Life in San Fernando Valley

From the Los Angeles Basin, look to the northwest and you’ll find the San Fernando Valley. Affectionately known among locals simply as “the Valley,” the area is surrounded by mountains in nearly all directions.

A large chunk of the Valley is part of the City of Los Angeles, including the neighborhoods of Woodland Hills, Mission Hills, and North Hollywood. And then there’s Glendale and Burbank in the southeast, Calabasas in the southwest, and San Fernando in the northeast, a small bite surrounded on all sides by Los Angeles.

North of the Valley is Santa Clarita. To the west is Ventura County, and to the south, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Downtown Los Angeles, and Pasadena unfolds.

Where to Eat

• Scratch | Bar and Kitchen in Encino offers tasty New American fare made with seasonal ingredients at reasonable prices. If you want comfort food and some adventurous options, this one’s for you.
• Mistral in Sherman Oaks is all about French classics, served in this dark-wood bistro lit up by chandeliers, the walls decorated with various artworks.
• Bill’s Burgers in Van Nuys is a vast departure from Mistral. It’s a small hamburger shack along Oxnard Street, serving burgers you can marry (according to this article by Forbes). It’s that good.
• Nat’s Early Bite, another gem in Sherman Oaks, is a great place to indulge in breakfast favorites like house-made muffins and pancakes. Come for those (available all day) or for their traditional Mexican plates.
• VinhLoi Tofu in Reseda offers 100 percent vegan Vietnamese food that is both flavorful and good for you, made only using the freshest ingredients and the best spices available.