
Hot hangs
On a Friday night, I might head to Hollywood and stop off at the Dime on Fairfax. It’s just a little salty-dog bar and a little divey, but it’s still Hollywood, so you’ll be talking with some girl in a baseball cap and then find out later that she’s some starlet or ingenue.
Another good one is Winston’s on Santa Monica. That’s a little more of a lounge, and sometimes they have a DJ. And it’s nice because there’s plenty of places to sit. I’m too old to stand around.
Sushi loyalty
For dinner, I really like Katsu-ya, the original one in Studio City. I’m from Kentucky, and I have friends who come out who’ve never had sushi before, and I always take them there because it’s the best. They’ve expanded now, but there’s a quaintness to the Studio City location that I like.
Dog day afternoon
About five months ago, I went out on a Saturday morning to the Westside German Shepherd Rescue to see if I could just help them walk their dogs, and of course this one time I walked out with Maxwell, who is 11 months old now. So I spend a lot of my weekends with him. We like going to the Aroma Cafe on Tujunga, where there’s a little patio out back that he likes.
After that, I’ll take Max to a dog park and get him good and tired and then go to a place called Rocco’s on Ventura to catch a University of Kentucky basketball game. They have a big projection TV on the wall outside, and they love Max there. They probably have the best pizza I’ve had in L.A. -- crispy, thin, just great.
Sharp-dressed man
For clothes, I like Sy Devore in Studio City, which is right next to another good Saturday morning place, the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Sy Devore has great stuff, and they all know Max. You can find hip clothes that are still age-appropriate. They’ve got the jeans, the shorts, the pullovers, everything.
And if I have an event to go to, I tell them what it is and then say, “Can you please make me look a little bit cool?” It isn’t easy, but they really try.
Meet the Pounders
On Sundays, I’ll meet up with a running group of my friends called the L.A. Brick Pounders, and we’ll head out to Balboa Park. There are three or four different loops, from about three miles to seven miles. The path is dirt, which is good for the knees of us old men, and there’s a lot of people in the park, so there’s a lot to look at.
It’s a lot of fun, a lot of bonding, at least until we get to the point where I’m too tired for anything but one-word responses.