How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Miranda Cosgrove

Los Angeles-born actor and singer Miranda Cosgrove has been part of our pop culture landscape for more than two decades. She made her big-screen debut in 2003’s “School of Rock” (filmed when she was 9) followed by a run of sitcom roles (first from 2004 to 2007 on “Drake & Josh” and then 2007 to 2012 as the star of “iCarly,” a role she reprised for its 2021-to-2023 revival) before returning to movie roles where she’s been seen — or, in the case of the “Despicable Me” animated movie franchise, heard — ever since. (She most recently reprised her role as Margo in “Despicable Me 4,” which hit theaters July 3.)

For that entire time — and the decade that preceded it — one place has been a constant in her life. “When I was little, I filmed ‘School of Rock’ in New York for five months,” she recently told The Times. “I don’t really know if it would count as living there. I think maybe the longest I’ve been in a different place was a year and a half. And I recently went to Thailand for a couple months. But as far as living somewhere, I’ve only ever lived in L.A.”

Which means that when Cosgrove is throwing out suggestions for an ideal Sunday itinerary — as she did in a Zoom call from the L.A. home she shares with three dogs (a pug named Maude, a Shih-poo named Penelope and a terrier mix named Diego) and three cats (Mama and fosters Ethel and Lucy) — you can take it to the bank.

Before we dug into her perfect day (which is heavy on the food, felines and family), I asked which of the many characters she’s played might cobble together an enviable Sunday lineup.

“Probably Margo from ‘Despicable Me,’” she answered almost immediately. “Because she’s really smart. And she’s really kind of sarcastic and not afraid to stand up for herself. And I think you kind of have to have that quality to get around L.A. And she also has a personality where she would do exactly what she wanted and just wouldn’t care. So I feel like she’d come up with some fun stuff — probably much crazier stuff than me.”

As far as coming up with fun stuff, Cosgrove didn’t disappoint, as you’ll read here. (Grilled branzino in a pizza box, anyone?)

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

11:30 a.m.: Start the day with a coconut kale smoothie
I love sleeping in. I’m a huge night owl and I stay up until 2 in the morning watching TV shows and movies. So I’d probably get up at around 11:30 and go get a coconut kale smoothie at Naturewell in Silver Lake. It’s the coconut date smoothie that I add kale to. It’s really good. I’d start light because I like to finish strong and do a huge lunch and a huge dinner. … I’m a huge foodie, so I’m always looking for good places to eat. That’s probably where I get the most joy from in my entire life.

Noon: Grab some Frankenstein face time at the Face Place
Recently I’ve been going to this place called the Face Place in West Hollywood, and they do facials. And it’s just really, really nice. I’ve never really been a big facial person, but it’s gotten me really into it. And it only takes 45 minutes. They put this crazy, almost helmet-like thing on your face that makes you look like you’re some kind of Frankenstein experiment — but only for about 15 minutes. And for some reason, I find it really relaxing.

1:30 p.m.: Take a cheesy road trip
This doesn’t exactly make sense because it’s so far away. But I might go to Long Beach to get the best pizza ever at a place called Speak Cheezy and then take it to my parents, who live in Downey. On Sunday, there probably wouldn’t be too much traffic, so I’d grab a pizza. The thing that I love is they put these little dollops of cheese on their pizzas that’s almost like frosting, so you can’t go wrong with any of them. And they have this really good Caesar salad that they put a whole soft-boiled egg on.

3 p.m.: Chill with nature or some furry fosters
Sometimes when I’m down in the Long Beach area, I’ll go to the El Dorado Nature Center. I haven’t done it that much recently, but I used to do it a lot. And it’s just really pretty. You pay $6 to park and then you walk through. [Parking is $8 on weekends.] They have these kind of man-made lakes, and there are tons of squirrels and cranes and that sort of thing. And it’s pretty shaded, so even if it’s really a hot day, you’re not straight in the sun. It’s three or four miles, but it’s flat, so it’s more like a walk than a hike.

My other option would be going to the CatCafe Lounge in Westwood. It’s a cat cafe where people can go and get a cup of coffee and hang out with the cats, and a lot of times they end up adopting them. I foster cats and I’m actually fostering two sister tabbies right now — Lucy and Ethel — and the CatCafe Lounge has taken probably 12 of the cats I’ve fostered and gotten them adopted. I always write these really long bios for them in hopes that people will read them when they come in and adopt them quickly. I work with a place called Kitten Rescue Los Angeles that has a home base in Atwater Village. They rescue them, and the ones I’ve fostered always go the CatCafe Lounge.

6:30 p.m.: Decide a delicious dining dilemma
Depending on how long I was at the cat cafe, I’d probably head on out to dinner. I’m always torn because Union in Pasadena is always an option I love, but a place I go at least once a week, that’s probably my favorite restaurant, is Bestia in downtown L.A. Union’s menu always changes, but I’d go for a pasta there — you can’t go wrong with spaghetti and meatballs. They also have bucatini there that’s really good. And they have really good house-made fresh bread with house-made butter and sea salt.

At Bestia, I get so many different things, but they have a soppressata and honey pizza right now that’s just so good. And they have this really good grilled branzino that, if you get it to go, they give it to you in a pizza box. And then there’s the chestnut and mushroom agnolotti. Those are the main things I always get.

9:30 p.m.: Squeeze in 10,000 steps with peripatetic parents
I have some walking buddies near my parents’ house, and my mom is obsessed with getting her 10,000 steps a day — she’s done it for something like 520 days in a row at this point. So sometimes I’ll go meet my mom and I’ll walk the dogs. And we’ll walk with our friends in the neighborhood. We’ll walk for like an hour or so because it takes a while to get to 10,000 steps. We actually walk kind of late, but my parents only live about 15 minutes away from Bestia.

11 p.m.: Fall asleep to crime time or cooking shows
After that, I’d either stay at my parents’ house or go home and watch some really good television shows or movies because that’s how I like to end the night. Right now I’m watching [Hulu’s true-crime drama miniseries] “Under the Bridge” with Lily Gladstone. I love watching cooking shows to fall asleep. I’ve also seen every single episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

I don’t know why it’s calming to me, but I’ve been doing it for so long, it’s weirdly comforting. I’ve never watched the other “Law & Order” [shows]. I’m sure they’re good, but I just love Mariska Hargitay so much. And I’m so into the whole Olivia Benson/Elliot Stabler will-they/won’t-they. That has my heart.