In the tangled family of Hollywoods, Hollywood would be the obvious golden child, West Hollywood its ritzy older sister and East Hollywood its indie-cool younger brother. North Hollywood, however, is harder to classify. Perhaps you can call it the elusive half sibling — sharing the family name but somewhat lacking in family resemblance.
Separated from its siblings by sprawling mountains, the oft-slighted San Fernando Valley neighborhood has been described as a bedroom community and a way station for fledgling actors. It’s a socio-architectural liminal space, one in which a historic train depot is home to a hip coffee shop and downtown streets are immediately bordered by suburbia.
Get to know Los Angeles through the places that bring it to life. From restaurants to shops to outdoor spaces, here’s what to discover now.
North Hollywood’s lingering sense of fragmentation is consistent with its slew of past lives — from late-1800s wheat titan to modern cultural center — punctuated by infrastructure milestones like the 1913 completion of the L.A. Aqueduct and the 2000 extension of the Metro Red Line.
The neighborhood has even gone by a few different names: first Toluca, then Lankershim, for the real estate pioneer Isaac Lankershim, who helped catalyze the development of the San Fernando Valley. North Hollywood adopted its current moniker in 1927, as film studios poured into the area and residents at the behest of enterprising developers petitioned to rebrand their town as a Hollywood hot spot. It was, as Tom Link wrote in his 1991 book about the neighborhood’s history, “like a new movie star discarding an old name in order to appear more attractive.”
Today, North Hollywood is an eclectic nook with its cultural epicenter in the Noho Arts District. Dotted with petite theaters, boutiques and pie shops, the 1-square-mile patch was revitalized at the turn of the century with the northward extension of the Metro Red Line and the concurrent opening of the North Hollywood Metro Station. At a critical time for its development, the Metro made North Hollywood an anomaly: a hip and walkable L.A. suburb.
Especially for a locale beyond the hills, North Hollywood is remarkably central, nestled among popular neighbors Burbank and Studio City but boasting reported monthly rent averages hundreds of dollars cheaper than both. And while it’s already home to a high population of young, single professionals, it’s poised to draw even more millennial and Gen Z renters with a transit-oriented development projected to create swaths of affordable housing units in the next decade. Surely, the barcades and artisan coffee shops will be glad to see them come in.
Whether you get there by car, train or bike, here’s how and where to spend your time in North Hollywood, the enigmatic neighborhood whose charm sneaks up on you. — Malia Mendez
What's included in this guide
Anyone who’s lived in a major metropolis can tell you that neighborhoods are a tricky thing. They’re eternally malleable and evoke sociological questions around how we place our homes, our neighbors and our communities within a wider tapestry. In the name of neighborly generosity, we may include gems that linger outside of technical parameters. Instead of leaning into stark definitions, we hope to celebrate all of the places that make us love where we live.
Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What L.A. neighborhood should we check out next? Send ideas to guides@latimes.com.
Start the day with Thai fusion fare at Hungry Fox
Valley Glen Breakfast/Brunch Thai
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Slide into one of the 1940s-era diner’s putty-colored booths or post up at the low counter and contemplate your breakfast order to the low, burbling sound of a deep fryer emanating from the kitchen. It’s hard at work crisping up fried chicken to pair with airy grids of waffle for your dining pleasure. The pairing is hardly novel (some of the servers’ shirts cheekily acknowledge this with the slogan “Second Best Chicken & Waffles”), but along with the requisite maple syrup and butter pats, the dish here arrives in front of you with something that takes the combo in a wholly unexpected direction: a tiny plastic cup of a Thai dipping sauce called nam jim kai. That sidecar pop of sweet and heat helps owner Eddie Kantayos move some 200-300 orders of the dish every week.
It’s not the only dish on the menu with fusion flare, though. Kantayos, who is originally from Thailand and took the helm here in 2005, has jazzed up other dishes on the extensive, breakfast-forward menu including a fast-breaking burrito embedded with morsels of Thai sausage and a version of the Hawaiian dish loco moco topped with a Thai-style, marinated pork chop that one customer told me was hands down the best he’d had outside of Hawaii. Emblazoned on the wall above the counter is the slogan “Happiness you can eat,” and, while I can’t guarantee you’ll walk away happy, I’m pretty sure you’ll leave here with a wide smile on your face and the lingering sweet heat of that nam jim kai on your lips.
It’s not the only dish on the menu with fusion flare, though. Kantayos, who is originally from Thailand and took the helm here in 2005, has jazzed up other dishes on the extensive, breakfast-forward menu including a fast-breaking burrito embedded with morsels of Thai sausage and a version of the Hawaiian dish loco moco topped with a Thai-style, marinated pork chop that one customer told me was hands down the best he’d had outside of Hawaii. Emblazoned on the wall above the counter is the slogan “Happiness you can eat,” and, while I can’t guarantee you’ll walk away happy, I’m pretty sure you’ll leave here with a wide smile on your face and the lingering sweet heat of that nam jim kai on your lips.
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Walk among TV greats in the Television Academy's Hall of Fame Garden
North Hollywood Sculpture Garden
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Commune with — and learn about — some of the biggest names in television history in this tranquil sculpture garden hidden just steps off Lankershim Boulevard and clustered around the Television Academy headquarters’ circular driveway. Paying homage to the movers, shakers and shapers of the small screen, the collection of roughly 100 bronze busts, plaques and statues gets you face-to-face with the likenesses of television pioneers both familiar (Carol Burnett, Dan Rather, Shonda Rhimes, Oprah Winfrey) and those perhaps less so (inventor and early television pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth, lighting director Bill Klages), with each honoree’s accomplishments accessible via a QR code attached to their nameplate.
