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Bowdoin College
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Bowdoin College - Campus Dining - College ProwlerCollege Prowler5.00

Campus Dining

A+
Where does this grade come from?View all Campus Dining rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

Comparable Schools' Campus Dining Grades:

Quick Stats

Meal Plan Available? Yes
Average Meals/Week 19
Average Meal Plan Cost $6020 per year
Freshman Meal Plan Required? Yes
All first-year students get the 19-meal plan.
Student Favorites: Campus Dining Hall Moulton Union is especially popular for breakfast and lunch, while Thorne is more popular for dinner.
Student Favorites: Campus Restaurant/Vendor The C-Store (officially known as Bowdoin Express)
Student Favorites: Breakfast Food on Campus
  • Bowdoin waffles (the waffle iron has the Bowdoin emblem)
  • Homemade granola
  • Muffins
  • Pancakes
Student Favorites: Lunch/Dinner Entrée on Campus Thanksgiving dinner is the most popular meal all year, but on a regular basis, the dining hall that serves chicken Parmesan will get the most students.
Student Favorites: Late-night Snack on Campus Super Snack in Thorne Hall

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Most college students suffer through years of on-campus cafeteria food. However, at Bowdoin, each meal is like eating at a restaurant but even better because you can wear your pajamas if you want! This is the place to be if you want to make your own omelets at brunch, decorate cupcakes, squeeze fresh orange juice, and eat such things as mussels in butter sauce, teriyaki chicken, or pesto pizza. The meal rotation pattern can sometimes be indentified and you might see an entrée repeated every two weeks or so, but the food is so good that having it again is quite alright. Both main dining halls offer hot entrées, a deli, salad bar with vegetables from Bowdoin's organic garden, soups, cereal, dessert, soft serve ice cream, and a wide variety of drinks, and each menu expresses the unique personalities of the head chefs, who specialize in different cuisines and styles. And all of these are just the regular offerings—special meals, like Thanksgiving, are even more impressive! And you can definitely get your fill of the food here. All first-year students receive the 19-meal plan, which can be used at any of the following meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the week, brunch and dinner on the weekends, and Super Snack on Thursday–Saturday nights.

Each dining hall has a unique atmosphere. Moulton has small tables and simple lighting to create an informal setting, and there is also a second dining room there with cushioned seats that give it a diner-like appearance. Thorne Hall is much more grandiose, with high ceilings, artistic lighting, and long tables, creating an ambience of a banquet. All dining locations offer comment cards where Bowdoin students can voice their opinions and desires, and the staff tries its best to meet requests if possible. Speaking of the staff, the head chefs are backed up by a wonderful group of people from their supervisor (who is also a registered dietitian and can help you if you have dietary restrictions) to the dishwashing crew and everyone in between. Overall, Bowdoin Dining Service is a great source of pride for employees and students alike because of its food quality, variety, value, and options regarding ethnic, kosher, organic, vegan, and vegetarian foods.

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Bowdoin Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Dining at Bowdoin College

scottcmitchell

'15

Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering

5.0
A+

Great eating !!

Bowdoin's two major dining places offer the kind of fare that does not grow cold to you palate over time. Only once have I shown up at Thorne and did not find something that was attractive- and I probably could have found something if I had gone to the other dining room. So ---like the rankings say with Bowdoin at the pinnacle in most surveys---if you want to eat well, and who doesn't, you need to follow your nose to Bowdoin, especially if you are active in sports and need to keep up the waistline with healthy and interesting food!

Dec 08, 2011

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Campus Dining at Bowdoin College

CathedralTerror

'15

Biology

3.8
B+

The Food Is Pretty Good

Being from NYC and being the son of parents who love food I have to say I'm a bit of a food snob, so I'm not going to say that the food at Bowdoin is amazing but it is really for cafeteria style dining. Thorne usually has slightly better food than Moulton but because it is bigger a lot more at people go there and the food lines can be horrendous, however the service is pretty quick so I can't complain too much. The express meal option at Moulton makes eating meals between classes a lot easier, and the special sandwiches and entrees are usually really good. I would suggest looking at the menu's which are posted on line before deciding which dining hall to eat at because they usually serve drastically different food at the two dining halls.

