Every year my boyfriend and I take our love for college football on the road and travel to see the Texas Aggies take on different SEC teams around the south. This year we braved the cowbells and travelled to Starkville, Mississippi – the home of Mississippi State University.
We made the 9-hour drive from Houston to Starkville on Friday and arrived in time for dinner. After driving all day, we were looking forward to eating our take-out while watching Bar Rescue (a hotel stay tv favorite), but no one clued us into the game day weekend chaos that surrounds Starkville. Starkville is beautiful, quaint, and filled with Southern charm, but it does not have the infrastructure to support the thousands of extra people who flood its streets on game day weekends. Learn from our mistakes and spend the extra 10 minutes driving to your dinner destination instead of relying on Uber Eats. You’ll thank me later!
Despite the countless times the Aggies have disappointed me (when I was growing up my mom would always say “the only bowl the Aggies are going to is the toilet bowl”) I always wake up on game day Saturdays like a kid on Christmas morning. The air is electric with excitement and the possibilities are endless, even more so when you have the privilege of exploring a new city and witnessing their game day traditions.
We started out our Saturday, as always, watching ESPN’s College Game Day before heading to our brunch reservation at Central Station Grill, more affectionately called “The Grill” around town. They don’t take reservations, so we opted to show up early, around 10:30 am, to beat the crowds. We were very glad we did. The restaurant was still pretty empty when we arrived, but by the time we left, had a crowd of people waiting in the lobby and outside the door. It may seem like just a laid-back family eatery, but don’t sleep on this place! We were pleasantly surprised from start to finish. They have a very cute Mimosa bar and Bloody Mary bar – they bring you the basics and you can add all the fixings. I added mango juice and a fruit topper of kiwi and pineapple for a tropical twist on one of my favorite drinks. When it came to food, we started with the Loaded Queso Dip – queso topped with chorizo, black beans, and banana peppers. We’re from Texas, and very particular about what belongs in queso, but The Grill won us over with their fusion of tangy banana peppers and spice of the chorizo. I’m not embarrassed to say that we scraped the bottom of the bowl.
For our mains, I had the Catfish Lagniappe (pronounced “lan-yap” for any Texans like me who weren’t sure how to tackle this word). The fish was well spiced, and the jalapeno gouda grits were creamy and flavorful, but the star of this dish was the andouille gravy. I could have eaten this dish again for dinner and been perfectly happy. Stephen had the Chicken and Waffles and while initially skeptical about the combination of both gravy and syrup that came with it, the cinnamon woven into the batter of the waffles and crispiness of the chicken created the perfect blend of sweet and savory. Ten out of ten. The only potential downside is that they have a limited brunch menu on gameday that doesn’t match their online menu. If you’re like me and decide what you’re going to order before you ever set foot in the restaurant, you may have to quickly pivot if you had picked something on their larger brunch menu. From our experience though, you won’t regret your choice, whatever you pick.
One of my favorite parts about travelling to new places is picking a local coffee shop to try. As the game was at 3:15 pm, we stopped by Strange Brew Coffeehouse after brunch for an afternoon pick me up.
They had plenty of adorable, unique options (if I was into sweet coffee, I definitely would have tried the Maroon and White!), but I went with my go-to, an iced latte with oat milk. The coffee was high quality and the latte was creamy. We just swung through the drive through, but I would spend some time here if you have it. They have plenty of baked goods (the Oatmeal Pie Sammiches look amazing), sandwiches, and even salads if you’re looking for a quick lunch.
Next on the agenda was the main event – heading to campus for the game. We dropped our car off at the hotel and Ubered to campus as we weren’t sure of the parking situation. It was only about a 10-minute ride from the Hilton Garden Inn and we had no issues with availability before the game, but after the game it’s practically a cell service blackout zone for a several mile radius around the campus (more on that later). Maybe it was just all the maroon, but I felt so at home as we walked among kids throwing footballs and families and friends tailgating. The vibe was very similar to College Station – everyone seemed friendly and happy to be together, regardless of the team you wanted to see win that day.
We continued our tradition of taking a photo in front of the Kappa Delta house on campus and Stephen wins the best boyfriend award for finding the right lighting and the right angle to make sure the college girls in front of the house (who I’m sure were current students and wondering why a random women in her 30s was taking a picture in front of their house) weren’t in the background of my photos.
