L.A. The City, vs. L.A. The Sense of Place

Blog fight! Blog fight! Well, not quite that vicious. But Blogging.la, LA City Nerd and Atwater Village Newbie have launched a debate over what should or shouldn't be considered "Los Angeles."

LA City Nerd points to a post by Atwater Village Newbie, who's annoyed that restaurants and attractions in non-L.A. cities like Beverly Hills and Burbank sometimes sneak into "Best of L.A." lists. The Newbie writes:

If you write a "Best of" Los Angeles, try to list things that are actually in Los Angeles.

West Hollywood, Burbank, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Malibu and Santa Monica are all different cities. Some of them even have their own mayors. But you'd never know from these lists:

Gayot Top 10 LA Burgers: 4 are in LA
Citysearch Top 10 Things To Do in LA This Fall: 4 are in LA
About.com Top 10 LA Sports Bars: 2 are in LA
Citysearch's Top 10 LA Experiences: 4 are in LA

The Nerd agrees, but Blogging.la's Sean Bonner thinks the sites are knitpicking:

But guess what? They are in the County of Los Angeles. And that's something important to note - none of those lists are suggesting they are 'Best of the city of LA' and suggesting that something in West Hollywood or Burbank isn't in LA it's in the county not the city is a pretty big stretch. Not that I'd have a problem with someone making a 'Best of LA City' list, but there's no need to complain about someone elses list because it's not exactly the way you would have done it.

I'm torn on this one, because I see both points. I wonder if "Best of Chicago" lists include 'burbs like Evanston... and I suppose San Francisco pubs and websites get around the geographic issue by calling it the "Best of the Bay." I would say though that I still refer to myself as an Angeleno, even though we technically live in Glendale. (Remember, KNBC and KABC are in Burbank and Glendale, respectively. Does that mean they're not Los Angeles TV stations?) Things get confusing to most people because, like I've mentioned before, the majority of Angelenos don't know the difference between an L.A. neighborhood and a suburb. Northridge, Reseda, Venice, Hollywood: They're Los Angeles. Burbank, Santa Monica, West Hollywood: They're not.