The Artichoke as Common Ground

Do not underestimate the importance of the title “The Artichoke Center of the World” (“The State’s Best Tastes,” by Andy Meisler, Style, Aug. 7). At the end of World War II, my father was an MP in Vienna. One day he was assigned to transport a German officer who was being held prisoner. As they were riding along in the jeep, the officer, who spoke fluent English, asked my father where he was from. My father answered that he was from Monterey, Calif. Without hesitation, the officer replied, “Oh, that’s near Castroville, isn’t it?” Stunned, my father asked how he knew about Castroville, a place most Californians couldn’t place on a map even today. It turns out that the Nazi officer had studied agriculture in college and knew all about the place in California where they grow artichokes. “The Artichoke Center of the World” indeed.

John A. Greenwald

Irvine