“He walked to Stone Street where the Catholic church is and turned left, went past the Carriaga house, the Wilson house, the Zabala house, and turned left on Central Avenue at the Steinbeck house.”
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
The Steinbeck House, John Steinbeck’s childhood home at 132 Central Avenue in Salinas is open for lunch and tours. The Valley Guild has published a cookbook with the much sought after lunch menu recipes, Steinbeck House Cookbook. A favorite is broccoli with chicken and a curry dressing, Poulet de Broccoli. I had thoughts of updating this Salinas classic and found inspiration in a salad I had at the The Portola Café at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. My recipe is a major shift from casserole to salad, and from broccoli to lettuce, but both recipes include iconic Salinas Valley ingredients with chicken and a curry dressing.