From the Alamo, With Love

The city that won Phil Collins' heart is coming for yours, too

by

Editor’s Note: This trip was hosted in part by Visit San Antonio and Marriott Hotels, though the opinions of the writer are entirely her own.

As a New Orleanian who spent the first few years fresh out of Loyola University as a tour guide, I am well aware of the city's claim to be “The Most European City in America”. With all of the cultural and architectural influences left behind by French and Spanish colonial rule lingering thick in the French Quarter and beyond it, I still stand by the claim as a valid point of local pride. Giving tours, I heard plenty of visitors gush affirmations of it; their eyes widening at a beautiful building or plate of food, completely unlike anything they’d found elsewhere in the United States. 

And believe me: I understand the appeal of a trip to a place that allows one to flirt with the fantasy of being abroad without updating your passport or shelling out for international flight. This is among many (admittedly unexpected) reasons that I became enamored with San Antonio last summer. 

Giddy up, amigos—we’re goin’ down to San Anton’. 

Founded in 1718 (another coincidence that contributes to endearing a NOLA girl’s heart) as an outpost of the Spanish Empire before it became part of the Mexican Republic for a significant portion of the 1800s, San Antonio is the most historic settlement in today’s state of Texas. It’s also been designated a World Heritage city by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with five of its historic missions (including the Alamo) designated together as Texas’s only World Heritage Site. Beyond the iconic Alamo mission building, this deep-running history remains palpable throughout America’s seventh-largest city, even when juxtaposed against the flashy strip malls and chain restaurants along the River Walk. 

San Antonio is also the largest city in the United States with a predominantly Hispanic population, and the cuisine, culture, and language that result significantly contribute to its vibrant appeal. These factors provide San Antonio its international flair, while simultaneously reinforcing how very American the modern Texan metropolis is. (Well, along with the contemporary capitalist wet dream that is the River Walk.) So, giddy up, amigos—we’re goin’ down to San Anton’. 

The Alamo

The storied 18th-century stone Spanish mission building sits in the middle of the city’s bustling center, where it's stubbornly remained as a world of commercial modernity sprung up around it. The Alamo structure is not alone as a hold-out of the old world aesthetic circa 1836—when the Texas Revolution, a rebellion by Texan colonists and Tejanos against the Mexican government, took place. As we approached, an older man in period garb tapped out a rhythm on a military drum beside a statue of Davy Crockett, who was famously killed in the Battle of the Alamo along with Jim Bowie, another Texas folk hero. 

Our tour guide, Thomas, who is also a researcher on staff at the site, explained that the state of Texas recently repurchased the buildings across from the Alamo—which currently house attractions like a Ripley’s Believe it or Not and a Tussaud’s Wax Museum—with extensive plans (“The Alamo Plan”) to build a Visitors’ Center and Museum in their place. The state’s goal, Thomas explained, is to “establish an atmosphere of reverence and respect,” and remind visitors that the historic site in the midst of all the high rises was a fort and battlefield. 

After Thomas briefed us on the (bloody, riveting, oft-mythologized) history of the battle and thirteen-day siege, we gratefully stepped out of the dry Texas heat through the imposing front doors into the surprisingly air-conditioned Alamo. Even as a non-Texan who doesn’t typically gravitate toward military history, a feeling of reverence washed over me as I entered beneath the barrel-vaulted ceiling. Texas Monthly writer Stephen Harrigan describes the building as possessing an “otherworldly presence,” and as esoteric as that sounds, I understand what he means. 

That palpable aura of history and myth only intensified as Thomas filled in the narrative gaps of what happened here—drawing from first-person, primary-source accounts, and his own research. His personal passion for the subject was palpable, and his clear voice mixing thoughtfully-curated history with occasional humor kept our whole group engaged (including, miraculously, two young kids). 

[Planning a trip to Texas? Here are some of our favorite travel guides—to the Hill Country, to Marble Falls, to Marfa, and to North Texas.] 

He talked us through interesting details like Davy Crockett’s iconic coonskin cap—and how we only assume it’s coonskin because the only English-speaking female survivor, Susanna Dickinson, described it simply as “peculiar” when Crockett’s body was found. Thomas explained that the first sources interviewed about the Battle of the Alamo were widowed Dickinson and a man named Joe, who was enslaved by Colonel William Travis—subverting our notion of who typically proffers the historical accounts we receive. From encouraging us to imagine the stone walls painted with religious iconography from when the building was a church; to vividly setting the scene of the women and children who would have huddled in those rooms as cannons and muskets fired just outside—Thomas skillfully balanced historical accuracy and engaging presentation. 

