L.A. Diet

Rande Gerber Drinks Tequila at Cafe Habana, Eats Whatever He Wants on Weekends

Rande Gerber, at Cafe Habana in Malibu
Rande Gerber, at Cafe Habana in Malibu Photo: Lesley Balla

Rande Gerber has a pretty sweet life. Notorious as a national nightlife kingpin who co-owns more than twenty lounges and restaurants, he’s also the handsome husband of supermodel Cindy Crawford and the guy who introduced Cafe Habana to Malibu, where the father of two lives. When Gerber doesn’t “go into town,” you’ll probably catch him hanging here with celebrities on karaoke night or dining with what must be a painfully beautiful family (or maybe even Kid Rock, as we recently spied). “It’s like a little clubhouse with locals, surfers, parents and kids, our friends,” he says of his Cuban-influenced import. “Malibu’s high profile, but really low key.” Gerber recently launched Caliche Rum onto the spirits market, and in case you’re wondering just how many mojitos currently fuel his days, read on to learn everything he ate and drank this week in today’s L.A. Diet.

Wednesday, March 14
Every morning is the same: I wake up, have breakfast with my wife and kids. Sometimes I take one or both of the kids to school, and then I’ll do some work at home, then run down to the gym. For breakfast, everyone has something different. The kids might have eggs or yogurt. I have oatmeal with blueberries, a half of an Ezekial flour-less whole grain muffin, and a latte with 2 percent milk.

We have a chef that works for us at the house, and today he made me a quinoa salad with mixed vegetables for lunch. I ate at home with Cindy.

For dinner, I went to Cafe Habana. Wednesday is karaoke night, it gets a little crazy. You actually get celebrities who come in and love karaoke, and some rock stars have gotten up to sing. People come from all over. So I met a bunch of friends for dinner, there were probably like eight of us. I always order a bunch of appetizers for the table, always chips and salsa and guacamole. I had some shrimp ceviche, and then carne asada with rice and beans for an entree, and I had a couple of tequilas. That was a late night.

Thursday, March 15
Of course, after a couple of tequilas, when I woke up, I wanted eggs. I had two eggs, although one was just egg whites because I try to be a little healthy. I also had some OJ and a latte. For lunch, I stayed home, and the chef made me a turkey panini with avocado and Swiss, with a mixed-vegetable salad on the side.

For dinner we took the kids to Nobu, here in Malibu. I always have the same thing when I go there. I get the jalapeño yellowtail, a spicy-tuna roll, the albacore sushi, and the artichoke salad, which is really good. And a couple of Sapporos. Sometimes I get dessert, but not tonight. If I have dessert in Malibu, I like to go to Malibu Yogurt for a scoop of rocky road in a cone.

Friday, March 16
For breakfast, again home with kids and wife, I had some Raisin Bran and orange juice. I usually work out after breakfast, so I don’t need to have anything heavy. But then I have a big lunch and big dinner.

For lunch, I went to Cafe Habana and had the chopped veggie salad, a chicken burrito, the grilled corn, and a Habana iced tea, which is iced tea with lime and fresh mint. And then I had two mojitos and a Pacifico. Okay, I met a friend there and we were talking, so it was a long lunch.

I went home, met Cindy and the kids for dinner. We had spinach and turkey lasagna, some focaccia, and a couple of glasses of red wine. It was a 2006 Sassicaia and it was so good. Such a good wine.

Saturday, March 17
I really look forward to the weekends. I try to eat somewhat healthy during the week, but on the weekends I just eat what I want to eat, all day long. I don’t think about it. For breakfast I had a bacon-and-cheddar-cheese omelette, some whole-wheat toast, some orange juice, and a coffee.

For lunch, I ate pretty healthy, but I ate a lot. I had a chopped salad with chickpeas, turkey, and tomatoes, and then some toasted whole-wheat bread, like a baguette with Parmesan cheese on it.

Cindy and I went to Habana and met two friends for dinner. Again, we started with the chips and salsa and guac. I had the lemon chicken with yellow rice and sweet plantains and a couple of Pacificos. For dessert, we have this sundae with a homemade brownie, vanilla and chocolate ice cream, fried banana, caramel and chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. It’s big, and you need a table to finish that. And you finish the whole thing.

Sunday, March 18
My assistant picked up bagels from Nate ‘n Al, so I had an everything bagel with cream cheese, two scrambled eggs, and some orange juice. And a latte.

We were just hanging out at the house, on the beach and stuff. For lunch, our chef did a Chinese chicken salad with Napa cabbage, carrots, purple cabbage, chicken, and crunchy noodles on top. We ate lighter because on Sundays we do pizza night at my house for dinner. We’ll do like ten or fifteen different pizzas, depending on how many people come out. Although, even if it’s just the four of us, we still do like ten for variety.

So we did a vegetable pizza that has everything, like broccoli, red peppers, zucchini, just a bunch of vegetables. We had a pepperoni pizza and a regular margherita pizza. We did one with fresh mozzarella and had a bottle of 2008 Antinori Tignanello. And we just eat until we can’t eat any more. For dessert, I had sorbet with strawberry and mango, with strawberries and blueberries on it. The kids had ice cream.

Monday, March 19
Once again, breakfast with the family. I had just a plain yogurt with fruit, apple, blueberries, strawberries, and homemade granola that our chef made. I also had some O.J. and a cup of coffee.

Then I went down to the gym, did a little work. For lunch, I was home and had Caesar salad and crab cakes. And these cheese crisps, they’re like long crackers with parmesan on them.

That night for dinner we had pasta with marinara, turkey meatballs, and spinach. And we had a couple of glasses of that Sassicaia. Every once in awhile, I’m up a little late, and I have these Tate’s Bake Shop cookies. I used to have them in New York, sold at a farm-stand in the Hampton’s. But now it’s a big company. I love the chocolate chip cookies. They’re crunchy; I don’t like the soft ones. I went downstairs, it was late, and I had those.

Rande Gerber Drinks Tequila at Cafe Habana, Eats Whatever He Wants on Weekends