I think that September must be the absolute best month of the year to eat!
Yesterday we took the crew to McMinnville’s newest entry into the culinary scene: Thistle. The occasion was a farewell lunch for our Assistant Winemaker Kevin Wiles, who is leaving us to discover new horizons. Since Thistle isn’t ordinarily open for lunch we asked owners Emily and Eric if they would make an exception for our little group. Happily they, agreed.
You can see the wonderful menu they created. At Thistle they make a new menu du jour, based on what the farmers have brought them. Having done a bit of traveling away from Western Oregon this summer, I am newly reminded how lucky we are to live in this mecca of fresh and organic foods of all kinds: produce, fish, meats, cheese, wine and even beer. The culinary philosophy of Thistle celebrates this bounty in a most delicious way!
A gorgeous late summer salad!
Emily served us family style –our favorite. This was our first course: simple, but perfect field greens with beautiful roasted beets, crunchy fresh cucumbers and purple onion which I think had been marinated a bit. We then moved on the albacore tuna with homemade gnocchi. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of that dish — by then I had forgotten about the camera because I was having so much fun eating, drinking and talking. But I can assure you it was a stunning dish. The tuna was so perfectly cooked. It was cooked through, not rare, but meltingly tender and moist. This is no small feat as anyone who has cooked fresh tuna knows. Hats off to you Eric!
We started the meal with a glass of the lovely and fleeting Big Fire Dry Rosé. Then of course we opened a few bottles of Pinot noir for the occasion. We had two of R. Stuart & Co. single vineyards. The Temperance Hill and the Winderlea, both of the 2007 vintage, and both really coming into their own. We also opened a bottle of the 2002 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, which was the predecessor to what we now know as Autograph. If you’re lucky enough to still have some of that vintage in your cellar, you’ll be glad you held on to it. It’s tasting just marvelous now, and promises to continue to evolve for years to come.
For dessert we had a lovely blueberry clafouti that just hit the spot. All in all it was a perfectly scrumptious lunch and we can’t thank Emily and Eric enough for giving us such special treatment! Thistle is, as I said before, a wonderful addition to our culinary scene here in Oregon wine country. Not only is the food terrific, but check out this gorgeous wallpaper!
Nicole, Kevin, and the gorgeous wallpaper.
