Zen Grill Neighborhood

Last night we took a friend who was visiting from Ann Arbor, Michigan to one of our favorite restaurants, Zen Grill - the one on 3rd St near La Cienega. He asked what part of LA it was in, and I wasn't sure. I knew it was near West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, but that it was definitely in the city of Los Angeles (you can tell by the dark blue street signs).

I was curious to see if the people who worked at Zen Grill knew what neighborhood they were working in, so I asked the hostess and our waitress. The hostess had no idea what I was talking about and just said "We're in Los Angeles". The waitress said the same thing that I told my friend: "We're near West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, but there is no name for the neighborhood. It is just Los Angeles." I knew there had to be a name for the neighborhood because there usually is and it is typical for people not to know what it is. There aren't really any clear neighborhood borders in LA in most places.

This morning I looked at my Thomas Guide wall map, and the area appeared to be in Park La Brea. Park La Brea, though, is usually associated with a specific apartment housing complex, so I thought I'd better check the internet for more information. I started with the web page for the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE). From there I looked at some of their maps and found out that the Neighborhood Council for the area Zen Grill is located in is called Mid-City West Community Council. So is that what the neighborhood is called? Mid-City West? I have never heard anyone mention that name before, so I doubt that term refers to a Los Angeles neighborhood. Unfortunately, their web site didn't have any more information on the areas within the Mid-City West boundaries. I guess it will be an ongoing search for the name of the neighborhood that contains Zen Grill...