North la Brea Ave, Mid-City West

La Brea isn't a street that one would live on. In fact, it's pretty scuzzy. But, it's a decent street to drive on during rush hour. Take La Brea over Fairfax always. It's still pretty congested but once you get south of Wilshire, it tends to pick up a bit. And, the bonus about La Brea is that you cant take it straight to LAX so you don't have to hop on the dreaded 10 if you need to get to the airport during major traffic hours.
There are apartments on La Brea, but I would never live in them. La Brea, for the most part, is pretty dirty and crowded and there's always traffic. It's just a highly undesirable street to live on. And, all of the commercial property is pretty beak to boot. There aren't many good restaurants on the street -- it's mostly fast food chains, 7-11, gas stations, etc. But, there are a few worth mentioning. Ammo is a great restaurant at La Brea and Sunset or so. It has some of the best turkey meatloaf around. The ingredients are fresh, organic and the chef takes the food pretty seriously. Doughboys just opened a second outpost directly across the street. They have good, hearty food but the nickname "slowboys" is no accident. The service is almost not worth the food. Luna Park is down by Wilshire and that place is always pretty crowded. I'm not a huge fan of the food but the drink menu is pretty outstanding and I like the energy. Sonora Cafe is only worth mentioning if you happen to like mussels that will blow your mind. They are unreal but everything else -- including the actual place -- is pretty crappy. The restaurant scene south of Wilshire is starting to pick up quite a bit in the last couple of years so I'm interested to see what comes of it as Miracle Mile area gets even more popular with young people. It could completely turn that area around.
There aren't many stores, other than American Rag and Buffalo Exchange and pretty much the only bar I can think of on La Brea is the Woods --which is awesome. But, other than that, La Brea's just not a happening street. The streets off of it are fine, but definitely wouldn't live actually on it.