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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Campus Dining at Bowdoin College
C+
Overrated
Our food may be frequently touted as the best college/university food in the country, but as a vegan I am EXTREMELY disappointed with my options. At least 5 nights a week my only option is some sort of pasta, and when that isn't available I end up eating rice or struggling to find vegan bread. One night they will have multiple delicious vegan options, and then the next night my only options will be a disgusting dish that no one eats, or even worse, nothing--except salad and cereal. Dining services needs to learn to look at their day-to-day menues from a vegan's perspective. When they do so, they will see that despite their efforts to create vegan dishes (which they do succeed at doing on occasion), their vegan offerings need to be more consistent at the very least. Is it really too much to ask to have vegan bread available every night? How hard would it be to spread out the vegan dishes so that I have (non-pasta) options EVERY night, not just a few nights a week? Come on Bowdoin, you can do better.
May 09, 2012
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Campus Dining at Bowdoin College
A
Yummerzzz!
its liek so effin good omg, dey have all mah favesies cerials n stuf---all da TIME!!!!! not a+ cuz ders no mor capn krunch
Apr 12, 2012
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Campus Dining at Bowdoin College
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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User rating for Bowdoin College - Campus Dining is
4.6 out of 5
based on 29 user reviews.