How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to J.B. Smoove
Over the course of J.B. Smoove’s decades-long career as a comedian, actor and writer, he’s become known for many things. His fast-paced, New Yorker cadence and quick-witted comebacks. His wide-brim hats and dapper suits. And of course, his most beloved character, Leon Black, on HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which catapulted him into superstardom.
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.
The improvisation-based comedy came to an end earlier this year after 12 seasons (six of which Smoove starred in), but Smoove, whose credits include “Saturday Night Live,” “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and “Mapleworth Murders,” is showing no signs of slowing down. Smoove is set to host “Buy It Now,” a competition series where entrepreneurs pitch their products in front of a live audience and esteemed judges in hopes of being featured on Amazon.com and winning a cash prize. It premieres Oct. 30 on Amazon Prime Video.
Smoove knew he was perfect for the job when he got the call to host the show. “I’m not on the level of Jamie Siminoff or Tabitha [Brown] or Gwyneth [Paltrow],” says the Emmy winner, who recently launched a production company. “But I understand the animal that it is because I am still on my journey to be a great entrepreneur. It takes time and patience.”
We recently caught up with Smoove to ask him how he’d spend the perfect Sunday in Los Angeles, where he’s lived since 2007. Ideally, he and his wife, Shahidah Omar, wouldn’t leave their house, which they call the “777 Resort,” a nickname that commemorates their wedding date and contains everything they could possibly want. But he indulged us by crafting an action-packed day filled with hiking, jet skiing to Catalina Island, drinking an “Herb Your Enthusiasm” cocktail at one of his favorite vegan restaurants and catching up on “Love is Blind.”
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
6:30 a.m.: Wake up and walk my dogs
I wake up every morning at 6:30 a.m. All of my family is on New York time, so my phone starts ringing at 6 a.m. I’m three hours behind them and they’re already up and kicking. When my alarm goes off in the morning, my dogs want to come to the side of the bed. Their names are Hustle and Flo like the movie “Hustle and Flow.” Hustle has a habit of touching my arm over and over again with his big paw when he’s ready to go out. So I get those guys out, walk the neighborhood a little bit and let them say hi to their [dog] friends.
8:00 a.m.: Cook my special vegan breakfast
Then I’ll bring them back home and now I need to get some breakfast. My wife and I are vegan, but she is a raw vegan right now, so she doesn’t eat what I eat in the morning. On a good day like Sunday Funday, I would make my vegan chicken fried mushrooms and waffles. Sometimes they’re blueberry, sometimes they’re banana. Sometimes they are blueberry-banana. I pick and choose depending on how my taste buds go. A lot of people have a sweet tooth, I have sweet teeth. I also love a little sausage and a little Just Egg, which is one of my favorite egg substitutes.
9:00 a.m.: Crank up my 1968 Lincoln Continental
I crank up the old school. I got a 1968 Lincoln Continental. So I crank the engine up, get it warm, get the bags pumping up and hit the little button in the car that raises it off the ground because I let it take a nap at nighttime. “Old School Sunday” should be an unofficial holiday.
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10:00 a.m.: Hike at Fryman Canyon
Next, my wife and I would hike at Fryman Canyon. One lap because we don’t want to wear ourselves out. The heat starts to build up a little bit especially in the summertime. A lot of people are out there early because they don’t want to get hot. It’s an amazing walk. There’s Runyon up the block and then there’s Fryman. Now, Fryman has more trees and shaded areas where you can stop to look at the view. Then the last quarter of it, you walk through a neighborhood with beautiful homes. It’s a beautiful area of town. And sometimes you’ll get lucky and you’ll catch an open house on a Sunday, which I recommend.
