Thirty years ago, comedian and actor Tig Notaro didnโt have a clear direction in life, so she followed some childhood friends who wanted to get into entertainment to Los Angeles. Secretly wanting to do stand-up, Notaro decided to try her luck at various outlets in town, which became the start of her successful career.
โI stayed on my friendsโ couch near the Hollywood Improv on Melrose, and a couple months later, got my own studio apartment in the Miracle Mile area,โ Notaro says. โI love all the options for everything in L.A. โ the entertainment, the restaurants. I like to stay active. So many people love the hiking options in Los Angeles, and Iโm one of them.โ
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.
Notaro appears in Season 3 of Apple TVโs โThe Morning Showโ and is a series regular on Paramount+โs โStar Trek: Starfleet Academy,โ as she was on โStar Trek: Discovery.โ Sheโs also a touring stand-up comic and hosts โHandsome,โ a comedy podcast, with Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin. The trio will be taping a live show May 4 at the Wiltern with the cast of Netflixโs โThe Hunting Wives.โ The live shows include interviews, but also โincorporate some ridiculous things,โ she says. For example, upon hearing that some of the hosts always wanted to learn to tap dance, Notaro โhired a tap instructor to come to our live show in Austin and teach us how to tap dance in front of the audience.โ
Notaro lives near Hollywood with her wife, actor Stephanie Allynne, their 9-year-old fraternal twin boys, Max and Finn, and three cats, Fluff, Linus and Skip. When sheโs not touring, her ideal Sundays include sampling vegan restaurants, wandering through bookstores or museums, and doing something physically active with the family.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
6 a.m.: Up with the kids
Because we have active children, we still wake up at 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, but thereโs not as much of a rush to get going. Stephanie and I will often have coffee and chat in the living room together. I love that part of the day. Stephanie may cook breakfast, but Max and Finn are pretty self-sufficient and can make certain little meals for themselves. Max is really starting to take an interest in cooking, so heโd make breakfast for himself. Our family is vegan, but he eats eggs, so he makes himself an egg sandwich with avocado a lot of times.
9 a.m.: Daily morning walk
After breakfast, we usually have a morning walk around our neighborhood. Thatโs a daily thing I like to do, regardless of whatโs going on. Now that Iโm not touring as much, tennis is back on the schedule. So Iโd go to Plummer Park in West Hollywood and play for a while, then join the family for lunch.
11:30 a.m.: Hike with a side of chickpea sandwich
I love Trails, a cafe in Griffith Park, where you can eat outdoors. It serves simple food, and has good vegan options. I usually get their chickpea salad sandwich. The food there is great. Afterward, weโd visit Griffith Observatory, where thereโs lots to see. There are lots of great trails in the park, so weโd go for an hour hike before leaving.
3 p.m.: Browse the shelves for rock biographies
Bookstores are fun, so weโd head downtown for the Last Bookstore, which is in a historic building with lots of vintage books. I really love all things plant-based, and Iโm a very big music fanatic. So I love to look for vegan books, nutrition books, rock biographies and autobiographies. Itโs just fun to browse around the stacks.
If we didnโt go to the bookstore, weโd probably go to LACMA. Our sons are huge fans of art and want to go for each new exhibit. They love Hockney, Basquiat and Picasso, to name a few.
4 p.m.: Cuddle with cuties at a cat cafe
Weโd then make a quick stop at [Crumbs & Whiskers], a kitten and cat cafe on Melrose for coffee, snacks and to pet the cats. Itโs best to make reservations in advance. Thereโs cats all around the place that need to be adopted. You can visit and pet them, or find a new roommate. Iโd love to take some home, but we already have three.
5:30 p.m. Italian or sushi, but make it vegan
Weโre an early dinner family. One restaurant we like is Pura Vita in West Hollywood. Itโs the greatest vegan Italian food, and for non-vegans, nobody ever knows the difference. Itโs the first 100% plant-based Italian restaurant in the United States. They make an incredible kale salad and I love the San Gennaro pizza. Itโs got cashew mozzarella, tomato sauce, Italian sausage crumble and more.
Then thereโs Planta in Marina del Rey. Itโs right on the harbor and you can sit outside and look at the boats coming in and out. They have sushi, salads and other plant-based entrees. Theyโve got a really great spicy tuna roll thatโs made out of watermelon. They are magicians.
Or thereโs Crossroads Kitchen in West Hollywood. They play the best classic rock, and the atmosphere is upscale, fine dining. The appetizers that we always get are called Moroccan Cigars, which are vegan meat substitutes fried in a rolled batter. I really like the grilled lionโs mane steak, their mushroom steak with truffle potatoes, or the scallopini Milanese, that has a chicken or tofu option. I get the chicken with arugula on top. I always love to have a decaf espresso with dessert, which is either a brownie sundae or banana pudding.
7:30 p.m.: Comfort watch or word games
After dinner, the kids often like to watch an episode of โFriends,โ a show that all ages enjoy, sports or โThe Simpsons.โ Or weโd play a game where each of us will add a word to a sentence and create a weird or funny long sentence until one of our sons says period. Then theyโll try and remember the whole sentence and repeat it back.
9:30 p.m.: Bubble bath then bed
The boys usually go to bed at 8:30 p.m. and bedtime for us is 9:30 p.m. Stephanie and I would read or chat. I like to take a bubble bath, if people must know. The best Sundays for me mean finding a good balance of relaxing and being active. I feel very lucky that my family and I can do those things together.