Texas and food go hand in hand. And In honor of Thanksgiving, the most delicious holiday of all, we’re serving up a list of all the spots that you can gobble your way across the state.
TURKEY
You obviously couldn’t have Thanksgiving without TURKEY — it’s the starring meat on your plate. And since you also can’t truly celebrate a day of thankfulness without acknowledging the blessing you have of living in the BEST STATE in the world, visit the spot that combines them both — Turkey, Texas. You won’t find dozens of turkeys running around, but you will find the Official Texas State Bison Herd and a whole lot of giant canyons.
However, if you are looking for actual turkeys, than might I suggest Cuero, TX, the town that’s named itself the “Unofficial Turkey Capital of the World.” They are so into these flightless-birds that the high school mascot is a turkey, each year they host a big turkey festival with a world famous Great Gobbler Gallop (turkey race) and have a Turkey Statue in town.
SWEET POTATOES
Fun Fact: did you know that Golden, TX is the Sweet Potato Capital of the World? To celebrate the sweet potato harvest each year, the town hosts a famous Sweet Potato Festival (that was once featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show) with a sweet potato contest, sweet potato decorating contest, and a sweet potato baking contest!
CORN
What fun is Thanksgiving if it isn’t a little corny? Spend a Saturday at Graff 7A Ranch, which is basically a corn-themed festival that lasts until November 25. Get lost in the giant Corn Maize, chow on Kettle Corn or shoot corn out of a cannon!
PUMPKIN
Head to the land of pumpkins, Floydada to see acres and acres of gourds growing out in the fields — 1800 acres to be exact! Declared as the “Pumpkin Capital of Texas” by the 83rd Legislature, Floydada is well known for their “Punkin Days” Festival and the huge Assiter Punkin Ranch that you can tour.
APPLE
Now many folks will start lining up outside of the Apple Store Thanksgiving night in hopes of scoring some sweet Black Friday deals…but the Apple Store you need to go to is in Medina, TX and has much sweeter items for sale. Head to this store sitting on the corner of the Love Creek Apple Orchard for all the apple pie you can eat.
PECAN PIE
It’s a Texas Thanksgiving tradition to end your meal with a slice of pecan pie (which also happens to be the Official State Pie). If you’re in a rush and have no time to make one, no worries — the Berdoll Pecan Candy & Gift Co. in Cedar Creek, TX has a 24-hour Pecan Pie Vending Machine outside their store — as well as the world’s largest squirrel statue!
