There is a new blog in town packed full of information about this city and how it works. LA City Nerd knows a lot about a lot of things, including the source of some Van Nuys odors:

“Many communities in L.A. have distinctive visuals; many have identifiable sounds. But only one that I know of has a distinctive smell – actually, TWO smells.

When most people think of a community that smells, they think of New Jersey. Ok, that’s a state, but when I say “New Jersey,” don’t you think of a funky smell? (Most folks do!)

For me though, I’m not thinking of a bad smell, just one that is distinctive in the region. That community: Van Nuys. What Van Nuys smells like is, well, hops. Anheuser-Busch Brewery on Roscoe gives a strong aroma that is the most distinctive in the region.

(Did you also know that the largest buyer of water from the L.A. Department of Water & Power is Anheuser-Busch?)

And since I brought up water, the other smell that defines Van Nuys is the water that comes out of the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. All that the Valley flushes gets treated and released to Lake Balboa, the Los Angeles Japanese Garden, & L.A. River. So, if you’re down stream – say near Burbank/Griffith Park – you can smell Van Nuys.

That’s something to which other communities may turn up their nose, but Van Nuys can be proud of its distinctive scent. I mean, what does Brentwood really smell like…? (Mountaingate?)”

And this author would add the “Pho” smell coming from the two Vietnamese restaurants near my house.