There’s also the added enjoyment of exploring how the busts and statues are displayed throughout the landscaped space (think of it as a kind of permanent Emmy Awards seating chart); the busts of Carl Reiner, Bob Hope and Mary Tyler Moore lined up like the Mount Rushmore of television comedy beneath the Hall of Fame Garden sign, the duo of Walt Disney and Dick Clark with their wide, bronze-cast smiles post up together not far from Katie Couric and Julia Louis-Dreyfus; just past a beckoning life-size Johnny Carson statue and along the side of the Saban Media Center you’ll find busts of TV power players like Angela Lansbury, Alan Alda, Dick Wolf and James Garner. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball are rendered as full-size statues at the top of the circular drive, with Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton captured in a very Archie and Edith Bunker pose on a bench just across the driveway in the shadow of an 18-foot replica of the winged Emmy statuette.
There’s also the added enjoyment of exploring how the busts and statues are displayed throughout the landscaped space (think of it as a kind of permanent Emmy Awards seating chart); the busts of Carl Reiner, Bob Hope and Mary Tyler Moore lined up like the Mount Rushmore of television comedy beneath the Hall of Fame Garden sign, the duo of Walt Disney and Dick Clark with their wide, bronze-cast smiles post up together not far from Katie Couric and Julia Louis-Dreyfus; just past a beckoning life-size Johnny Carson statue and along the side of the Saban Media Center you’ll find busts of TV power players like Angela Lansbury, Alan Alda, Dick Wolf and James Garner. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball are rendered as full-size statues at the top of the circular drive, with Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton captured in a very Archie and Edith Bunker pose on a bench just across the driveway in the shadow of an 18-foot replica of the winged Emmy statuette.
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Pick up the perfect planter at Jackalope Pottery & Plants
North Hollywood Pottery
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Bottom line: If you can’t find the perfect pot for your plant among the offerings on display at this outdoor warehouse-like garden center, you’re probably just not trying. Sizes range from teacup-sized terracotta flower pots (99 cents) to 30-gallon poly resin planters ($1,000) big enough to bathe in, and in every texture, color and finish under the sun. Need a plant for your pot? They’ve got spiky cactuses, thick-leaved succulents and exotic offerings galore.
The deep bench of decor doesn’t stop at the planters, either. Wander the endless aisles past a burbling oasis of fountains and you’ll find contemplative Buddhas, triumphant raised-trunk elephants, open-mouthed fish, outsized ceramic snail shells and shelf upon shelf of riotously colorful, hand-painted Talavera pottery pieces shaped like swans, turtles, jack-o’-lanterns and more. In the market for a glass jellyfish windchime? Right this way. Even though I live on the other side of the hill, this place is the reason my lanai and front porch are dotted with picture-perfect pots. And after one wander through, yours will be too.
The deep bench of decor doesn’t stop at the planters, either. Wander the endless aisles past a burbling oasis of fountains and you’ll find contemplative Buddhas, triumphant raised-trunk elephants, open-mouthed fish, outsized ceramic snail shells and shelf upon shelf of riotously colorful, hand-painted Talavera pottery pieces shaped like swans, turtles, jack-o’-lanterns and more. In the market for a glass jellyfish windchime? Right this way. Even though I live on the other side of the hill, this place is the reason my lanai and front porch are dotted with picture-perfect pots. And after one wander through, yours will be too.
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Embark on a treasured tome odyssey at the Iliad Bookshop
North Hollywood Book Store
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Fun fact: This mural-covered bookstore first opened its doors in Hollywood (way back in 1987) next door to the video store Odyssey — named after Homer’s other epic poem. Now, even after being in this North Hollywood spot for nearly two decades, the Greek literature nods continue as evidenced by resident bookstore cats Apollo and Zeus, who can be spotted padding the aisles and nuzzling ankles throughout the 5,000-square-foot rabbit warren of bookshelves filled with some 150,000 volumes of used books.
You’ll find nonfiction (including art, photo and film books) toward the front and a deep bench of fiction — heavy on the mystery, science fiction and fantasy/horror subgenres — toward the back. With the inventory here, there’s bound to be something with a binding bound for every book lover’s nightstand. In the mood for 18 volumes of Anton Chekhov’s works (in Russian)? They can be yours for $150. A Jules Verne novel in German? Ja! “Where the Wild Things Are,” J. Paul Getty’s autobiography or the “International Journal of Psychoanalysis” volumes 31-57 (shelved under the erotic photo category)? Here, here and here.
Shortly after author Tom Robbins died, I scored a paperback copy of his first novel, “Another Roadside Attraction,” for the princely sum of $2.50. Before I could escape the gravity of aisle 31 (“American by state”), I’d found a book about my home state called “Let Me Show You Vermont,” a 1937 2-inch-thick doorstop of a book by Charles Edward Crane, complete with a foldout map that, despite setting me back $4.50, has become a most treasured addition to my home bookshelf. And even if you don’t fully scratch your book-buying itch, you can always give Apollo or Zeus a little scratch behind the ears.
You’ll find nonfiction (including art, photo and film books) toward the front and a deep bench of fiction — heavy on the mystery, science fiction and fantasy/horror subgenres — toward the back. With the inventory here, there’s bound to be something with a binding bound for every book lover’s nightstand. In the mood for 18 volumes of Anton Chekhov’s works (in Russian)? They can be yours for $150. A Jules Verne novel in German? Ja! “Where the Wild Things Are,” J. Paul Getty’s autobiography or the “International Journal of Psychoanalysis” volumes 31-57 (shelved under the erotic photo category)? Here, here and here.
Shortly after author Tom Robbins died, I scored a paperback copy of his first novel, “Another Roadside Attraction,” for the princely sum of $2.50. Before I could escape the gravity of aisle 31 (“American by state”), I’d found a book about my home state called “Let Me Show You Vermont,” a 1937 2-inch-thick doorstop of a book by Charles Edward Crane, complete with a foldout map that, despite setting me back $4.50, has become a most treasured addition to my home bookshelf. And even if you don’t fully scratch your book-buying itch, you can always give Apollo or Zeus a little scratch behind the ears.
