Jalapeño Soup at the Blue Quail Deli

While it might not have the same ring as “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe,” the Cream of Jalapeño soup at the Blue Quail Deli in Goliad, Texas is something not to miss.

What’s a jalapeño?

Jalapeño is the chili pepper of Texas. While the New Mexicans have their Anaheim and the Jamaicans have their Scotch Bonnet, Texans have the jalapeño. These small, green peppers can have varying degrees of hotness, but in the overall scheme of peppers, they are considered mild. They can be found in everything from hamburgers to nachos, but at one small town deli, they have found a happy home as the chief ingredient in an award winning soup, the Cream of Jalapeño.

Where’s Goliad?

Goliad is located on the Central Gulf Coast of Texas, a couple of hours south of Houston and an hour or so north of Corpus Christi. If you know anything at all about Texas history, Goliad is famous as a battle site between the Mexican army and Texas rebels. It didn’t end well for the Texans, unfortunately. Back when I attended school in Goliad (population: maybe 2000), we had a Dairy Queen and a handful of Mexican food places to appease our high school appetites. Most days, however, we ended up piling into a Texaco gas station to eat microwaved mini-pizzas and burritos. Some days we went to another gas station for Frito pies. Gourmet we were not. On the days when we felt like splurging, we might call in an order for steak finger baskets at the Dairy Queen. (How on earth I could have eaten all those steak fingers and still kept slim I’ll never know.)

When I told my Chinese students that I used to live in a town of 2000 people, they just looked at me dumbfounded. In their minds, a town that small is nearly incomprehensible. The people there would be old and poor farmers left to tend their fields while the youngsters headed to universities and factory jobs in the big cities. That people choose to live in a small town, that people choose a rural lifestyle is a bit of a shock to my students.

What about that soup!?

Goliad’s downtown is known as Market Square. It consists of four streets surrounding an old courthouse. The old buildings have been lovingly maintained and although not super busy, it is a square oozing with charm. Once a month they hold an open air market on the square, called Market Days. The buildings along the square hold a library, several restaurants, a bank, a museum and shopping.

For years now I have heard talk of a little deli on the square that serves award winning jalapeño soup. The Blue Quail Deli is a casual restaurant featuring sandwiches and soup, of course. It’s famous – Luke Wilson ate there! I can finally say I have tried the soup and it is delicious! The recipe is secret, but as you can imagine, the soup includes jalapeños chopped fine and a lot of delicious cheese and cream. It is silky and just hot enough to get your nose running – but nothing to stop you from enjoying the flavor. I highly recommend it!

A few photos:

The Blue Quail Deli

Goliad’s version of Santa Claus

Goliad’s Courthouse

Market Square buildings

Nutcracker on a balcony

Detail of Von Dohlen building

Decorations and flags

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Tagged as: Back Home, Food, Goliad, Restaurants, USA