3rd St, Sylmar

3rd Street, Los Angeles -- not to be confused with 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, is a really cool street that stretches from West Hollywood to the downtown area. The part of 3rd street that hails in the West Hollywood area -- from La Cienega to Highland or so -- is really cool. It's fairly easy to drive (i.e. traffic isn't as terrible as neighboring streets such as Santa Monica.
I have a bunch of friends whom live off of 3rd street and it's a relatively young neighborhood with really cool Spanish style bungalows and 4-plexes everywhere. The Grove is incredibly close and some of the most trendy / or maybe just good restaurants are on 3rd. Joan's on Third is a fantastic brunch place. It is healthy and adorable. Doughboys is right at Third and Sweetzer -ish. It's horribly slow but pretty good for breakfast and lunch. It doesn't have the nickname "Slowboys" for nothing so I definitely wouldn't go there in a rush. Toast is probably the most popular breakfast / lunch place on 3rd. It's at about Sweetzer-ish as well and you can't miss it. Just look for the large, crowded patio with tons of under 30's wearing giant sunglasses even if it's not sunny. Toast is a pretty go-to place for the trendy, actor and wannabe actor set. Everyone's pretty good looking and really rude, and honestly, the food at Toast isn't great. But the outdoor seating is nice and the people watching is definitely interesting so I would go at least once in your life if you haven't been.
Yoga Booty Ballet is at Third and Sweetzer as well. It's not the most intense workout I've ever had in my life but it's pretty fun and it's definitely girly. I used to go with my friends to workout and then Toast for lunch at an off time so that we weren't inundated with the nightclub crew that just woke up and went to all meet again for brunch.
One of my favorite restaurants in the city is just a little bit west on Third. It's called Cynthia's. Sadly, Cynthia, herself, no longer runs it (she was something else). But, they have maintained the same menu and I swear that fried chicken is the best I've ever had in my life -- and, I have tried a lot. The Berry Cobbler is also a must. It has been written up in every magazine and it's pretty to die for even if you don't like dessert. The place is tiny and cool and really under the radar. I rarely hear people talk about this -- and, I 'd like to keep it that way.
Third street is just a great street for living because the homes are cute, the restaurants are quaint and there's even a great bar (St. Nicks is one of my faves). It's pretty safe, there isn't horrible traffic and it's central to everything!