Sheltering from the rain under the wooden porch of a neighbourhood café, a mockingbird sung, while my tongue tingled from the jalapeño in the ranchero sauce. After a 15-hour train journey from New Orleans, I was tucking into breakfast tacos, filled with bacon and scrambled egg, and sipping on cafe de olla, a Mexican spiced coffee. It felt like I’d arrived in a new country, yet I’d simply hopped west across the state line to San Antonio, Texas.
With only a train journey separating the two cities, I was on a one-week adventure to see how New Orleans’ Cajun and Creole cuisine stacked up against San Antonio’s Tex-Mex.
In New Orleans, I’d wandered through the narrow streets of the French Quarter with its colourful Creole townhouses. For breakfast, I sat in the sun and absorbed the brassy sounds of a jazz band playing down the street. I sank my teeth into a beignet, a pillowy, deep-fried pastry with a generous dusting of icing sugar. Think of a doughnut, only tastier.
Later, I joined Doctor Gumbo’s (aka Dylan O’Donnell, a New Orleans native) food tour, on which my guide, Beth, explained how, broadly, “Cajun is countryside food with deeper flavours, whereas Creole is refined city cuisine”.
A bowl of Cajun gumbo from 3rd Block Depot Kitchen + Bar resembled a stew that wasn’t much to look at, but I was pleasantly surprised at how the fiery seasoning was complemented by the smoky Louisiana sausage.
The city’s history holds the key to its food, from waves of immigrants who have made New Orleans their home. Gumbo’s roots are in West Africa and France.
Our tour whisked us through that history; from the indigenous pecans now eaten as sweet praline, to Sicilian muffuletta sandwiches of Italian meats, cheeses and olives. The rival po’boy sandwich was created for the “poor boys” during the 1929 months-long streetcar strike. With a crispy shell, it’s stuffed with anything from beef to crawfish, dressed with salad and slathered with mayonnaise. It made my usual Pret order look rather pitiful.
At the Mardi Gras School of Cooking, chef Raymond explained how jambalaya was born from the Spanish swapping in local ingredients and spices to make paella. Our class enjoyed experimenting with these ingredients, such as spicy tasso ham, and created our own versions of the dish.
Day and night in New Orleans, my ears were blessed with jazz on street corners and in Frenchmen Street’s clubs. Jazz breaks convention, evolves and unveils its rawness, which I realised speaks to this city’s spirit.
While it felt like I was leaving New Orleans too soon, boarding the Amtrak “Sunset Limited” train, with its booming horn, was a thrill. I was only travelling one segment of this epic five-state, 1,995-mile route, but some passengers were laden with supplies for the 47 hours to Los Angeles.
As I was departing at 9am and arriving in San Antonio at midnight, I chose to travel in coach class, rather than splashing out on a sleeper cabin. My top-deck recliner seat was spacious. I reflected to my new friend, Mickey, how civilised this felt compared to UK trains. She shared my love of rail travel. When we spotted an alligator among mangroves outside the city, she said that we were seeing a side of the US that you wouldn’t experience if you took a flight.
The adjacent viewing car had a sociable atmosphere with tables for eating and playing cards, and swivel seats that looked out beyond the wraparound windows.
As I watched the scenery change to vast rice fields, I met another passenger, Richard. He told me about his family’s plans to view Texas’s impending solar eclipse, with this train journey adding to their excitement. As the sun set over Houston, I was called to the dining car and served a surprisingly tasty, three-course Italian meal.
The Sunset Limited is just that – with only three departures per week, it is one of Amtrak’s lowest-frequency services.
Before Hurricane Katrina, it was the country’s only coast-to-coast route, but as part of the Biden administration’s ambitious railroad vision, plans are afoot to extend to Mobile, Alabama with a daily service.
Time flew and before I knew it, I was in San Antonio. I walked off my breakfast taco along the San Antonio River’s 15-mile Riverwalk with its hummingbirds, northern cardinals and bathing turtles. At the Pearl, a former German brewery, I explored its farmers’ market and restaurants.
Finding La Gloria, a Mexican street food restaurant, took no time once I was pointed towards the colourful metal skeletons that welcomed me to a vibrant terrace. I enjoyed contrasting flavours of delicate raw fish and green tomatoes in the ceviche verde, against rich spices of mole sauce smothering the enchiladas.
Situated 125 miles from Mexico, and with a mission to preserve traditional food, La Gloria is renowned for its authenticity and for the best margaritas in town.
Yet, Tex-mex is ubiquitous in San Antonio, an evolution of Native American and Mexican food combined with ingredients that Spanish missionaries imported, including wheat and livestock.
Over cheesy enchiladas and crispy tacos at Poblano’s in Downtown, I was captivated by stories of the legendary “Chili Queens“.
In the 1880s, a group of women set up nighttime stalls in the Plaza de Armas and served chilli con carne with other specialities. Becoming a beloved fixture of San Antonio’s nightlife, they attracted locals, visitors and soldiers from nearby military bases, and grew Tex-mex’s popularity.
Not wanting to leave Texas without tasting its steak, the queue outside Pinkerton’s Barbecue was a promising sign. Once inside the rustic restaurant, I was told the secret to its brisket’s tenderness is a nine-hour cook in burning pits of local mesquite wood. The bold, smoky flavours rooted me firmly in Texas.
The Sunset Limited had delivered me from one cuisine to another in just 15-hours; a fast track between different cultures and identities in one week. From hearty Cajun flavours to spicy Tex-Mex, a culinary competition had been fought out in my tastebuds, and deciding on a winner was almost an impossible call.
Getting there
BA flies direct from Heathrow to New Orleans and return from San Antonio via Dallas daily from £730 return.
Amtrak’s Sunset Limited runs direct trains three times a week from £55 one way.
Staying there
Double rooms at the historic Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans start at £235 per night and the Thompson Riverwalk in San Antonio at £330 per night.
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