It’s no secret that Texans love their food. We drive miles and wait for hours just to devour a delicious plate of tacos or a smoking heap of barbecue. But we don’t just want the food in our stomachs, it seems we also want it in our addresses. So, here’s a list of ELEVEN Texas towns that all loved food so much they named their cities after it. So grab yourself a knife and fork and chew through this list of tempting town names. But be warned, your mouth will be watering by the end of this blog…
Coffee City, TX
With a name like Coffee City, you’d expect a bustling city that rarely sleeps, yet this town is the exact opposite. Coffee City is a peninsula near Tyler that jets out into Lake Palestine, so it’s actually the kind of place you might slowly sip a latte while sitting out by the peaceful water.
Bacon,TX
Texas, itself, is pretty great. But somehow knowing that this state is home to a town named after the most heavenly meat in the world makes it even better. While Bacon may have been populated back in the 1800s and early 1900s, it seems this town is now just a tasty blip on a map. However, Bacon Switch Road in Wichita Falls still marks where this town once was. Guess we’ll never get to sink our teeth into this Bacon.
Rice, TX
Every Texan loves a good pile of rice with their tacos and beans, but unfortunately, this town wasn’t named for everyone’s favorite Tex-Mex starch. It was named after the owner of the Texas Central Railway that ran through town, William Marshall Rice. Rice is located just outside of Corsicana.
Orange, TX
Orange you glad this town’s not called Banana…or Green’s Bluff or Lower Town of Jefferson or Madison? In all seriousness, Orange actually went through all of those names (except banana), ultimately settling on “Orange” for the fruit groves that attracted settlers traveling on the Sabine River. Orange sits in Southeast Texas on the Louisiana border.
Ding Dong, TX
Okay, so maybe the town wasn’t named after that chocolate-cake treat you devoured with a tall glass of milk after school, but we still count it as a food town. Ding Dong was actually named after two early store owners with the last name of Bell. They hired an artist to create a sign for their store, and on it he painted two bells and the words “ding dong.” And thus, the wacky name stuck to this town located just south of Killeen.
Oatmeal, TX
Many will say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and the residents of Oatmeal, TX agree…so long as that breakfast contains oatmeal. This unincorporated community near Bertram, TX gets its name from its deep German roots and has celebrated its wheaty-namesake with an Oatmeal Festival for 38 years. Guests can chow down on homemade oatmeal treats, participate in the “Run for your Oats” run, and enjoy a Festival Grand Parade. This town seriously looks like “oats” of fun…
Turkey,TX
Pass the dressing, we’re talkin’ bout Turkey, TX! It was originally named “Turkey Roost” when the town was a single post office holed in the banks of nearby Turkey Creek that was full of wild turkeys. And if this carnivorous name offends you, don’t complain to Turkey. PETA already tried in 2011 by writing a letter to the mayor requesting the town name be changed to “Tofurkey” in exchange for a free town-wide vegan Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey happily declined and gobbles on to this day.
Noodle,TX
Don’t worry if you don’t know how to handle chopsticks because you won’t need them to navigate through this town which was named after nearby Noodle Creek. Legends differ as to why, but some say that the creek was squiggly like a noodle, and others say that in ancient slang, “noodle” meant “nothing” because the creek was dry. Noodle, TX is located northwest of Abilene.
Pearland, TX
To draw settlers to the nearby railroad station, residents planted fruit trees all over Pearland. And the plan worked keeping Pearlanders full of pears until a hurricane destroyed the land in 1900. And though it may not actually be known for its pears anymore, this suburban town near Houston still draws in a crowd each year for its annual Crawfish Festival.
Sugar Land, TX
Alert to all Texans with a sweet-tooth, Sugar Land is the place to be. The town was started when Stephen F. Austin was granted the land and it was discovered that sugar cane grew to towering heights in the town’s fertile soil. Eventually the Imperial Sugar Company made Sugar Land its home and continues to run its headquarters out of this West-Houston town.
Salty, TX
If munching on candy isn’t your thing, don’t worry, Texas has all you savory-style snackers covered too in the town of Salty. This small community outside of Taylor was named after Salty Creek which flowed salty because of the heavy salt deposits on its banks.