Behind the Alamo, Thomas took us through the Ralston Family Collection Center—which he described as an “appetizer” for the grander Alamo Museum in progress across the street. Within its walls are gallery upon gallery of archival materials and artifacts, spanning the histories of the Neolithic people who first lived on the land, through the Alamo’s commemoration today. The most jaw-dropping revelation, for me anyway, came when Thomas revealed that Phil Collins—yes, that Phil Collins—is one of the largest collectors of Alamo memorabilia in history. A massive portion of the building is devoted to the British musician’s personal collection. Between this, an interactive tablet that provides artifact information and allows the visitor to zoom in on minute details, and a wall of past Alamo visitors ranging from the King of England to Johnny Cash, I found the whole experience fascinating. Thomas even indulged my potentially eye roll-inducing end-of-tour request to hear more about the building’s lore—“So, Bowie’s gold under the Alamo?!”—to which he energetically responded, emphasizing the known facts while leaving room for the imagination to mythologize. I tipped him well, and in retrospect, he deserved more. 

The River Walk

Another thing that makes San Antonio feel familiar to Louisianans is its long and troubled history with floods. After the particularly bad 1921 flood put Houston Street under several yards of water and killed fifty people, the Olmos Dam was built to prevent future disasters. Locals rallied to save the river, as well as the historic sites along it, and in 1929, a young architect named Robert Hugman proposed a plan: to allow for a bypass channel with flood gates at one end controlling the river’s flow, which would allow a controlled channel beneath street-level that could be landscaped and outfitted with pedestrian paths and businesses. The Depression put his vision on hold, but a decade later, the newly-formed San Antonio River Authority broke ground on the project, with Hugman leading as architect. 

Today, the River Walk is Texas’s top attraction, boasting miles of walking paths lined with restaurants, shops, event stages, and historic sites. Many of the businesses along the corridor are national chains (spurring discussions among planners to limit their presence as the River Walk expands), but it is home to many worthwhile locally-owned stops and historical sites, too.

We learned to appreciate the River Walk (and had the most fun on it) by taking a Del Rio boat tour. During the half-hour excursion down the channel, our guide Gayle (who is a teacher during the school year but gives tours as her summer gig) regaled us with one interesting tidbit after another—explaining the River Walk’s past and present history, and pointing out sites like a historic church founded by Canary Islanders, the Aztec Theatre (where Charlie Chaplin allegedly won third place in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest), the Tower of the Americas (which at 750-feet tall was the largest free-standing structure when it was first built for the World’s Fair in 1968), the Briscoe Western Art Museum, and even the stage used to film scenes from Miss Congeniality. 

The Marriott Rivercenter

Usually when I travel, I prefer to seek out boutique hotels and bed and breakfasts. But I have to admit, when I was invited on this trip and saw it was hosted by Visit San Antonio as well as Marriott, part of why I was eager to accept was my confidence in Marriott’s consistently high standards across every one of their hotels I’ve set foot in. My fiancé Sam and I stayed in the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter, the larger of two Marriott hotels just steps from the River Walk. 

We arrived and checked in, admiring the stained-glass art behind the friendly receptionist, created by local artist family the Garcias, of Garcia Art Glass. The hotel also makes a point of sourcing all the ingredients used for the hotel restaurant, Tributary, from Texas providers (from the beef to the tortillas). Beehives on the hotel’s roof provide the honey, and bourbon aged in oak barrels onsite goes into the cocktails (the Marriott across the street, I was told, distills the tequila). 

We took the notably fast elevators up to our room, an executive suite situated high up, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows displaying the San Antonio skyline. Such a suite is admittedly not a luxury we’d generally spring for were we not being hosted, but we were still surprised to learn how moderate the rates were. Sleek and minimal in Marriott’s usual style, the suite included everything one could need—a king bed (I’m a longtime fan of Marriott’s luscious mattresses and linens, and this bed was no exception), a flat-screen television in the bedroom as well as the living room, a conference table, a safe, a mini fridge that would house too many tasty leftovers, and bathroom mirrors with framed vanity lighting that left me feeling utterly spoiled. The suite was comfortable and felt both practical and indulgent, but with so much to see and do in San Antonio, we found the hotel’s location and friendly staff its greatest assets. With an exit directly into the mall section of the River Walk and a short walking distance from the Alamo and so much else, we barely used our car while we were there. 

Eating in San Antonio

On top of being a UNESCO World Heritage City, we learned that San Antonio is one of only two U.S. cities designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. (Upon learning that the second is Tucson over New Orleans, I have some questions regarding the selection process, but that’s another matter.) San Antonio has surely earned its place—the sprawling metropolis’s diverse immigrant communities and unique local cuisine make it so. 

After our first night’s dinner at Tributary, Smoke BBQ was our first lunch stop in the city, and couldn’t have felt more distinctly San Antonio as we sipped frozen tajin-rimmed margaritas and welcomed huge plates of brisket, ribs, and other smoked meats and sides just beside the River Walk. Smoke BBQ is one of the locally-owned and operated restaurants on the stretch, and they adhere to the Texas precedent of doing it right: their meats are smoked for around thirteen hours off-site, we were told. 

When it came time to choose where to go to dinner, we were stumped—back home in New Orleans selecting a date night location can be a challenge for two indecisive and open-minded foodies, and San Antonio made the call even harder, with so many options and so little time. So, in the spirit of vacation, we splurged and decided we could have our puffy tacos and eat them, too. (That’s the saying, right?) 

