When it comes to exploring Los Angeles, there are three things actor and comedian Randall Park loves to do: shop, eat, and run. Park, a native Angeleno, grew up on the West Side, attended UCLA, chose a career here and can't imagine living anywhere else.
“I consider myself a small-town person who was born in the big city,” Park says. “I've traveled a lot for work and have become more appreciative of Los Angeles. There's a little piece of everywhere here. There's a lot of good food in Los Angeles, a lot of fun things to do, and really wonderful people here.”
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
The son of Korean immigrants, Park grew up in the South Robertson area, “a part of Los Angeles that was extremely diverse,” he says. “My friends, from when they were little to this day, have different backgrounds, races and religions. We were like a group of punk kids running around the city.”
Park is known for his roles as Agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, FBI Special Agent Edwin Park in the Netflix series “The Residence” and Taiwanese-American patriarch Louis Huang in the ABC comedy “Fresh Off the Boat.”
Recently, Park, his wife (actor Jae Suh Park) and their 13-year-old daughter Ruby left Studio City, where they had lived for 15 years, to return to the Westside. When asked what his ideal Sunday would include, Park's response was comprehensive. It was so full that it would be impossible to fit it all in one day. So take your schedule with a grain of salt. This is your magical Sunday where time spins, Los Angeles traffic doesn't exist, and stomachs are never too full.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
9am: Go for a run before a day of delicious meals.
I would sleep in, then go for a run on the beach and run around Venice. Sometimes my daughter gets up earlier. She is on the autism spectrum and really loves art and making things. We have a small art room dedicated to it. She is always painting, drawing, making small sculptures, always creating.
10 a.m.: Breakfast and then pastries.
rae's There is an old school restaurant in Santa Monica and we really love it. They make these biscuits and gravy that are really good. They're probably not that good for you, but I just ran so it's okay. There is also a great bakery-cafe we like to go to called Röckenwagner. So breakfast at Rae's and then coffee and pastries at Röckenwagner. We'll be eating all day, that's why I ran in the morning.
11 am: Walk around Fgunsmiths' metromarket
Next, we would play the farmers market in Mar Vista. We will receive fruits and vegetables for later in the week. There is a hummus stand that I love. There's always a band playing, so we soaked it all in. It's a really nice walk.
Midday: shopping and more eating on the way.
Then I would go shopping and drag my family with me or go alone while they did their thing. First, there is a small shop called General Room in La Brea. I know the owner there, Blair Lucio, and they always have the most interesting things. They specialize in traditional California style clothing for men. Another store that I love is Sid Mashburn in it Brentwood Country Mart. They make really great suits and menswear. I discovered it in Atlanta when I was working and I loved it so much that every time I was in Atlanta, I went there. Then I found out they had one in Los Angeles.
Or I would go to Sawtelle Boulevard. That whole street is fun with so many cool shops. He giant robot The store there has a lot of pop culture, Japanese and Asian pop culture, a lot of art, graphic novels. There is also a great record store called We share records. It's mostly vinyl and a lot of it is from Japan. They'll even have American artists, but Japanese editions of their albums, so it's really cool to see Japanese versions of a Whitney Houston album. The last thing I bought there was a Hall & Oates album from Japan.
For lunch, I was actually at a place called Sun Nong Dan in Sawtelle. They have a few locations but the newest one in Sawtelle is the only one I go to since I'm on the west side. I usually have the Galbi-tang, which is a rib soup, or the Tta Roh Guk Bap, which is a brisket and dried cabbage soup, or the Dduk Mandu Guk, which is a rice cake and dumpling soup. Lots of Korean comfort food. Plus, they are open 24 hours a day, which is sometimes nice.
If it wasn't there, I would go to Cafe El Tepeyac in Boyle Heights, which is one of my all-time favorites when I was a kid and where my dad took me. It's very homemade Mexican food and I would order their Hollenbeck burrito, which is pretty epic.
6 p.m.: Baseball or dinner
If there is a dodgers gameI would go to the game. Growing up in Los Angeles, I have a lot of nostalgia for the Dodgers. I've always been a fan. My wife and I will go to the games and eat Dodger Dogs and nachos.
If not, we would go to Musso & Frank Grill for shrimp cocktail and steak dinner. It's very old Hollywood and you can feel the history there. Many of the leather sheds have a history. I love when Los Angeles preserves its monuments. Learning about the history of the city through these restaurants is really fun.
For something more low-key, there's this restaurant in Koreatown called Kobawoo House. They specialize in bosam, which are wraps with [fillings like] pig. They also specialize in Korean seafood pancakes which are delicious.
If we are going to go luxury, which we don't usually do, there is a restaurant called kato on The Row, near downtown. It's a Michelin-starred omakase-style Taiwanese restaurant that is very good. You don't make orders. They simply give you courses and you can accompany them with wine or simply order cocktails. I usually order an Old Fashioned, which is really good. The food is out of this world.
8 p.m.: Some late-night jazz
After dinner, we drove to South Pasadena, where there is a bar and grill called the barkley. My childhood friend Richie Glaser has a jazz band. [the Richard Glaser Quartet] and they play at the Barkley every Sunday night. We would have a cocktail, listen to the band and hang out.
9:30 pm: Relax for bed
We'd come home, relax and watch TV, probably old episodes of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” My daughter would go to bed before us and fall asleep before we officially went to sleep. The end of the day is very discreet and calm. Every Sunday is different, but my ideal Sunday would be one of food, family, friends and fun all over the city.