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12 p.m.: Ride a jet ski to Catalina Island
We’ll finish our walk at Fryman around 11 a.m., then a great thing to do is to go jet skiing in Catalina. A lot of people don’t know about this. You can jet ski to Catalina with this company called Jetski2Catalina and I’m telling you right now, it’s a trip. You go down to Long Beach and you can hop on a jet ski and ride all the way to Catalina. It’s about two hours, but it’s well worth it. Do the one-way trip because your arms are going to get tired if you’re not used to working out or your body vibrating for a long period of time. Ride to Avalon on the island.
2 p.m.: Grab lunch at Maggie’s Blue Rose
By the time you get there, you’re going to be hungry again so grab some lunch to replenish your energy. A place with some good, authentic Mexican food is Maggie’s Blue Rose. I recommend the street corn, but we don’t get cheese on ours because we’re vegan. We’d maybe get a vegan burrito with some beans, rice and sauteed vegetables rolled up nice. A good burrito should be rolled as tight as a cigar if you know what you’re doing.
3:30 p.m.: Rent a golf cart and go zip lining
Then you gotta rent a golf cart to ride around the island and look at the houses. People don’t know that there aren’t many cars on Catalina Island, that’s why everyone has golf carts. So some of the golf carts are tricked out and look cool because people who live there want to have the nicest one. They also have zip lining on the island — this is a must do. The zip lining is sickening because you can hear the people screaming. [Imitates zip line and screams] I recommend tying your shoes tight because you don’t want to lose a shoe halfway down. You’ll be very upset. Also, don’t ever wear flip flops on a zip line.
7 p.m.: Catch a boat back to Long Beach
By the time you finish zip lining, you’ll want to take the ferry back to Long Beach. Get there early and get a good seat by the window, preferably in the front of the boat so you can see where you’re going. Or some people like to see where they’ve been and watch the island get further and further from them. It’s up to you. It’s a shorter trip going back. You get back in about an hour.
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9 p.m.: Enjoy an “Herb Your Enthusiasm” cocktail at Planta
Now, you want to get back into your vehicle and head to Planta in Marina Del Rey. This is a straight vegan spot, but the food is excellent. They have a cocktail there called the “Herb Your Enthusiasm,” a play on words to “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” So every time I go there, the bartender recognizes me and says, “Hey man. I see what the hell you’re doing, the ‘Herb Your Enthusiasm.’” That’s my favorite cocktail. My wife and I will kick it at the bar. We might order something light since it’s getting late like some avocado cucumber sushi.
11 p.m.: Drive home in the classic whip
We’ll get back into the old school and head back to the crib. Now, this car has suicide doors. All the doors open from the middle outward. So we’ll roll all the windows down and play some good, old school R&B music. Sometimes I’ll light up a cigar.
11:30 p.m.: Binge watch our favorite shows
Once we get home, we’ll watch our favorite shows. We’re zombie fanatics. We’ll watch “Walking Dead,” “The Last of Us,” something in that genre. Or we’ll watch something silly. Have you seen this new pop the balloon dating show? It’s a mess, but it’s hilarious to us because people stand up there trying to find somebody. It’s just funny to see them struggle. It’s always funny when someone walks out there and all the balloons pop before they even open their mouth. I’m like, “Let the dude speak! Give him a chance.” We like “Love is Blind” too. My wife and I bet money on who’s going to say yes at the altar and who’s going to say no. We’re not big on comedies. You would think a comedian would like comedies. I never watch comedies. My favorite genre are James Bond movies. I just love James Bond and Daniel Craig. If he needs a replacement, I’ll put my name in the hat. I got two O’s in my name. [Laughs]
1 a.m.: Debate about “Love is Blind” before bed
Then we’re going from the living room to the bedroom and we’ll say, “One more episode” before we go to bed and we never make it through that episode. We always get halfway through it and our heads start nodding. Then we’ll turn the lights on and talk about who we think is still going to be together on “Love is Blind” and that will keep us up for another 30 minutes. We’ll go to bed around 2 a.m., then I’ll have four and a half hours of sleep before I gotta get up at 6:30 a.m. again.
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