Giant Artichoke Restaurant, Monterey, Ca.

Giant Artichoke on Cannery Row, Ca.

Well I went down to one of my favorite places and had lunch at one of my new favorite restaurants the other day. The location I'm talking about is Cannery Row in Monterey, Ca. Cannery Row was made famous by the book "Cannery Row" written by the famous American author John Steinbeck, who grew up here. When you stroll down the Row, you'll  still see many of the buildings and structures that were around over a hundred years ago and where a big part of the fishery industry in Central and Northern California was built.

The Giant Artichoke restaurant, where we ate, has many different types of food made from artichokes. The Artichokes are from Castroville, the Artichoke Capital of the world just down the road from here.

We're really lucky to live here in California, and where I live, (The Central Valley and Central Cali Coast) we have the best agriculture and farmland around. Known as "the lettuce bowl of America", it's not just lettuce but a wide variety of great seasonal crops year 'round. I know people who grew up having never tasted or even heard of an artichoke until they came to California. Sad, because they are amazing!

I really enjoyed the various dips, and the fried artichoke bits were a classic. For a tasty and not too heavy dessert try the sweet artichoke bread.  I tend to lay off on too much of the sweet stuff and this was perfect to end off a good meal.

I'll be back with some more blogs on the Central Coast and Monterey in coming months so stay tuned. Til then, 

Bon Appetit!