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Pasadena, Glendale, Studio City or Sherman Oaks?
coming from Playa Vista the thing you'll notice first is the trees. none of those four have the same uniform street canopy, but South Pasadena and the older parts of Glendale (Sparr Heights, around Glenoaks) actually come closest, and that matters way more than you'd think for daily stroller walks in august.
my rec nobody's made yet: look at Sparr Heights in Glendale. it's the pocket up by Oakmont Country Club, technically Glendale but feels like a small town, walkable little strip on Verdugo, way less congested than anywhere near the Galleria, and you're 10 min from both the 2 and the 134. two dogs and a stroller fit fine there and you're not paying Pasadena prices. food scene is thin on its own but you're a short drive to both Kenneth Village and Montrose.
the catch is inventory is tiny and it skews older, so you might wait a while for the right place. but if congestion is a dealbreaker for you, it's the sleeper of the whole list.
Honestly you should look at South Pasadena before you lock in any of those four. It's tiny, borders Pasadena and Highland Park, has its own walkable little downtown on Mission St with a farmers market on Thursdays, and the streets around Marengo and Fair Oaks are way quieter than Old Town but you're still 5 min from all of it. Two dogs plus a stroller is actually doable there, and the schools are some of the best in the county which matters a lot once the kid hits 5. Only catch is inventory is tight and you'll pay for it, but if you can swing Pasadena you can prob swing South Pas too.
one thing nobody flagged: your dogs are gonna hate Old Town Pasadena. the walkable core around Colorado and Union is great for you but it's leash-crowded sidewalk chaos on weekends and there's basically no off leash option except the Arroyo, which is a drive. we ended up in the Moorpark/Colfax pocket of Studio City partly because the LA River path and the little park by CBS Radford gave our two mutts a real daily loop without loading them in the car.
food wise it's not Pasadena but you're 10 min from the Ventura strip and NoHo, and pre baby you'll actually use that. post baby you won't, so maybe don't over index on restaurants.
fwiw the 134 at 8am from Studio City toward Burbank is fine, it's the reverse direction that's awful. depends where work is.
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How can I find mobile hot dog vendors for a private event?
honestly the SGV has a ton of licensed cart operators who mostly do private stuff now. look up "hot dog cart catering San Gabriel Valley" on Yelp and you'll get a handful that are fully permitted, which matters if your venue needs a health permit on file. expect around $400 to $700 for a few hours plus a per person minimum, usually 50 or so. the ones based in Alhambra and Rosemead tend to be cheaper than Pasadena because they're not paying that rent.
fwiw the county health dept keeps a public list of permitted mobile food operators, its searchable by city on the LA County Public Health site. filter for "pushcart" or "MFF" and you'll get vendors cleared for SGV zip codes, which saves you the headache of a venue asking for paperwork later. also worth checking with the Old Town Monrovia or Alhambra farmers market folks, the carts there are usually booked solid but they know who's free and they'll pass along names. just dont wait till the last week, good ones book out 2 to 3 weeks in teh summer.
You could try hitting up the folks who set up outside Home Depot or the DMV in El Monte on weekends, a lot of those carts are owner operated and they'll do private gigs if you ask. Just walk up and grab a card, they usually have one taped to the cart.