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Snap into a New Haven-style pie at Ozzy's Apizza
North Hollywood Pizza
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
What’s New Haven-style pizza? “Like New York-style with a thinner crust and cooked harder,” the pizzaiolo behind the sticker-covered, corrugated metal counter tells me, lifting the edge of an ovened pie with his peel just enough to show me its blistering crust. You could be forgiven for not having the Connecticut city’s namesake “charred not burnt” style on your radar since Ozzy’s is the only bricks-and-mortar pizzeria dedicated to religiously recreating it. (The biggest challenge? Not being able to use charcoal ovens, which are illegal around these parts.)
If you’re looking for the most New Haven-style of the New Haven-style on offer, there’s the Liotta (an homage to the late actor Ray Liotta), a nearly cheeseless pie (beyond just a tang of Parmesan) that’s a dark maroon slick of oregano-flecked tomato sauce and olive oil, and the popular You’re Welcome, strewn with clams and garlic. Since the latter doesn’t travel well (you won’t see it on the online order-for-pickup menu), the ride-along for my take-home Liotta was a freshly baked Mikey’s White Rabbit, ragged chunks of Italian sausage cavorting with garlic ricotta, pecorino, mozzarella and shards of baby spinach. It’s named after an employee named Mikey who was always adding sausage to the original White Rabbit, I was told, and it’s easily the most toothsome twist on a white pie I’ve had. So a tip of the pizza peel to Mikey. (Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, that’s not a typo in the name — apizza is pronounced “abeets,” which is apparently also a New Haven thing.)
If you’re looking for the most New Haven-style of the New Haven-style on offer, there’s the Liotta (an homage to the late actor Ray Liotta), a nearly cheeseless pie (beyond just a tang of Parmesan) that’s a dark maroon slick of oregano-flecked tomato sauce and olive oil, and the popular You’re Welcome, strewn with clams and garlic. Since the latter doesn’t travel well (you won’t see it on the online order-for-pickup menu), the ride-along for my take-home Liotta was a freshly baked Mikey’s White Rabbit, ragged chunks of Italian sausage cavorting with garlic ricotta, pecorino, mozzarella and shards of baby spinach. It’s named after an employee named Mikey who was always adding sausage to the original White Rabbit, I was told, and it’s easily the most toothsome twist on a white pie I’ve had. So a tip of the pizza peel to Mikey. (Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, that’s not a typo in the name — apizza is pronounced “abeets,” which is apparently also a New Haven thing.)
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Drink in the rail-hub history at the Lankershim Depot Groundwork Coffee
North Hollywood Historic Landmark
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Even if you’re not hankering for a cup of joe, this outpost of Groundwork Coffee is worth popping by for a look-see, if only to soak in some rail-hub history. (And if you do need some magic beans, I’m a huge fan of the dark and oily Bitches Brew flavor.) That’s because the building that looks so quaintly old-timey it could have been created by Disney Imagineers is actually San Fernando Valley’s oldest unmodified railroad structure and, according to the L.A. Conservancy, one of the Valley’s few 19th century landmarks.
The single-story, wooden building with the mustard-yellow paint job and brown trim was known as the Lankershim Depot when it was constructed — out of prefabricated sections shipped in by rail — in 1895 as part of the effort to connect the agricultural industry of the day to the ports. While that need has fallen by the wayside over the last century-plus, its legacy as a local connection hub lived on. From 1911 to 1952, it served as a stop for the Pacific Electric Red Car line, and now, just a few steps away, are the northern termini of both L.A. Metro’s B Line subway and G line bus routes. After being shuttered for a 30-year stretch (L.A. Metro bought the property in the early ’90s as part of the subway construction process) and extensively rehabbed, it reopened in its caffeinated incarnation in 2017.
The single-story, wooden building with the mustard-yellow paint job and brown trim was known as the Lankershim Depot when it was constructed — out of prefabricated sections shipped in by rail — in 1895 as part of the effort to connect the agricultural industry of the day to the ports. While that need has fallen by the wayside over the last century-plus, its legacy as a local connection hub lived on. From 1911 to 1952, it served as a stop for the Pacific Electric Red Car line, and now, just a few steps away, are the northern termini of both L.A. Metro’s B Line subway and G line bus routes. After being shuttered for a 30-year stretch (L.A. Metro bought the property in the early ’90s as part of the subway construction process) and extensively rehabbed, it reopened in its caffeinated incarnation in 2017.
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Round the bases with a Dominican breakfast for lunch at El Bacano
Valley Glen Dominican Latin American
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
You’ll find this hole-in-the-wall, six-table Dominican restaurant with a “Miami Vice” color scheme wedged between a Subway and a poke shop at one end of a sprawling shopping plaza. Owner Jonathan Santana says the tropical vibe — pinks, pastels and leaf-print wallpaper — was intended to “make it more welcoming than if I just used the colors of the [Dominican Republic] flag.”
There is no camouflaging the cuisine of L.A.’s only Dominican restaurant, though. So authentically back home are the flavors, Santana tells me, that visiting Major League Baseball teams know to tap El Bacano (the name is Spanish slang for “the cool”) for catering gigs. Even though the spot doesn’t open until the click of noon, you’ll want to go full breakfast by ordering a mashed plantain dish called mangú, topped with two fried eggs and a scattering of fried-to-translucent red onions and served alongside rectangular slabs of crispy queso frito and rounds of fried salami. If you’re looking to put a bow on the breakfast-for-lunch illusion, throw in morir soñando, a classic Dominican beverage made with milk, orange juice and sugar that puts the Orange Julius to shame. (The name, which translates as “to die dreaming,” will make sense after one sip. After the second sip, you’ll start scouring the interwebs for recipes.)
Sure, there’s more than mangú on the menu — pollo guisado, flaky empanadas and burgers to name just a few of the other offerings — but a Dominican breakfast for lunch is the guaranteed home run here, whether you’re a visiting pro or playing for the team.
