Westwood Blvd, Rancho Park

Westwood Blvd is one of the main streets that cuts through Westwood Village. It's one of the bigger and busier streets in the village and goes all the way down to Pico at the Westside Pavilion Mall. It's one of the more commercial streets in the area with a lot of big businesses (while the other streets still retain a lot of mom and pop venues.
Westside Blvd starts at UCLA and it's pretty stressful in that area. There is a ton of cars, foot traffic and bikes so getting out of the circle is a total pain in the butt. Actually, driving-wise it's a pain the whole way through. There are a lot of chain eateries that have popped up on this street like Chili's et al, but there are still some places that have been around forever -- like Don Antonio's which has mediocre pizza but they deliver until 4 am which is a godsend after a night out. Tanino is a great restaurant on the street. It's one of the Drago restaurants and because of its price point it manages to keep the rowdy college crowd out. It has excellent cuisine but it's not cheap. Sandbags, a sandwich place with a few outlets on the west side, has great sandwiches and cheap bar so that's a great place to stop in on an afternoon when you don't have much to do but drink massive cups of beer.
There are a ton of chain restaurants on this street in the village like Urban Outfitters, Ann Taylor, American Apparel and the Gap. Aaahs is also on this street. Aaahs is this awesome novelty store that's really fun to go into when you need a jokey gift or a great birthday card for someone. There's also a Coffee Bean on the street which I am obsessed with. This particular Coffee Bean was my second home when I went to UCLA. It's pretty hard to find a table during the school year, though. When you get outside of the village, Westwood Blvd is pretty ugly. It has the same big street with a lot of commercial property to it; but, it lacks the quaint village feel.
It's probably the least pretty street in the village and you do have to be careful when driving because of all of the foot traffic and people stopping to find a parking spot --- which is always a disaster.

Westwood is a great street for students, conducive to restaurants some pubs, little boutiques for shopping or just looking around. It’s also very eclectic. Be sure to have a homemade giant cookie form Diede Riese or have a cold glass of coconut juice on a hot day at Mr. Noodle. If you’re feeling very adventurous, you can go to Habibi Café to smoke a houka and listen to authentic Middle Eastern music.