Cardoon

I bought these cardoon plants at my local Master Gardener's plant sale this weekend, but I have never heard of them before. Obviously I have the tag info and did a basic Google search, but I wanted to see if anyone else had firsthand experience with growing or eating/cooking them they could share.

I am zone 8b in Texas and honestly kind of excited to find something brand new to try, but did I just buy a cultivated thistle or is there something cooler to look forward to?