The giant artichoke of Castroville bulges into the parking lot of a fruit stand and restaurant shopping strip. Like an immense leafy alien head, it seems to grin westward towards the Pacific Ocean and the world's less bountiful regions.
Don't just stop for the photo op; the adjacent Giant Artichoke Restaurant makes fine dishes out of this unsung hero of the garden.
Castroville holds an annual two-day Artichoke Festival; Marilyn Monroe was the first artichoke beauty pageant queen, crowned in 1948.
