Bakersfield, California, is the Kern County seat in the southern San Joaquin Valley, a regional hub shaped by agriculture, oil production and mid-20th-century growth, with historic districts such as Old Town Kern and Downtown Bako and a mix of railroad, commercial, and immigrant-community landmarks; the city anchors a broad area that includes sites like the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, the Tevis Block, and the nearby Depression-era Weedpatch Camp in Lamont, later made famous through John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Local eateries include numerous Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives-featured spots, along with long-established Basque dining rooms such as Wool Growers Restaurant, known for its traditional multi-course set-up meals, and Pyrenees Cafe, a 1930s Basque bar-restaurant in Old Town Kern noted for northern Spanish dishes served with abundant sides. - AsNotedIn