There is no camouflaging the cuisine of L.A.’s only Dominican restaurant, though. So authentically back home are the flavors, Santana tells me, that visiting Major League Baseball teams know to tap El Bacano (the name is Spanish slang for “the cool”) for catering gigs. Even though the spot doesn’t open until the click of noon, you’ll want to go full breakfast by ordering a mashed plantain dish called mangú, topped with two fried eggs and a scattering of fried-to-translucent red onions and served alongside rectangular slabs of crispy queso frito and rounds of fried salami. If you’re looking to put a bow on the breakfast-for-lunch illusion, throw in morir soñando, a classic Dominican beverage made with milk, orange juice and sugar that puts the Orange Julius to shame. (The name, which translates as “to die dreaming,” will make sense after one sip. After the second sip, you’ll start scouring the interwebs for recipes.)
Sure, there’s more than mangú on the menu — pollo guisado, flaky empanadas and burgers to name just a few of the other offerings — but a Dominican breakfast for lunch is the guaranteed home run here, whether you’re a visiting pro or playing for the team.
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Find the freshest IPA around at Hop Merchants Bottle Shop & Taproom
North Hollywood Craft Beer
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
If you’re not into beer — like really into beer — then there won’t be much (beyond the occasional cider or hard seltzer) to entice you in the door of this narrow, brick-walled NoHo Arts District space. But if you’re a hardcore zythophile — especially one with a hankering for hard-find, locally brewed IPAs — then you’ll want to some serious time here, both for the beverages and the serious beer brain trust manning the taps.
Speaking of taps, there are 16 of them offering a mostly local, always rotating selection of beverages that, on a recent visit, included O’Melveny Red (an Imperial red ale from San Fernando Brewing Co.), a gose with grapefruit (Pure Project’s Evangeline) and a half-dozen IPA options. The beer brain trust serving me all kinds of hopped and malted intel when I popped in for a pour was manager Matt Forrester, who offered a little tidbit about the IPA (short for India Pale Ale, for those unfamiliar — a high-hop brew with a pronounced bitterness). “They have a shorter shelf life,” he told me, “so they’re going to be best if you drink them in the first month.”
He told me this while rifling through the eight cooler doors flanking one wall, flipping them over and looking at the dates on the bottoms of colorful pint cans of IPA. (These can be bought to take home or consumed on premises for a $2 corkage fee.) One IPA he held aloft was Super Cali from Riip Beer Co. (out of Huntington Beach), which, based on the date stamp on the bottom, had been canned just three weeks earlier. The second can he pulled from the cooler was Highland Park Brewery’s High 11 Hazy IPA, which had spent all of five days in a can to date. Both went home with me.
According to Forrester, the shop gets about 12 new kegs and between 30 and 50 new canned beers a week, many of the latter from smaller breweries with a low production run. That, and the various nightly programming (Monday is bring your own vinyl night and Tuesday is trivia night for starters) makes this a place you’ll feel like hopping to on a regular basis. (Did we mention the back patio area is dog friendly?)
Speaking of taps, there are 16 of them offering a mostly local, always rotating selection of beverages that, on a recent visit, included O’Melveny Red (an Imperial red ale from San Fernando Brewing Co.), a gose with grapefruit (Pure Project’s Evangeline) and a half-dozen IPA options. The beer brain trust serving me all kinds of hopped and malted intel when I popped in for a pour was manager Matt Forrester, who offered a little tidbit about the IPA (short for India Pale Ale, for those unfamiliar — a high-hop brew with a pronounced bitterness). “They have a shorter shelf life,” he told me, “so they’re going to be best if you drink them in the first month.”
He told me this while rifling through the eight cooler doors flanking one wall, flipping them over and looking at the dates on the bottoms of colorful pint cans of IPA. (These can be bought to take home or consumed on premises for a $2 corkage fee.) One IPA he held aloft was Super Cali from Riip Beer Co. (out of Huntington Beach), which, based on the date stamp on the bottom, had been canned just three weeks earlier. The second can he pulled from the cooler was Highland Park Brewery’s High 11 Hazy IPA, which had spent all of five days in a can to date. Both went home with me.
According to Forrester, the shop gets about 12 new kegs and between 30 and 50 new canned beers a week, many of the latter from smaller breweries with a low production run. That, and the various nightly programming (Monday is bring your own vinyl night and Tuesday is trivia night for starters) makes this a place you’ll feel like hopping to on a regular basis. (Did we mention the back patio area is dog friendly?)
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Exorcise your stress demons at New Relax House Massage & Spa
Massage
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
If you’re looking for a swanky spa with frills — or even some of the basics like a working website or the ability to take credit cards — keep moving, there’s nothing to see here. But if you’ve got knots to be kneaded and $65 cash money or the Venmo app (there’s also an on-site ATM), then make a beeline to this unassuming place sandwiched between a 7-Eleven and Loud Kutz barbershop in a crowded mini mall just off the 170 and spend an hour getting your deltoid demons exorcised. That’s where you’ll find Tongsook Vilai Flores and her team giving backs and necks the business.
Just circle your trouble spots on the human body diagram, pick your massage style (I went with Thai), then follow your masseuse toward the ice cube tray of curtained-off rooms. My guy was Sam, a fireplug of a fellow accessorized with a knit cap. He’s been at this 50 years. Maybe that — or perhaps the trouble-spot treasure map I handed him — was how he so quickly found the golf ball of stress on my back. He poked it. He elbowed it. He asked permission to walk on my back. I said yes. He proceeded to pummel my back with knee and heel. He focused on it with laser-like intensity, all but ignoring my arms and legs. After a hour of flailing limbs (both his and mine), we both emerged all the better for it. Sam grinned a big grin. He had pounded the stress demons into submission and he knew it. And he can do the same for you.
Just circle your trouble spots on the human body diagram, pick your massage style (I went with Thai), then follow your masseuse toward the ice cube tray of curtained-off rooms. My guy was Sam, a fireplug of a fellow accessorized with a knit cap. He’s been at this 50 years. Maybe that — or perhaps the trouble-spot treasure map I handed him — was how he so quickly found the golf ball of stress on my back. He poked it. He elbowed it. He asked permission to walk on my back. I said yes. He proceeded to pummel my back with knee and heel. He focused on it with laser-like intensity, all but ignoring my arms and legs. After a hour of flailing limbs (both his and mine), we both emerged all the better for it. Sam grinned a big grin. He had pounded the stress demons into submission and he knew it. And he can do the same for you.
