Artichokes from the fields half an hour north of Carmel, grilled, fried or stuffed; the vegetable the whole Monterey coast claims as its own crop.

Castroville, up Highway 1 from Carmel, has called itself the Artichoke Center of the World since the 1920s, when Italian growers planted the Salinas Valley's foggy edge with globe artichokes. The crop never left, and neither did the local habit of treating artichokes as a main event rather than a garnish. In Carmel that means grilled Castroville artichokes at the restored Hog's Breath Inn and fried artichoke crochette at Vesuvio, both minutes from the fields that grew them.

2 editor picks for Castroville artichoke in Carmel-by-the-Sea, ranked by editorial score. All Carmel-by-the-Sea signature dishes · Castroville artichoke across every city.