Best food in the NESCAC?

evilspartan92 · 07-25-2009, 05:36 PM

Hello,

Since the Princeton review ranked Bowdoin as having the top 2 ranked food in the country, I wanted Bowdoiners (is this the correct term?) to give me examples of their favorite food they have had?

Also, if there is anyone at another NESCAC school that think their school has good food as well, let me know...

Also, which NESCAC has the best housing?

I'm deciding where I want to apply next fall and so far my fav NESCAC schools are Bowdoin, Middlebury, and Williams.

I want more information to help in my decision

Tzar09 · 07-26-2009, 12:50 AM

On food, I may not be the best person to ask because I don't actually go to Bowdoin (yet - starting as a frosh this fall), but from what i've had during overnights / accepted students days I thought it was all equally good. It's all basically as good as a quality home cooked meal.

But for an example of a food thing that Bowdoin is known for, there is the lobster they serve at the 'annual lobster bake,' which is at the beginning of each year. That is supposed to be incredible.

As far as other NESCACs..I know that Amherst has miserable food...I think Middlebury and Wesleyan have pretty good food...my dad is a Trinity alum and said the food wasn't too good..but that was ~40 years ago...

On housing, all of the dorms at Bowdoin have either been built or renovated within the last ~six years.

Oh, and the correct term for a Bowdoin student is 'Bower' - though, i just go ahead saying 'Bowdoinite' and nobody's stopped me yet.

redandtheblack · 07-26-2009, 06:49 AM

I've tried the food at Bowdoin and Bates while visiting. Both were extremely good, and generally the same in terms of quality, selection, and presentation. Don't know about the rest of NESCAC.

teamfrangela92 · 07-26-2009, 06:54 AM

Middlebury had great food =]

Bates13 · 07-26-2009, 04:20 PM

yes the food at Bates is pretty awesome! It is very comparable to Bowdoin's. The only thing different is Bates has 32 different types of cereal and we have a huge vegan selection.

TaylorAnn11 · 07-27-2009, 10:25 AM

Amherst's food was not in the same league as Midd and Bowdoin. Amherst also only has 1 dining hall - Valentine - for the entire campus. So does Midd, but they are in the process of building another one (each commons will eventually have its own, I think, or something like that). Bowdoin has 2 - Thorne and Moulton.

Tzar09 - Bowers? Really? That's....interesting. I'd rather we just call ourselves polar bears. And I like Bowdoinites.

evilspartan92 · 07-27-2009, 11:13 AM

I always thought Midd had multiple dining halls (Ross, Proctor, and Atwater)?

Also, in terms of housing, how does Midd, Wesleyan, Amherst, Williams, compare to Bowdoin?

Oh, and I think Bowdoinite is a sweeeeeet name...I'm stick with it regardless of if it's correct or not.

smartalic34 · 07-27-2009, 01:03 PM

housing at Wesleyan: most freshmen live in doubles, with most of the frosh dorms having been newly-built or newly-renovated in the past 5 years. sophomores usually have singles, and live in the slightly older dorms, but most of these have phenomenal locations at the top of the main hill on campus. juniors usually live in 2 or 4 person on-campus apartments, but some choose the "sophomore" dorms due to their great location. a majority of the seniors live in Wesleyan-owned houses, ranging from 1 to 6 people. these a great because it's adult living, but you're still "on campus" with all the services (internet, etc.). the seniors who don't live in houses live in the newly built 5-person apartments. there is very little bad housing... each has its advantages, of course. housing is definitely a strength of the school, but I'm not sure how it directly compares to Williams, Amherst, Midd, and Bowdoin...

Tzar09 · 07-27-2009, 02:16 PM

@Posts 5,6,7

Due to the recession Bates has actually had to scale back its cereal selection (as important as that is) and Midd has had to close one of its dining halls (and has discontinued its pre-orientation program for incoming freshmen).

While Bowdoin has not disclosed how much money they've lost in the stockmarket, they have had to cut far less than their fellow NESCACs. In the food department and elsewhere.

TaylorAnn11 - Yeah..Bower lol. Not something I'm going to go around saying either haha...maybe just a fun fact for a prospie tour? lol

johnwesley · 07-27-2009, 03:00 PM

yea, my understanding is that Middlebury had to shut-down Atwater except for special occasions, due to the budget crisis.

Wesleyan has a single all-purpose dining hall and a much smaller cafe on the opposite end of campus. If you count Weswings and Star & Crescent, there are probably three or four venues for meals or snacks in operation at any given time during the academic year. Each one is separate with distinct atmospheres (though, that may be less true of the university-run locations in the near future.) Upperclassmen still argue about whether the new dining hall is an improvement over the old one (they're very, very different buildings) but, I've heard nothing but good things about the food.

Williams is very similar to Wesleyan; there's a very popular dining hall/student center (also new, and also in place of a beloved campus landmark) on one end of campus and another dining hall attached to the Greylock entry block on the other end of campus. there may be one or two other holes-in-the-wall in-between. "Downtown" Williamstown is quite a bit smaller than Middletown or even Brunswick, IMO. Can't attest to the food.

polarbear10 · 07-27-2009, 03:39 PM

Bowdoin food is really good. I am a rising senior and have yet to get sick of it, and I eat on campus just about every meal so that is saying something. Freshman housing is tough to beat albeit I don't know too much about the other NESCAC schools. All freshman live in quads that consist of two doubles off of a large common room. All of the 'freshman bricks' as the are called are in the middle of campus. Sophomore year is the toughest year for housing because sophomores get last pick in the housing lottery. Junior's and Senior's are able to usually take their pick from a variety of housing options.

Tzar09 · 07-27-2009, 04:13 PM

^^^

Not all first years live in quads. I did my overnight in West and they were all doubles.

MidwesternDad · 07-27-2009, 04:21 PM

Williams has 4 dining halls, the smallest of which seats 120 students. This does not include any of the options available at the student center.

Williams College | Dining Services : Places to Eat

polarbear10 · 07-27-2009, 04:40 PM

Tzar09, You are right I forgot about Osher and West. They both have doubles and sometimes triples depending on the number of students in the class. The other six bricks consist of quads

johnwesley · 07-27-2009, 05:12 PM

midwesternDad - I forgot about Mission Park. It too is attached to a first-year entry, but, my understanding is that it is so far off the beaten track that no one uses it but the first years who live there. The same dining contractor runs all five Williams facilities, am I right?