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Find something fantastically sweet or savory at Lilit Bakery & Cafe
North Hollywood Armenian Bakery Café
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
When it comes to toothsome pasteries, this Armenian bakery, which has been around since 2002, has it all; trays of pistachio-dusted baklava, boxes of powdered sugar-dusted cigarette cookies (one of their strong suits), and multilayered rectangular slices of honey cake (another specialty), each topped with a decorative bee. Colorful cakes in the display case, topped with fruit and shellacked with frosting, are shaped like sunflower blooms, immense strawberries and even, in one instance, a shaggy haired dog gazing balefully out of the case.
But if you sit here for more than a few minutes watching the thrum of customers come and go, you’ll realize the stealth star of the show here is one of their savory offerings: a roughly boat-shaped, open-faced cousin to the calzone filled with molten mozzarella and feta and two eggs, yellow yolks bulging like surprised eyeballs served sunny-side up. The chalkboard sign and the menu identify this dairy delivery system as an ajarski, and the fellow sliding them in and out of the massive oven in the corner told me the shop sells between 80 and 90 of them a day. While the eggs give it a breakfast vibe, the menu underscores the fact that it’s both customizable (options include adding an Armenian jerky called basturma or a spicy sausage called sujuk) and available all day long, which means whenever you pop in, there’ll be an ajarski just waiting to make your acquaintance.
But if you sit here for more than a few minutes watching the thrum of customers come and go, you’ll realize the stealth star of the show here is one of their savory offerings: a roughly boat-shaped, open-faced cousin to the calzone filled with molten mozzarella and feta and two eggs, yellow yolks bulging like surprised eyeballs served sunny-side up. The chalkboard sign and the menu identify this dairy delivery system as an ajarski, and the fellow sliding them in and out of the massive oven in the corner told me the shop sells between 80 and 90 of them a day. While the eggs give it a breakfast vibe, the menu underscores the fact that it’s both customizable (options include adding an Armenian jerky called basturma or a spicy sausage called sujuk) and available all day long, which means whenever you pop in, there’ll be an ajarski just waiting to make your acquaintance.
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Drink out of a flaming scallop shell at the Tonga Hut
Valley Glen Tiki Bar
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Dating to 1958, the Tonga Hut lays claim to being L.A.’s oldest tiki bar and it feels so frozen in time that in the decade and a half between my first visit and my most recent one, the only thing that seems to have changed at all is which door to use. It used to be the one fronting Victory Boulevard; now it’s the one around back at the end of a narrow, tented parking lot area decorated with tropical touches. Although the tent effectively triples the sorely needed capacity, it’s at the expense of the one thing (apart from the drinks) that makes a tiki bar a tiki bar: the ambiance. So, if you’re seeking an authentic tiki vibe, hold out for one of the spots indoors.
The inside, about as brightly lit as a coat closet (and barely twice as big), is uncluttered by tiki bar standards: A carved wooden map of the South Pacific adorns one wall, a TIKI007 California license plate is tacked to the wall behind the bar next to a tinkling water element and paintings of scantily clad island lasses hang over each booth.
The drink options are many and varied (and hard to read off the menu without a supplementary light source), so here are two solid picks: The mai tai (which the menu notes uses the Trader Vic’s recipe) is as classic as they come, and the Nutty Chi Chi — the bar’s most popular pour — is a dangerously, deliciously creamy, vodka-based, Macadamia-flavored riff on the piña colada. The big kahuna on the menu is a four-person flotilla of rum, almond, honey and lime in a plastic scallop shell the size of a soup tureen, garnished with fruit and set aflame. It’s little wonder the tiki mascot in the corner with water bubbling from its mouth is known as the Drooling Bastard.
The inside, about as brightly lit as a coat closet (and barely twice as big), is uncluttered by tiki bar standards: A carved wooden map of the South Pacific adorns one wall, a TIKI007 California license plate is tacked to the wall behind the bar next to a tinkling water element and paintings of scantily clad island lasses hang over each booth.
The drink options are many and varied (and hard to read off the menu without a supplementary light source), so here are two solid picks: The mai tai (which the menu notes uses the Trader Vic’s recipe) is as classic as they come, and the Nutty Chi Chi — the bar’s most popular pour — is a dangerously, deliciously creamy, vodka-based, Macadamia-flavored riff on the piña colada. The big kahuna on the menu is a four-person flotilla of rum, almond, honey and lime in a plastic scallop shell the size of a soup tureen, garnished with fruit and set aflame. It’s little wonder the tiki mascot in the corner with water bubbling from its mouth is known as the Drooling Bastard.
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Taste the Gold standard of crispy rice salads at Sri Siam Cafe
Valley Glen Thai Cuisine
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
You wouldn’t be faulted for overlooking this hole-in-the-wall spot wedged into a mini-mall with neighbors that include a dry cleaner’s, a doughnut shop and 7-Eleven. But if you did, you’d be missing out on one of Jonathan Gold’s favorite dishes. The late L.A. Times food critic was known to wax rhapsodic about the crispy rice salad here, calling it “an almost perfect version” of the dish. And the parade of crunch and flavor across the palate is more than ample evidence — peanuts, cilantro, ginger and the bursts of crisped rice cavorting with tiny morsels of meat (you can choose your protein, but the Thai sausage is the most popular for a reason) nestled alongside romaine lettuce.
But you don’t survive since 1984 on a single dish, and some of the other crowd-pleasers that put Sri Siam on the map are posted on a board just inside the door. Don’t leave without ordering the Crispy N’ Tasty Trout, a whole fried, deboned fish laid out on a plate as flat as a potato pancake. Order it with the herb dressing and it arrives at the table astonishingly fast, piled with crispy bits of onion, garlic and ginger, and scattered with herbs and laced with a chili tamarind paste that gives each bite a punch of heat and sweet. A piece of advice: Unless you’re a thrill-seeker, opt for medium when offered a a spice level, because those chiles mean business.
