Tough Decisions in McMinnville, OR
Have you ever heard of McMinnville, Oregon? Until I decided to visit the Willamette Valley for wine tasting, I hadn’t. And I had no idea McMinnville restaurants were a foodie paradise, so I got lucky that the best accomodation options in the area was near the downtown.
I got lots of great recommendations but Nick’s and Thistle came out on top. And when I found out Thistle, “Nose to Tail, Farm to Fork Dining” had been the inspiration for my favorite restaurant’s Chef Whim tasting menu, I knew where I had to go!
The exterior is unassuming but cute (this photo was borrowed from their website, no vintage car on my visit!)
Very cool funky retro interior and as a solo diner (of which there were several) I was seated in the front with a great view of the kitchen.
I ordered the Chef’s Whim and asked about a wine pairing. The waitress showed me an extensive menu of wines by the glass and also offered to “do her best”. I decided to go with the latter option.
While I waited, I studied the menu on the wall and tried to guess what I might be getting.
And I must say, you gotta respect a place that has “Bread & Fat” as a menu option.
The first glass of wine to come out was sparkling, and I guessed the appetizer wrong.
It wound up being some delightful Netarts Bay Oysters. Normally I don’t care for Oysters, but they were very fresh and well prepared and the sparkling for a local Oregon winery was a nice pairing.
Next up was the smoked rockfish with potato, fava beans, and amazing aioli nicely paired with a rose.
Then some charred beef tongue. My first ever trying beef tongue. I tried to not like it, but I couldn’t. It had a lovely beefy texture and flavor and was nicely paired with a pinot noir.
The fourth course was sturgeon two ways — grilled sturgeon topped with sweet pea flowers and local mushrooms and pickled sturgeon with ginger.
My phone died at this point and so I couldn’t photograph the fifth course which was dessert. The dessert was cake (which I can’t quite remember) and quite nice, but the savories were definitely the highlight.
The 5 course dinner was somewhere around $70-$75 and the wine pairing a ridiculously good bargain at $25!
More from this trip
- Visiting the Smallest Park in the World
- Making the Most of a Day in Portland
- Private Tour of the Hunt for Red October Submarine
- Where to Taste: Willamette Valley Wineries
- More Willamette Valley Vineyard Recommendations
- My First AirBnB Experience
I love mcminnville! its far enough away from pdx to be considered country, but also close enough for dinner or anything else
Glad you enjoyed yourself Keri, but don’t give all of our secrets away in the “Willamette” Valley.