As they continue their great American road trip by RV, Simon Veness and Susan Veness roll through ancient waterways, crawfish farms and urban oases on a culinary adventure across the southern states. The server at Suire’s Grocery was apologetic. They had just finished their lunch period and only had sandwiches left. Would that do? But before we could register a response a voice piped up from behind the hatch in the servery, insisting they had one last hot plate to offer. It was boudin and rice in gravy, take it or leave it.
![[St Martinville was founded in 1765 and is the setting for Longfellow’s poem Evangeline]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/27/14/newFile-4.jpg)
Gratefully, we agreed to take it. We had hoped for their “legendary” Turtle Sauce Piccante, or Catfish Po’boy, or something else from their daily chalkboard of Cajun delicacies, all redolent of 300 years of southern Louisiana’s cultural hot-pot. But boudin and rice sounded intriguing. “What’s in it?” we asked, naively. The person next in line piped up. “Best not to ask,” she insisted. “But it’s good eatin’ all the same.” She wasn’t wrong.
![[Crawfish farms are scattered across southern Louisiana]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/27/14/newFile-5.jpg)
Traditional boudin is a sausage made from pork meat, rice, vegetables and seasonings that vary from kitchen to kitchen and can include liver and heart, hence the whispered advice to stay ignorant of the recipe. We took the plunge and savoured a deeply flavourful plateful. The sausage had the consistency of pate and the thick gravy added a delectably gooey texture that hinted of bourbon, tabasco and something essentially earthy.
![[Sunset from the New Orleans RV Resort]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/29/19/Sunset-from-the-New-Orleans-RV-Resort.jpg)
Read more: A fiery new food tour across America’s Deep South. Family-run Suire’s, in the rural town of Kaplan, was exactly what we’d hoped to encounter as our year-long RV circumnavigation of the US reached its 11th month. Southern Louisiana held the promise of experiences beyond the usual tourist trail, and we were soon immersed in a world of historical intrigue, ancient waterways, crawfish farms and fabulous food – the legacy of the 18th-century French Catholic expulsion from maritime Canada.
![[City Park is the second largest park in the US after New York’s Central Park]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/27/14/iStock-1096974058.jpg)
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