2011 Restaurant of the Year: Thistle
Casey Kulla, hard-worn ball cap warding off the rain, bends down to his crop, snaps off a spike of arugula rapini and offers it to Eric Bechard. The stalk, he points out, is a little sweet, the leaves a little spicy.   Bechard, chef/proprietor of McMinnville restaurant Thistle, chews thoughtfully, and in his eyes the wisp of greenery blossoms into a salad.

“A little bit of that,” muses Bechard, “gets your whole palate so excited.”   Rarely does farm to fork seem such a short trip.   For his deftness in making his point — and in making black cod with locally grown squash and brussels sprouts, and house-butchered and cured bacon — Bechard’s Thistle is The Oregonian’s 2011 Restaurant of the Year.  Thistle is just 10 minutes from Youngberg Hill and many of our guest enjoy eating there.  Come taste the wine, savor the view, and enjoy dinner at our 2011 restaurant of the year!

http://www.oregonlive.com/diner-2011/index.ssf/2011/06/restaurant_of_the_year.html

http://www.thistlerestaurant.com/