When I video-call Lisa Ann Walter, she is in the middle of making a banana cake to serve with an upcoming curry for Sunday dinner, a tradition in her household.
On Sunday Funday, LA residents share their perfect Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration for where to go, what to eat, and how to enjoy life on the weekend.
“We rotate dishes that have red sauce on a regular basis,” Walter says of the menu. “Sunday red sauce is my grandma’s recipe and it’s a tradition. It’s so touching when my kids come over and as soon as they walk in the door they say, ‘Oh, it smells like Sunday.'”
For the actress, comedian, and mother of four, it’s her “favorite day of the week,” when she gets to watch NFL football, run errands, and hang out with her “kids in town.” It’s also a brief respite from work. She plays street-smart second-grade teacher Melissa Schementi on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and is currently touring with her comedy show. Here’s a rundown of her perfect day in Los Angeles.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
7am: “I overslept”
When stand-up comedy was my main job, I would go home to gigs in Manhattan at 4am. [young] With kids, I would get up early in the morning and then nap all afternoon. I would work at Warner Brothers TV until 5am, so I’d sleep in a little, but I’d usually be up by 7 or 8. I’ve always been a night owl, even as a child. I was often late for school. My mom was very angry.
7:15am: Get a coffee and wake up
Every day, I start my day with a cup of decaffeinated espresso from Starbucks. I love drinking coffee and I love the taste of coffee. Since I was a child, coffee ice cream has been my favorite flavor. And, [take it] I don’t add cream or sugar to my black coffee, because it makes it more like a dessert. I drink a lot of it because I want to keep drinking it. [throughout the day] I don’t like water. I just don’t like it. People in LA drink a lot of water. I don’t like it.
10am: Match kicks off
During NFL season, I sit in front of the TV. [L.A. is] It’s an industrial town that attracts people from all over the country, so people who come here don’t quit their team. If they don’t support Washington or Philadelphia, they support the Rams. I love the Rams. There were three or four places I could go, but [including] Barney’s Beanery and Black Dog Coffee because I’m from Washington, DC. [they] I would have been happy to have whatever the Washington team name was in front of me, but since most stores don’t open until 10 a.m., I couldn’t find the NFL team name. [streaming] When she opens the package, Stan (William Stanford Davis), who plays Mr. Johnson on the show, shows up to watch the game with her, giving her an excuse to cook. She makes a fancy meal for the game.
If we go to the second game of the day, my friends, the Chickliz’s, are also big sports fans, and I’ll buy food from Boneyard Bistro and bring it over, or they’ll order it and bring it over, and we’ll watch the second game. They usually have big football viewing parties with a lot of people, and I only take Stan.
1:05pm: Game 2 begins
When I go to So-Fi, I stop at Randy’s because I love donuts. I think LA does two things really well that you can’t get anywhere else: donuts, and burgers. I think LA has the best burgers anywhere. In fact, I’ve researched all the must-try burgers in LA. [burgers]There’s always a new smashburger coming out, like, “Oh, you haven’t tried Burger She Wrote?”
But Randy’s doughnuts never disappoint. They’re the best. I went to SoFi one time to watch a game and I brought a big box of Randy’s and all the security guys saw it and were like, “Can I have one?” Randy’s doughnuts just appeal to people. I don’t know if it’s the giant doughnuts or what. It’s an LA thing.
3pm: Visit a Korean spa
If I don’t have a game, I usually do something with my family. We’ll either go to an escape room (I love escape rooms), or if I’m with my daughters, we’ll go to Hue Spa, which is a Korean spa that I frequent. I’ve even taken Sheryl Lee Ralph there.
The first time I went to a Korean spa, it was a giant “whisper spa” and I thought “this is amazing”. It felt like the whole family was gathered here eating bibimbap. People were warming up in the spa and the whole place was filled with the smell of Korean food.
I like Hue Spa because it’s women only, so you feel at ease going from sauna to ice room to clay pit to changing into a robe. Everyone is completely undressed. It’s fine and doesn’t feel weird. The spa is just as good but not as big. The service and staff are great.
When I go to the spa it’s usually late in the evening because I don’t want to touch up my makeup. My hair is nice and my face is shiny and clean feeling. They have these weird masks at the spa like “snail trail”. I always get weird masks when I go to the spa. Where can I get a Korean snail trail mask? Nowhere but here. I only go late enough that I can go home and have dinner and go to bed. I like going at that time.
5pm: Sunday dinner event
Dinner might be chicken marsala, it might be a roast, it might be a curry, it doesn’t matter what it is because I like to make everything myself.
I was talking to someone the other day, and they said they make sauces in their grandmother’s Revere Ware pots. They brought them to Los Angeles. They used to go door to door and sell them piecemeal. You’d buy a sauce pot this week, and a frying pan next week, because people could only buy one at a time. So my grandmother got two sauce pots, and my mother got one. When I became a cook when I was 13, she gave it to me, and I still have it.
8pm: Compete during family game night
One thing we always play when the kids come over is their favorite game, Cards Against Humanity. It’s always fun. One time someone said a really awful answer and one of the twins jumped off the table and said, “I hate this family.” I still laugh at that. It was so funny. My mom was the best to play that game because she would always try to pull out a card. [inappropriate cards]So we just laughed.
10pm: Chill out
After everyone has gone home, the kids have gone home, we’ve played games or whatever, my ex-husband, who comes over every week, usually comes over on Sundays. And we’ll watch a taped episode of 90 Day FiancĂ©. Sometimes I’ll fall asleep in my chair, depending on how long the day was, but I usually watch it and then I try to get in bed so I can get at least five hours of sleep, so it’s usually midnight. And then I’m in my chair by 5 a.m. the next day.