We also stopped by the Barnes and Nobles on campus to hunt for Christmas ornaments (I picked a simple, classic option). We didn’t end up buying anything before the game as we didn’t want to keep track of it all day but ordered a few things online afterwards as the shop was closed by the time the game ended. Stephen even ordered a cowbell to commemorate our trip. We found that they weren’t as annoying as they seem on tv but bring hearing protection – most Mississippi State fans around us did.
After shopping and enjoying the atmosphere on campus, we headed into Davis Wade Stadium.
We headed in around 45 minutes before kick-off, so had plenty of time to go to the bathroom (with no line!), get an adult beverage, and take photos before everyone crowded in. Getting in early also meant we didn’t miss a minute of the three paratroopers who skydived into the stadium, one with the American Flag! It seemed to be Mississippi State’s version of the Aggie Flyover and was a great way to pump up the crowd before the game started.
This was also our first game bringing along our own stadium chairs and they were a comfort game changer. In addition to the back support and being incredibly comfortable, this chair gave me about 6 extra inches of height and a better view of the field. I’m a shorty at 5’ 3”, so this really enhanced the experience for me. They were also relatively light weight and had a comfortable handle, so I didn’t mind carrying it around campus. We bought them in maroon, but they come in 16 different colors so if you aren’t an aggie, there should still be an option for you. Highly recommend!
One thing I suggest for the game is plan your wardrobe accordingly. It was about 45 degrees when we woke up that morning, but 75 degrees by the time the game started. Being from Texas, we aren’t accustomed to weather in the 40s and I was afraid of being cold, so I wore leggings, a black long sleeve top and a maroon vest. I was fine walking around campus and in the shade but was cooking sitting in the blazing sun in head to toe black and a fleece vest. I wish I had taken a page from most of the girls on campus and worn a cute sundress. You can always throw on a jacket if you’re chilly, but the feeling of sunburning through my all-black clothes is not one I would like to repeat.
The Aggies pulled out a victory and we were riding high leaving the stadium. We walked with the masses over to the hotel parking lot where our Uber dropped us off only to realize neither of us had cell service… after trying to connect and order an Uber for about 10 minutes, we admitted defeat and decided our best option was to start walking and stop every now and then to try and call an Uber. The next hour was one of the most frustrating of my life. We wandered around to different spots we thought might have a better chance of having cell service, but all our attempts were futile, so we began walking in the direction of the restaurant we had dinner reservations at. After stopping every so often to check service, we caved and went into a Buffalo Wild Wings, just wanting to stop and eat and abandoning our reservation at Taste Italian Kitchen. Long story short, we did not eat at B Dubs as the wait was an hour and a half, but we at least were able to connect to their wifi and order an Uber. Although I was really looking forward to trying the Stuffed Mushrooms, Truffle Cream Ravioli, and Red Snapper, we opted to just go back to our hotel as were worried we wouldn’t be able to get another Uber that night and didn’t want to walk the nearly 3 miles after dinner.
We really enjoyed our time in Starkville, but PLEASE learn from our mistake and either choose a transportation service that doesn’t leave you dependent on cell service or pick an after-dinner option close to campus. There are transit services that pickup from a few locations around town and many hotels have shuttles that will take you to and from the game. Otherwise, I recommend parking in one of the official lots for the game. It will cost you around $20-$25, but that’s nothing compared to the frustration of wandering around for over an hour trying to find cell service. If you’re looking for an option you can walk to after the game, Bulldog Burger is a 12-minute walk from the stadium and looks to be a local favorite. It doesn’t look like they take reservations on game days, but you can join the virtual wait list. If you can connect, I would recommend putting your name on the wait list before heading over to avoid a crazy wait. Oddly enough, we had cell service inside the stadium, so maybe put your name on the list right before you leave the stadium and head over. Although we didn’t get to try their food, the Mission Burger and their Truffle Tots look mouthwatering.
Overall, we enjoyed the atmosphere and the game. Once we make our way through all the SEC stadiums, we’ll be back and can’t wait to try some of the places we didn’t make it to this time around.
Thanks and Gig ‘Em.
-Ashley