MISHY TURNER & ERIKA VARELA
Staff Writers
“Like, oh-my-gosh!”
The San Fernando Valley often gets a bad rap from the rest of Los Angeles, maybe for the lack of an ocean view or maybe for the incredible heat its residents endure during the summer months. However, the Valley has a charm all its own.
Students agree that driving down Ventura Boulevard, the Valley’s signature road that spans through over five different regions of the San Fernando Valley, captures a feeling of 1950s Los Angeles.
“It’s a really pretty drive,” said junior Amanda Carungi. “There’s lot of shops and restaurants.” So, grab some friends and head over the hill — you’ll find some spots along the boulevard that are definitely worth the drive.
Driving down Ventura Boulevard, one can’t miss the obviously themed restaurant Amazon Bar and Grill, which has been open for the past 14 years. Tarzan and Jane would feel right at home here, with enough vines to swing from and a waterfall that is large enough in which to bathe. The jungle can be yours, complete with a seafood meal, and it’s guaranteed to be the classiest jungle to which you’ll ever go.
The Amazon Shrimp dish, a staff recommendation, boasts Caribbean flavors with a hint of Italian. Every Thursday at 8 p.m. the restaurant has live guitar music. Waitress Kate Podnebennaya said that the restaurant should start booking local bands within the next few months.
The Amazon Bar and Grill practically feeds you for free, with 30 percent off lunch Monday through Thursday and free dessert from 5 p.m. until close everyday.
People looking for a kitschy escape and a good meal can wear their best loin cloth, grab a tree vine and swing their way into the Amazon Bar and Grill.
Keep driving down Ventura Boulevard, and you will run into a world of arts and crafts. At Handmade Galleries, the word “handmade” no longer refers to your preschool macaroni necklaces or grandmother’s quilts. In fact, ask anyone in Sherman Oaks what handmade means to them and they’ll probably immediately reference the eclectic store.
The store embodies creativity — a beautiful, blue mosaic adorns the front of the store, while inside an explosion of imaginative art decks the shelves and walls, providing eye candy for hours.
Started by owner Andrea Styors, Handmade fosters more than 100 different artists, allowing them to establish a presence in the lucrative Los Angeles market without having to worry about the meticulous business aspects.
“[Handmade is a] unique shopping experience [because] it’s always changing,” said manager and nine-year employee Amanda Vernon. This is partly because most of the artists’ works are one-of-a-kind, so the store evolves week to week.
The ingenuity is always a constant, though. There are nose-shaped eyeglasses holders made from clay, bottle cap necklaces, vintage bags with movie star memorabilia decoupage, Dick and Jane themed quilts, and Beatles onesies for babies, just to name a few.
Handmade also caters to the world of performing artists, hosting an open mic called 2nd Sunday Songbirds, which (as you may have already guessed) takes place every second Sunday of each month.
Don’t stray from Ventura Boulevard until you make this last stop — Firefly, an ultra-chic restaurant and bar in Studio City. If the name doesn’t already sound hip, the crowd sure is.
With a following that praises the Mediterranean-inspired food, this is one restaurant that doesn’t need, or have, a sign out front. From the looks of it, one might think Firefly is a New York library. The ambient lighting and plush velvet seats make way for an environment much cozier than common trendy restaurants.
Firefly attracts young singles because the intimate environment makes meeting people easy. One can go there any night just for dessert and expect a lively group ready to mingle. Freshman Carly Weaver found this out not too long ago.
“My cousin just took me to Firefly a couple weeks ago, and the chocolate gelato is so good,” she said “[It’s] so much different than regular ice cream I’ve had at other restaurants.”
Firefly is also a great place to take a date because a private cabana can be requested with sheer walls that provide just enough intimacy without feeling closed in. The food menu changes in regards to each season, but people can expect to always have ample variety, such as a pear, walnut, and arugula salad filet mignon.
So, with all that the Valley has to offer, free your mind from preconceived notions of ditzy valley girls take a drive down Ventura Boulevard. It’s worthy of the trip.
09-13-2007