But you don’t survive since 1984 on a single dish, and some of the other crowd-pleasers that put Sri Siam on the map are posted on a board just inside the door. Don’t leave without ordering the Crispy N’ Tasty Trout, a whole fried, deboned fish laid out on a plate as flat as a potato pancake. Order it with the herb dressing and it arrives at the table astonishingly fast, piled with crispy bits of onion, garlic and ginger, and scattered with herbs and laced with a chili tamarind paste that gives each bite a punch of heat and sweet. A piece of advice: Unless you’re a thrill-seeker, opt for medium when offered a a spice level, because those chiles mean business.
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Level up and settle scores at Player One
North Hollywood Arcade
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Someday, someone will write the definitive evolutionary history of arcade games: how the long, narrow kind of coffin-shaped pinball machines with their lights, buzzers and flippers gave way to taller, screen-based video game consoles with directional controllers only to be supplanted by bigger, boxier games that players would actually clamber inside to play. Who knows, maybe such an evolutionary treatise has already been penned. The point is, every step of that evolution seems to be on display here — side by side, front to back — just waiting to gobble up your quarters for a few minutes (longer if you’ve got mad skills) respite from reality.
Were you raised on pinball, wizard? Your options include “Austin Powers,” Monopoly and “Jaws”-themed machines. Bowling? Try Lane Master. Basketball? There’s NBA Hoops. Need a Nintendo fix? Take a seat and grab the wheel at one of the Mario Kart Arcade GP machines or get it on like Donkey Kong. The dot eaters get their due and then some with a Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man machine (fun fact: Her first name is Pepper) and a giant-screen, wall-mounted, four-player version called Pac-Man: Battle Royale. And then there’s the T-Rex-topped, two-seat “Jurassic Park” climb-in cabinet with a 55-inch screen and mounted pair of tranquilizer guns beckoning near the door.
This retro-nostalgic, 21+ environment has an important thing the arcades of your youth (probably) didn’t have: booze. So feel free to level up with a cheeky themed cocktail like the Pinkie Paloma or Mega Man Mezcal. It also offers humorously themed game nights like a recent “Severance” Bingo (“all blue bingo cards necessary for refining your data file”) or Tuesday trivia nights.
Were you raised on pinball, wizard? Your options include “Austin Powers,” Monopoly and “Jaws”-themed machines. Bowling? Try Lane Master. Basketball? There’s NBA Hoops. Need a Nintendo fix? Take a seat and grab the wheel at one of the Mario Kart Arcade GP machines or get it on like Donkey Kong. The dot eaters get their due and then some with a Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man machine (fun fact: Her first name is Pepper) and a giant-screen, wall-mounted, four-player version called Pac-Man: Battle Royale. And then there’s the T-Rex-topped, two-seat “Jurassic Park” climb-in cabinet with a 55-inch screen and mounted pair of tranquilizer guns beckoning near the door.
This retro-nostalgic, 21+ environment has an important thing the arcades of your youth (probably) didn’t have: booze. So feel free to level up with a cheeky themed cocktail like the Pinkie Paloma or Mega Man Mezcal. It also offers humorously themed game nights like a recent “Severance” Bingo (“all blue bingo cards necessary for refining your data file”) or Tuesday trivia nights.
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Stock up on the treats of the briny deep at the Seafood Shop
North Hollywood Seafood shop
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
A wholesale seafood supplier opening a shop to sell its scaly and hard-shelled wares directly to the public is hardly a novel idea. But the way L.A. Seafood Direct’s Leriza Reyes has done it with her NoHo Arts District storefront most definitely is. Although it’s only been open for about 3 1/2 years, the quaint, postage stamp-sized shop has the look and feel of the kind of centuries-old upscale fishmonger’s shop you might find on the cobblestone streets of a European port town. The front windows alone are a dizzying display of maritime delight; tins of caviar, solid silver crabs, tiny wooden boxes of salted cod and bowls of oyster shells jostle for attention with bags of pasta, cans of crushed tomatoes and jars of wagyu beef tallow.
Inside, the offerings get miles wider and fathoms deeper; cases full of whole branzino from Greece, wild-caught, sushi-grade Faroe salmon, trays of iced mussels and fresh day-boat scallops are displayed fin by gill with tubs of crème fraîche from Vermont, butter from France and cans of crab meat from Mexico. Shelves are dotted with colorfully labeled tins of fish, sardines in spicy oil herem and mussels in escabeche.
Just when you think you’ve reached the pescatarian peak, Reyes mentions there’s a little something more and leads you through a narrow doorway at the back into a kind of seafood speakeasy called the Lennox Lounge, where you and a friend can tuck into lobster rolls or you and a whole bunch of friends can dine on tapas and charcuterie. Reyes says the hidden spot is popular with entertainment industry folks in the area looking for a low-key place to celebrate, though she only mentions Andy Garcia by name. The world is apparently his (smoked) oyster around here.
Inside, the offerings get miles wider and fathoms deeper; cases full of whole branzino from Greece, wild-caught, sushi-grade Faroe salmon, trays of iced mussels and fresh day-boat scallops are displayed fin by gill with tubs of crème fraîche from Vermont, butter from France and cans of crab meat from Mexico. Shelves are dotted with colorfully labeled tins of fish, sardines in spicy oil herem and mussels in escabeche.
Just when you think you’ve reached the pescatarian peak, Reyes mentions there’s a little something more and leads you through a narrow doorway at the back into a kind of seafood speakeasy called the Lennox Lounge, where you and a friend can tuck into lobster rolls or you and a whole bunch of friends can dine on tapas and charcuterie. Reyes says the hidden spot is popular with entertainment industry folks in the area looking for a low-key place to celebrate, though she only mentions Andy Garcia by name. The world is apparently his (smoked) oyster around here.