One of San Antonio’s emblematic foods, the puffy taco is a glorious delicacy whose name says it all: various marinated and seasoned meats and the usual Tex-Mex-style fixin’s go into a corn masa shell that has been fried to the point of puffing up like a greasy, crispy balloon. We grabbed a couple of varieties of local staple Henry’s Puffy Tacos from the drive-thru. They didn’t make it out of the parking lot. It’s hard to go wrong with a taco in Texas, but these were really special. 

Besides the obligatory Tex-Mex and barbecue, I’ve come to associate big Texas cities like Houston and San Antonio with incredible Asian cuisine. So next, we headed to Sichuan House—an unassuming little restaurant in a strip mall with online reviews promising massively flavorful dishes loaded with the mouth-numbing mala Sichuan peppercorns we can’t get enough of, nor find easily in New Orleans. Our Hispanic waiter informed us that the entire kitchen staff was originally from Sichuan Province in China, and we eagerly ordered everything from soup dumplings to mala chicken, with a pot of jasmine tea. Each dish was prepared with much simpler ingredients than most Americanized Chinese food, yet the flavors of the peppercorns, garlic, and ginger burst boldly through. 

Always able to squeeze in one more bite on vacation, we then found ourselves at Honchos Churros, which offered more varieties of churros than I’ve ever encountered. I don’t remember what I had exactly, except that it involved Nutella, and even with its crisp outer ridges maintained a soft, fluffy center. 

For dinner our last night in town, we decided to lean back into the Tex-Mex. At the suggestion of a friend who grew up in San Antonio, we headed to Soluna, and found the local favorite completely packed. But after a short wait, we were equipped with margaritas, fresh tortilla chips, and plates heaped with bubbling cheese. I seldom regret taking food advice from local friends; this was no exception. 

After that, we managed to work in a dessert stop at Laika Cheesecakes and Espresso—another strip mall gem that served creamy, thick cheesecakes in adorable little jars. 

In many ways, we barely scratched the surface of San Antonio, but found ourselves particularly lamenting the seemingly-infinite dining options left untasted. So much so, we’ve already begun scheming our next trip there, ready to pick up where we left off. 

Hopscotch

One of our favorite San Antonio excursions was Hopscotch—a series of immersive color and light therapy art exhibitions built into a former bank vault. The eclectic front bar offers creative cocktails using ingredients like color-changing butterfly pea flower tea and CBD shots. And yet, the real fun was downstairs: once in the black-walled vault, we were greeted by installations like a luminescent rainbow ball pit, a room of mirrors that allows you to see your own face infinite times over, and an optical illusion room that makes the person in one corner appear giant, while the other becomes a tiny toy version of themselves. We felt like kids again as we went room-to-room, excited to discover what illusions and play the next would bring. Each installation was created by an artist, many of whom are local to San Antonio, whose bios and visions were displayed on the walls outside their creations.  

The San Antonio Botanical Garden

It can sometimes be hard to connect with nature in massive cities, but in San Antonio’s case, a beautifully-cultivated botanical garden allows visitors a place to stroll through varied environments, ranging from rainforests to Japanese gardens. Each garden is totally different, and when we visited, massive botanical sculptures of fantastic beasts like dragons and pegasuses were scattered throughout.

Before touring the botanical garden, we had lunch at the restaurant on the grounds, Jardín, whose Mediterranean menu is inspired by the garden itself, focusing on fresh ingredients thoughtfully prepared by local Chef Jason Dady. We loved the variety of the selection of mezze/small plates, and gushed to each other as we passed platters of chèvre grilled cheese with tomato jam, arancinis, house-marinated feta and olives, and white cheddar-stuffed dates. As inspired as the food menu were the cocktails, which echoed the Mediterranean influence with unexpected ingredients like Arabic allspice and saffron syrup. 

The Witte Museum

To round out our brief experience in the city, we paid a visit to the Witte Museum, which in its grand halls displays exhibitions at the intersection of nature, science, and culture “through the lens of Texas deep time” (which I’m not certain the meaning of, but admit sounds cool). When we went, a touring dinosaur exhibition was up, and we got to meet “Scotty”—a cast of one of the most complete known T-Rex skeletons. 

Fiesta San Antonio 

In late April, San Antonio throws a city-wide Fiesta, which dates back to the 1890s when locals first staged the Battle of Flowers parade to honor the heroes of the Alamo. Fiesta has traditionally included coronations of “royalty,” grand balls, and parades on the water as well as land. During Fiesta, artisans and vendors are out in droves, cook-offs fill the streets wafting scents of barbecue, and live music echoes all along the River Walk and beyond it. Not unlike Carnival or Jazz Fest season in New Orleans, Fiesta is arguably the most exciting time to visit San Antonio—but as you can glean from our experience, you’ll find more than enough to do, see, and taste any time of year.  

Fiesta San Antonio takes place April 18–28. Learn more at fiestasanantonio.org and visitsanantonio.com.