Jane saw these babies growing in fields as far as the eye could see and we quickly realized that we were passing through Castroville, the “Artichoke Center of the World.” The artichokes you eat are likely from this small Central California town — according to Wikipedia, they provide 75% of the nations chokes.

Artichokes in the Wild

Weird, fun fact: Marilyn Monroe was named the Castroville Artichoke Festival’s Artichoke Queen in 1948. I had no idea they called ‘em artichokes in those days but she sure did like flaunting hers!

We pulled over and bought some artichokes from the farm stand at the side of the road, boiled them in a pot of salted water, and served them with a dipping sauce.

Beautiful Boiled Artichokes

I whipped together a bunch of ingredients that included the following (sorry – I have no idea on amounts — just taste as you go):

• Equal parts mayonnaise and yogurt (any kind of fat amount)
• Minced garlic (a couple cloves)
• Lemon or lime juice (1-2 tablespoons)
• Fresh Dill chopped up (1 – 2 tablespoons; NO dried dill will not substitute)

It tastes just like spring. For another great technique and recipe for enjoying artichokes, check out the Cosmic Cowgirl’s Grilled Artichokes with Meyer Lemon Aioli.

According to author Julia Alvarez, Dominican Spanish la ñapa refers to “the little extra” added on at the end. Just when you thought you’d gotten all that you would get, along comes your ñapa, like a baker’s dozen (13), with one more kiss, one more pastelito, one more mango at the mercado.

The first lagniappe was adorable Jonah — my cousins Jami and Andrew’s son. He was sweet, smiley, silly, and such a pleasure to be with at only eight months old. I can’t wait to meet him again when he is a toddler.

Great Aunt Linda and Jonah

Another lagniappe was traveling from Berkeley to San Francisco on the BART: Bay Area Rapid Transit System. How cool to have a metro train system named after your family? I mean, it was one thing to name the most beloved cartoon character of our time after us but the main transport system of SF? Too much!

Riding the BART

In the theme of Passover, if we had just gotten a last-minute reservation at Alice Water’s Chez Panisse, it would have been enough. Beyond that, I was able to enjoy this delicious and historic meal with three of my favorite women (mom, Jane, and Aunt Wendy), and treat them to a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate the occasion.

At the end of our meal, the waiter brought us a bowl of Churchill-Brenneis Orchard Page Mandarins and Flying Disc Ranch Barhi Dates. This was unexpected and so simply delicious, they were the perfect ending to our meal at a restaurant dedicated to wonderful seasonal foods.

mandarin + dates

If you go to Berkeley, I highly recommend Chez Panisse for lunch, or check out their Monday night dinner price fixe menu — just $60 a person for three courses.

After lunch, Aunt Wendy took us to The Claremont, a club she belongs to with heated pools, a lovely locker room, classes, and more. The lagniappe here was that two guests were free the first Tuesday of the month — and that happened to be the day we were there. Also, they didn’t ask us for our member cards so we ended up all getting in free of charge.

Claremont Berkeley

During the second half of our trip, it was just me, mom and Jane. Our first stop was Calistoga Springs in the Napa Valley. We passed so many historic wineries and sites on our way to the hotel but the one that really caught my eye was the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone. I suggested we go there for an early glass of wine and appetizers.

Apps at the CIA

The CIA Greystone restaurant offers five different international appetizers for $10 — and a glass of wine is included! It was festive and a great way to start our wine country visit. We went back to our hotel for a swim in the hot springs and a shower before dinner. I think the idea of going out for two meals in a night totally blew my mother’s mind but Jane was totally on the same page. After all, we didn’t have lunch that day and we knew we would be hungry three hours after having that little appetizer snack.

Wine at Press in Napa

Dinner was at Press and you can read more details on what we ate here. The part that felt like a lagniappe was actually a coincidence — we were there on a Wednesday night and Press offers 1/2 price bottles of wine. We bought one of the bottles on the list below…not the $1100 one even though it would have been a steal at $550!