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Cycle alongside charming public art on Chandler Bikeway
North Hollywood Trail
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(Malia Mendez / Los Angeles Times)
Paved atop the long-abandoned tracks of the Burbank Branch Railroad, the Chandler Bikeway has been a Valley mainstay for the past two decades. On any given day, walkers, cyclists and casual runners alike can be seen making their way down this windy suburban path, some slowing their pace as they pass a collection of murals running from Vineland to Cahuenga. Save for the graffiti, these pieces might just as well be found in a contemporary art museum. In any case, the path’s surrounding landscape is visually satisfying enough, with low succulents and tipu trees on one side and neighborhood gems like the Iliad Bookshop on the other.
If you haven’t greased your bike wheels in a while, grab a Metro bike from one of the several Metro Bike Share stations across North Hollywood. (Pro tip: An e-bike is only $1 extra.) For a short and sweet ride with a reward, hop on a bike at the North Hollywood Metro Station, cruise down to Cahuenga and return your ride at the cache across the street from MidcenturyLA before heading down the road to Cahuenga General Store for a sandwich. Better yet, pack it for a picnic at the nearby Whitnall Highway Park North.
If you haven’t greased your bike wheels in a while, grab a Metro bike from one of the several Metro Bike Share stations across North Hollywood. (Pro tip: An e-bike is only $1 extra.) For a short and sweet ride with a reward, hop on a bike at the North Hollywood Metro Station, cruise down to Cahuenga and return your ride at the cache across the street from MidcenturyLA before heading down the road to Cahuenga General Store for a sandwich. Better yet, pack it for a picnic at the nearby Whitnall Highway Park North.
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Time travel with tiny cars at the Metropolitan Pit Stop
Valley Village Museum
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(Malia Mendez / Los Angeles Times)
Part specialty auto shop, part antique museum, the Metropolitan Pit Stop is home to both cars of the past and an imaginary future. These vehicles once constituted store founder Jimmy Valentine’s personal collection; today, they convene inside a showroom-style dreamscape that draws enthusiasts from all across the country.
Curiously, though, the one model true gearheads tend to overlook is the crowd-favorite among casual passersby, according to June Valentine, Jimmy’s daughter and the current owner of the Metropolitan Pit Stop. Dubbed the Astra-Gnome, the Jetsons-style concept car is a one-of-a-kind prototype, featuring metallic panels, a bubble top and an oversized body that gives the illusion of a flying car. It debuted at the 1956 New York International Auto Show as industrial designer Richard Arbib’s interpretation of “what the cars of the future would look like,” June said. Admiring the car’s retrofuturistic flair, you might find yourself wishing Arbib’s prediction had been right.
On top of the Astra-Gnome, the Metropolitan Pit Stop has six other unique compact cars and one pedal car — complete with operational headlights — in its permanent collection. Plus, surplus cars often spill over into the front-of-house showroom when the auto shop fills up. Even for those who aren’t so mechanically inclined, the mere aesthetics of the mini museum are a sight to see.
Curiously, though, the one model true gearheads tend to overlook is the crowd-favorite among casual passersby, according to June Valentine, Jimmy’s daughter and the current owner of the Metropolitan Pit Stop. Dubbed the Astra-Gnome, the Jetsons-style concept car is a one-of-a-kind prototype, featuring metallic panels, a bubble top and an oversized body that gives the illusion of a flying car. It debuted at the 1956 New York International Auto Show as industrial designer Richard Arbib’s interpretation of “what the cars of the future would look like,” June said. Admiring the car’s retrofuturistic flair, you might find yourself wishing Arbib’s prediction had been right.
On top of the Astra-Gnome, the Metropolitan Pit Stop has six other unique compact cars and one pedal car — complete with operational headlights — in its permanent collection. Plus, surplus cars often spill over into the front-of-house showroom when the auto shop fills up. Even for those who aren’t so mechanically inclined, the mere aesthetics of the mini museum are a sight to see.
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Stroll through California's colorful history alongside the Great Wall of Los Angeles
Valley Glen Public Art
(Gerard Burkhart / For The Times)
Appreciate art, enjoy the outdoors, get a history lesson and work toward your daily step goal all at once along this half-mile stretch of Coldwater Canyon Avenue. That’s where you’ll find artist Judy Baca’s mural “The History of California” painted along the western side of the concrete-lined Tujunga Wash flood control channel. Work on the original mural started in 1974, was finished in 1983 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. The word “original” is key because efforts are under way to extend the mural an additional half-mile by the 2028 Summer Olympics.
For now, though, the illustrated history begins — physically and chronologically — near the intersection of Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Burbank Boulevard (there is ample parking just west of here as well as along Coldwater Canyon). It’s a visual journey told through the plants, animals and (particularly non-white, often marginalized) people who shaped the Golden State. It starts with depictions of prehistoric California circa 20,000 B.C. (think giant sloths, the La Brea Tar Pits) and ends with the civil rights struggles of the ’50s and ’60s (scenes include the displacing of communities to build L.A.’s freeways and Dodger Stadium and the forced assimilation of Native Americans, among others). In between, topics addressed include U.S., Spanish and Mexican settlements (in a section titled “The Myth of Discovery”), the film industry boom (“Thomas Edison Lights Up the World”) and the impact of World War II (“Fascism Abroad and at Home”).
Walk the tree-lined sidewalk between the illustrated Tujunga Wash and busy Coldwater Canyon Avenue just once and you’ll never look at this tributary of the L.A. River — or the history of California — the same way.
For now, though, the illustrated history begins — physically and chronologically — near the intersection of Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Burbank Boulevard (there is ample parking just west of here as well as along Coldwater Canyon). It’s a visual journey told through the plants, animals and (particularly non-white, often marginalized) people who shaped the Golden State. It starts with depictions of prehistoric California circa 20,000 B.C. (think giant sloths, the La Brea Tar Pits) and ends with the civil rights struggles of the ’50s and ’60s (scenes include the displacing of communities to build L.A.’s freeways and Dodger Stadium and the forced assimilation of Native Americans, among others). In between, topics addressed include U.S., Spanish and Mexican settlements (in a section titled “The Myth of Discovery”), the film industry boom (“Thomas Edison Lights Up the World”) and the impact of World War II (“Fascism Abroad and at Home”).
