The Ultimate Texas College Town Food Rankings

Football and food. That’s what my April is about each year as I build the FBS sections for the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football summer magazine. I stop at each of the 13 schools in the state to interview the head coach, the coordinators, and a couple of star players. I also stop at some of the best spots around campus and figured I’d rank my favorites from this year’s trip. Although, this year I unfortunately didn't make it to El Paso and did the UTEP stop on Zoom or the L&J Cafe next to the cemetery  would be No. 1 on the list. 

I covered nearly 2,000 miles and ate a couple dozen meals along the way, although most were hotel breakfasts and quick stops to eat a sub sandwich. Here are my favorite 10 sitdown meals from the 2026 tour. I’m usually only in each city for 24 hours so forgive me if I didn’t stop at your go-to establishment, but feel free to let me know where I missed and I’ll try and get there in 2027. I also don't always pick the places to eat, so blame some of the SIDs and coaches if I missed the area's best spots!