Nov 10, 2011

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Campus Dining at Bowdoin College

eelong

'14

History

5.0
A+

Dining

I love Bowdoin food. There are two dining halls so there is always a variety of food to choose from for every meal. I have visited many other colleges and Bowdoin definitely has the best food! I even like Bowdoin food better than my home food!

Jul 24, 2011

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Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate campus dining on the following topics

Facts

24-Hour Dining None
Off-Campus Places to Use Flex Money None
Special Options The dining halls do a pretty good job of providing kosher, vegan, and vegetarian options, as well as dishes for student who are lactose intolerant or have celiac. However, it's not a guarantee that everyone working in the dining hall understands various dietary conditions and restrictions, so it is important to ask about each dish and be clear when describing your needs. Students can also use Bowdoin's catering services for student organization or personal events (for a price, of course!).
Did You Know?

Bowdoin is ranked No. 2 in the nation for best dining-hall food, and offers one of the best meal plan options for the money among Ivy League or NESCAC schools. And while dining isn't quite as great as it used to be (Bowdoin used to be No. 1 in the nation!) due to a reduced budget in harder economic times, the chefs are great at making do with whatever they have.

The lighting in Thorne Hall was the gift of a successful alumnus who requested his donation be used for the “artistic betterment” of the campus. The lights flash rhythmically and with varied colors.

Dining services kicks off the academic year with the Lobster Bake. The Lobster Bake is an all-campus event held before the start of classes with fresh Maine lobster, clams, grilled corn, seafood chowder, steak, and chicken. The bake is held at the Farley Fields. It is a good time for students to meet new friends and visit with old ones.

Dining services offers many themed-meal options for the student body during Parent’s Weekend, Homecoming, Trustee Committee Weekend, Thanksgiving, and holiday festivities.

Thorne Hall opens from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday–Saturday for Super Snack. Snacks are provided, including cheese, chips, cookies, crackers, cut-up vegetables, grilled cheese, and fun creations made from leftovers.

Dining Halls & Campus RestaurantsWhat's This?

Bowdoin Express
Location: Smith Union
Food: Convenience store
Hours: Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–12 a.m., Saturday–Sunday 11 a.m.–12 a.m.

The Café
Location: Smith Union
Food: Bagels, baked goods, snacks, sushi
Hours: Monday–Wednesday 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., 8 p.m.–12 a.m., Thursday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., 8 p.m.–10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.–4 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–4 p.m., 8 p.m.–12 a.m.

Jack Magee’s Grill
Location: Smith Union
Food: Appetizers, burgers, nachos, wraps
Hours: Monday –Wednesday 11:30 a.m.–12 a.m., Thursday–Friday 11:30 a.m.–1 a.m., Saturday 6 p.m.–12 a.m., Sunday 6:30 p.m.–12 a.m.

Jack Magee’s Pub
Location: Smith Union
Food: Mostly appetizers
Hours: Thursday 8:30 p.m.–1 a.m., Friday 6 p.m.–10 p.m., Saturday 6 p.m.–10 p.m.

Moulton Hall
Location: Moulton Union basement
Food: Cereal station, dessert bar, hot entrées, salad bar, sandwich bar, soup
Hours: Monday–Friday 7:15 a.m.–10:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 5 p.m.–7 p.m. (express meals are available 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–8 p.m.), Saturday–Sunday 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m., 5 p.m.–7 p.m.

Thorne Hall
Location: The Tower
Food: Buffet, including Cereal station, dessert bar, hot entrées, salad bar, sandwich bar, soup
Hours: Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–1:15 p.m., 5 p.m.–7:30 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m., 5 p.m.–7:30 p.m. Super Snack is available Thursday–Saturday 10 p.m.–1 a.m.

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Bowdoin

Name: Danica Loucks

Hometown: Hamilton, Mont.

Major: Probably Sociology and German

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