Wine Pricing at Press

The next day we stopped in Yountville to visit the French Laundry. We had no intention of eating but checking out the grounds was very rewarding. There is a huge garden across the street with signs showing what each row was growing and a beautiful garden inside the property as well.

French Laundry Pilgrimage

As we were wandering [read: snooping] around, a man walked out a back door and introduced himself. He asked if we wanted a tour of the kitchen. You can bet your beets we wanted a tour!

French Laundry Kitchen

The kitchen was spotless, bright with lots of windows and skylights, and packed with attractive young chefs busily preparing for an event that night. Anyone can eat a meal at the French Laundry for a couple hundred bones but how many people have actually been inside the kitchen?!

Our final stop in Yountville was at Bouchon Bakery where we picked up an almond croissant and a caramel macaron. The lagniappe would have been the extra chocolate macaron that they put in the bag until we realized that we were charged for it. However, that chocolate macaron was amazing and was something that I would come back for again and again.

Chocolate Macaron at Bouchon

The best lagniappe was you guys — my social network on Twitter and Facebook. You all helped me find a great spot for dinner in Monterey (thanks Sinda for suggesting Passion Fish!).

The list you provided that I’ll clip and save for next time was the wineries. We ended up visiting Cline Winery in Sonoma (meh) and David Bruce Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains (mmmm) but when I go back to wine country again with Adam, we’ll definitely visit some of these spots.

Spots you recommended in Napa include: Black Stallion, Cakebread, Darioush, Domaine Carneros, Duckhorn, Frog’s Leap, Goosecross, Grgich, Jessup, Kuleto, Mumm, Stags Leap, and Sunce. For a meal, it sounds like L’Auberge Soleil is really special.

In Northern Sonoma and Healdsburg, you recommended Ferrari-Carano, Kaz, and Quivira.

Did we really get many lagniappes while in California? Ok, not really in the traditional sense of the word. However, I hope you enjoyed this blog with “a little extra” fun information thrown in that you can use on your next trip to Northern California.

It’s so funny to me because when my mom made reservations for the night at Cypress Inn for tonight, she didn’t know that it was:

a) Co-owned by Doris Day (yes, she is still alive)

b) One of the most pet friendly hotels in the state (if not the world)

We realized there was something different about this place at check-in this afternoon when we saw a glass jar filled with dog treats at the front desk and Doris Day posters and memorabilia throughout. Day has co-owned the Cypress Inn for over twenty years and she also manages the Doris Day Animal Foundation. She turns 88 tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Doris!

Daschund with Biscuits

The Cypress Inn allows up to three dogs per room at a charge of $30 for the first dog and I believe $20 for each additional dog and they provide extras like pet blankets and pet bowls, and an area in the courtyard for washing off pets who have been visiting Carmel Beach, where dogs can run free. Carmel is also a very pet-friendly town, where dogs can go anywhere if on a leash, and many restaurants are also pet-friendly.

I’m sitting right now in Terry’s Lounge. named after Day’s son Terry Melcher. Melcher produced records by the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds and many others. He was a back-up vocalist on the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds album.

Lilly Filly (a Viszla)

We made friends with everyone at the bar including Lilly Filly (above) a sixteen year old Viszla and her parents who were hanging out at the Cypress for over two hours with friends.

Dinner, please!

This little guy (above) was begging for some dinner and it looked delicious to me too. Yum Yum!

This Cadillac was parked outside. I didn’t meet a dog named Eve so I’m guessing this Caddy was owned by a dog-lover named Eve. Makes sense, right?!

Scottie

This little Scottie was about 15 and enjoyed sitting in the son with his proud owners.

Tibetans with Dinner

Our favorite sighting was the two Tibetan Terriers above. The multi-colored one looked just like Cassie, who we lost just two months ago after a wonderful fifteen years.

Blogging

My Labrador screen saver was right at home in the Cypress Inn bar. That’s my mom, Linda smiling over the screen.

