Over the past weekend my family and I were in North Hollywood. If you're not familiar with LA geography, North Hollywood is not Hollywood: the former is in the San Fernando Valley, and the latter is across the Santa Monica Mountains in the LA basin. (As my friend Andy Stadler says: "The problem with North Hollywood is that it's basically just West Burbank.") When we're out of town, we always try to avoid chain restaurants and get some local flavor instead, which is not always easy to do with kids.
On this trip, we found two gems: Art's Deli and Miceli's. At Art's, in Studio City on Ventura Blvd., we had wonderful corned beef, kosher salami, and potato knishes, along with a nice Dr. Brown's Cream Soda. Miceli's, a crowded Italian place in Universal City on Cahuenga Blvd. (which is the same street as Ventura after its name changes), featured great pizza, delicious hot rolls, and a terrific misto salad, along with live waitress singing and a general fun (but not too fun) atmosphere.
I highly recommend Art's Deli and Miceli's if you find yourself in the valley looking for great family food.