Walk the tree-lined sidewalk between the illustrated Tujunga Wash and busy Coldwater Canyon Avenue just once and you’ll never look at this tributary of the L.A. River — or the history of California — the same way.
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Commune with the spirit of Debbie Reynolds at El Portal Theatre
North Hollywood Performance
(Malia Mendez / Los Angeles Times)
According to El Portal Theatre lore, Robert, its resident ghost, has witnessed firsthand the gradual metamorphosis of the historic North Hollywood venue, from 1920s vaudeville house to streetside cinema to contemporary performing arts theater. But whatever the morning suit-clad apparition can’t tell you about the place — given his spectral form and social selectivity — theater co-managers Pegge Forrest and Jay Irwin almost certainly can.
Before their time, men enlisted in the war after catching a burlesque show, and Cher sold candy behind the counter. Early into their tenure, Forrest and Irwin ripped up from the floors of the since-demolished Shubert Theatre the burgundy carpet that now blankets El Portal. “We’re old, but we’re young at heart,” Irwin said. “This place keeps people young.”
Originally a single large amphitheater, El Portal after the 1994 Northridge earthquake was remodeled to house three distinct theaters: the 42-seat Stuart Rogers Theatre Tribe, the 96-seat Monroe Forum and the 360-seat Debbie Reynolds MainStage — renamed in 2017 to honor the “Singin’ in the Rain” starlet and famed El Portal patron. The entire main stage, which cycles through musicals, dance shows and various other performances throughout the year, hardly exceeds the capacity of the Hollywood Pantages Theatre’s Presidents Club section, Irwin said, lending its audience members unmatched intimacy with the performers.
Come on the right day, and you might even be recruited as an extra for a renting production (see “Hacks” Season 2 and “Licorice Pizza”).
Before their time, men enlisted in the war after catching a burlesque show, and Cher sold candy behind the counter. Early into their tenure, Forrest and Irwin ripped up from the floors of the since-demolished Shubert Theatre the burgundy carpet that now blankets El Portal. “We’re old, but we’re young at heart,” Irwin said. “This place keeps people young.”
Originally a single large amphitheater, El Portal after the 1994 Northridge earthquake was remodeled to house three distinct theaters: the 42-seat Stuart Rogers Theatre Tribe, the 96-seat Monroe Forum and the 360-seat Debbie Reynolds MainStage — renamed in 2017 to honor the “Singin’ in the Rain” starlet and famed El Portal patron. The entire main stage, which cycles through musicals, dance shows and various other performances throughout the year, hardly exceeds the capacity of the Hollywood Pantages Theatre’s Presidents Club section, Irwin said, lending its audience members unmatched intimacy with the performers.
Come on the right day, and you might even be recruited as an extra for a renting production (see “Hacks” Season 2 and “Licorice Pizza”).
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Have a barrel of fun playing pub trivia at Idle Hour
North Hollywood Bar
(Adam Tschorn / Los Angeles Times)
Built in an era when the rise of car culture led to a boom in attention-grabbing programmatic architecture, this whiskey barrel-shaped building was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2010 and lovingly restored to its former glory in 2015. A lively way to experience it is on a night of pub trivia. Head for the back patio, where players post up on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. near another artifact of L.A. architecture: a replica of a giant pipe-smoking bulldog that until the mid-1960s was home to a Washington Boulevard eatery called the Bulldog Cafe. (Speaking of which, that patio is dog-friendly.)
And who knows, maybe your bar smarts will earn you another trip back to the barrel since first-, second- and third-place winning teams get $35, $25 and $10, respectively, off a future visit’s bar tab. Pro tip: Sticking with the theme of the building, snap into one of the barrel-aged Old-Fashioneds on the menu.
And who knows, maybe your bar smarts will earn you another trip back to the barrel since first-, second- and third-place winning teams get $35, $25 and $10, respectively, off a future visit’s bar tab. Pro tip: Sticking with the theme of the building, snap into one of the barrel-aged Old-Fashioneds on the menu.
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Crack open a cold one with a 32-foot-tall clown at Circus Liquor
North Hollywood Historic Landmark
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(Malia Mendez / Los Angeles Times)
If this family-owned liquor store’s gargantuan guardian clown doesn’t qualify for Neon Museum admittance, nothing should. Reportedly nicknamed “Valley,” Circus Liquor’s 32-foot-tall jester guest-stars in a handful of Hollywood flicks, a crowd-favorite being “Clueless,” which sees its trés chic teenage protagonist Cher Horowitz get mugged in the North Hollywood liquor store’s parking lot.
Cinematic reputation aside, Circus Liquor is a local treasure in its own right, featuring single-batch whiskey and a beer cave complete with branded cocktail starter kits. “A lot of people do that, but with Ziploc bags,” store employee Eddie Hernandez said. “We actually created the bags.”
The store even collaborated with Glendale’s Paperback Brewing Co. to concoct a Circus Liquor signature blonde ale, an easy-to-drink brew with subtle honey notes that’s sold individually and in four-packs. Of course, Valley graces the label, along with a cache of other Circus Liquor merchandise available for in-store purchase.
Cinematic reputation aside, Circus Liquor is a local treasure in its own right, featuring single-batch whiskey and a beer cave complete with branded cocktail starter kits. “A lot of people do that, but with Ziploc bags,” store employee Eddie Hernandez said. “We actually created the bags.”
The store even collaborated with Glendale’s Paperback Brewing Co. to concoct a Circus Liquor signature blonde ale, an easy-to-drink brew with subtle honey notes that’s sold individually and in four-packs. Of course, Valley graces the label, along with a cache of other Circus Liquor merchandise available for in-store purchase.
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