Me with Cassie Look a like

This blurry picture is me with the little Cassie look-a-like. He sat on my lap for a while while I was editing pictures and sipping my wine.

I think I’d like to open up an Austin Dog Friendly place very much like this special spot. They even have a menu just for dogs with hamburger and chicken options. A girl can dream….

OMG — They just started playing the theme from Snoopy on the piano. Too much!

First, a bakery, called La Farine. We stopped there so I could pick up a savory morning bun with ham, cheese, and onion inside a flaky pastry dough in the shape of a cinnamon roll but without the sweetness.

We didn’t stop at the butcher store right next store to the bakery called Ver Brugge since it was so early but came back later to pick up a stewing chicken and shank bone (they called it a Sedar Bone) for the upcoming holiday.

Next up was Cole Coffee, where David custom brewed up a cup of Sumatra Viennese. There was a huge line in this tiny shop — deemed by many as the best coffee in Berkeley — and friends, dogs, and babies crowded at tables outside. As a side note, Berkeley truly reminds me of Brooklyn in so many ways — it’s the Brooklyn of San Francisco.

Later in the day (after naps for me and for baby Jonah), we headed out to pick up some groceries at Yasai Produce Market — a tiny corner grocery store across from a Safeway and very close to a Whole Foods. In any other city, those larger stores would figuratively eat the smaller guy alive. Not so in Berkeley.

I got a kick out of all of the beautiful and reasonably priced local produce. I guess that makes sense since a huge amount of the produce nationwide comes from California.

A point of pride was that the grapefruits were from the great state of Texas. Pretty cool given that California is known for their citrus as well!

On the walk home I took pictures of some of the lovely flowers and plants. This one came out particularly well on my little Canon s90.

What would a love child between Paris and the Garden of Eden look like? I think something very much like Berkeley.

The weekend before last, I happily mixed the two parts of my life on a road trip from Capitol Chevrolet down to the Pearl Farmer’s Market in San Antonio with a group of local food bloggers. Below is a slightly edited version of a blog I wrote for Chevy about the day. Enjoy!

Our keys for the day

Invited bloggers included Kristi W. of Austin Farm to Table, Christian B. of Austin Food Journal, Carla C. of Austin Urban Gardens, Logan and Rachel of Boots in the Oven, Jennie C. of Miso Hungry, Shannan of Riemerville, and Stephanie of Stephanie Klein.com.

Carla and Adam shop at Thunder Heart Bison

We met at Capitol Chevrolet for breakfast and picked up our cars – a Camaro, Equinox, Malibu, Silverado, and a Tahoe. Next stop was Chuck Nash in San Marcos to switch cars. They were happily surprised when Mark from Chuck Nash offered to drive their car keys up to Capitol to have the cars washed and detailed while they were gone.

Fun Fact #1: Capitol Chevrolet and Chuck Nash are owned by the same family – Capitol Chevrolet is literally the “sister” dealership to Chuck Nash, with Nancy Harper at the helm.

Fun Fact #2: Capitol Chevrolet has doubled as Garrity Motors for filming on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights.

Jennie snags the Camaro for the first leg

In San Antonio, road trippers wandered around the Pearl Farmers Market, talking with farmers and vendors, listening to live music, snapping photos, and sampling local foods to take home. We loaded up our YETI coolers with groceries and walked over to Texas Farm to Table for locally-sourced sandwiches and salads.

Bloggers from Boots in the Oven, MisoHungry, Austin Food Journal, and Austin Urban Gardens enjoy lunch

For more about the day, check out:

• Chevy Veggie Flickr Group
• #ChevyVeggie tweets
• Austin Urban Gardens
• Austin Farm to Table
• Stephanie Klein

Also, I took video of our very first call with OnStar. I couldn’t believe it when a real person answered to help us with directions. During the call we asked our OnStar agent for directions, about lonely drivers, and what she was wearing.

Everything IS better in Texas

Be sure to follow @chevytexan and @chevrolet on Twitter to hear about other upcoming events — including fun activities and content from SXSW — where Chevy is a major sponsor.