Fallout from the massive Westland/Hallmark meat recall scandal continues to affect Southland restaurants, stretching from San Diego to Ventura County. The California Department of Public Health has released a document listing every food purveyor which has purchased the recalled beef -- and at 59+ pages, it's a doozy. Chances are very good you have purchased or ingested some of Westland/Hallmark's product at some point, since markets and restaurants across the city are represented. My......

Green LA Girl is walking every street in Santa Monica and she just discovered this Web 2.0 gem: Walk Score. It calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. to help people find walkable places to live. Pretty awesome, right? I've always prided myself on my part of Sherman Oaks and it's walkability. Within a 10-minute walk radius I can walk to two bars, four restaurant bars (including......

My roommate wanted something sweet to eat. I suggested Natas Pastries next to Casa Vega on Ventura Blvd. Later that day he told me that was the best éclair he had in his life. "Wow," he said, "where did this place come from?" Nearly four years ago, Fatima Marques, a native of Lisbon, Portugal, searched Los Angeles for pasteis de nata, the most famous of Portuguese pastries. She discovered a void in the city’s......

Too often one walks into Ralph's Grocery in Sherman Oaks store at 1 or 2 am to find porn stars shopping. andPOP reports that Body & Soul Tattoo at Ventura Blvd./Van Nuys Blvd. "has been inundated with new customers since the pop star's impromptu visit." The local Business Improvement District (BID) and Chamber of Commerce owe Britney Spears a thank-you letter. Daily News thinks celebrities feel comfortable flipping out in the Valley. Interesting observations,......

1. Billy Blanks' Tae Bo World Training Center closed. 2. Sherman Oaks Galleria's flagship store, Tower Records, closed and the now outdoor shopping mall "went public" via Douglas Emmett. 3. A Sherman Oaks based political mailer caused controversy in the November election. 4. The Sherman Oaks Street Fair extended to a two day affair. 5. Resident Calvin Broadus, aka Snoop Dogg, made big news twice this year and the media always attached "of Sherman......

As usual, big media continues to be flummoxed by Los Angeles neighborhoods as easily as any stargazed tourist would be: The teen queen was spied by TMZ Monday night in Margaritaville; Casa Vega in the L.A. suburb of Sherman Oaks, where Lohan sipped on cola during the evening while her entourage pounded down strawberry margaritas. She ate most of her two taco meal, and was polite to patrons who approached her. Her only bad......

Dear LAist; I need a bar to take a date to while trying to stick within the Sherman Oaks/Encino area. It can't be over the top clubby. It can't be under the hood trashy. What are my options? Signed, I'm finally dating a Valley Girl The Valley may not be like Hollywood where you can walk from bar to bar to bar to bar to bar to bar. But its got those sweet spots......

The fifth day of the fifth month means celebration time for anyone with ties to Mexico, or an affinity for international holidays that involve hard liquor and good food. Here in LA, Cinco de Mayo is a hugely popular Fiesta time, and with the holiday landing on a Thursday, there's sure to be celebrations running through the weekend. In honor of 05/05/05, LAist would like to mention 5 great Mexican restaurants where you can......