EDITORIAL GOOD EATS.

WESTSIDE ``sophisticates'' have long sneered at the San Fernando Valley as some sort of cultural wasteland, home of strip malls and little else. They ought to see the new Zagat Survey.

Of the five top restaurants in Los Angeles, three are in the Valley region -- Sushi Nozawa in Studio City, Leila's of Oak Park and Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas. The guide also credits the Valley with the No. 1 deli and continental cuisine and No. 2 barbecue places in L.A.

Not that anyone in the Valley is surprised. We've long know that this is the cultural mecca of L.A., the most diverse, vibrant part of the city. But it may come as news to those ``sophisticates'' that if they want a good meal, they're going to need to come ``over the hill.''