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Brown University
- Campus Dining

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Brown University - Campus Dining - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.85

Campus Dining

B+
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 20
Average Meal Plan Cost $4018 per year
Freshman Meal Plan Required? Yes
Student Favorites
  • The Blue Room
  • The Gate
  • The Ivy Room
  • Josiah’s

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

While most schools have contracted with Marriott or fast-food companies for their dining needs, Brown prides itself on maintaining a University-run food service. Why exactly this is a source of pride is another question entirely. The main dining halls—the Ratty and the V-Dub—serve what can only be described as average food. Chances are, you won’t return home for the holidays demanding your mom cook more like Brown Food Services (BFS). A lack of variety and the inability to use credits in real restaurants close to campus can be frustrating. The few cafés and restaurants run by the University are equally frustrating because they are more expensive than independent cafés and diners on Thayer and Wickenden Street. The Brown meal plan feels more like a middle school lunch program than a welcomed dining experience.

Year after year, the Ratty is the butt of new and old jokes, but as demonstrated by the Ratty Recipe Repository, many Brown students embrace the standard cafeteria-style eating. Besides, the meal plan provides much more than hot food every day. The meal plan is a state of mind. From your first week on meal plan, you will undoubtedly enjoy meals with friends, meet lots of new people, and sing karaoke with your fellow Brunonians at the V-Dub. Good or bad, surviving meal plan freshman year is a defining experience and undoubtedly a right of passage. In time, however, you’ll find the right balance of splurging for off-campus meals and eating creatively at the dining halls. Students who are off the meal plan might enjoy better food, but it is costly and time-consuming to fend for yourself.

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Brown Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Dining at Brown University

mchay

'13

Biology

3.8
B+

Exciting the First Year; Some Places Continue to Be Delicious Over the Years

Overall, the food on campus is pretty good. After the first year of trying all the options, the two main dining halls, "The Ratty" and "The V-Dub" get a little old. The salad bar in the Ratty is always great though, and the self-serve waffle irons at the V-Dub are fun. Otherwise, the Blue room has great coffee, muffins, sandwiches, sushi, etc. The Gate has great pizza and paninis. It's no 5-star dining, but most of the time you can find something good to eat.

Dec 21, 2011

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Campus Dining at Brown University

kstaub

'15

Economics and Econometrics

4.2
A-

Dining Halls at Brown

The Sharpe Refractory offers a wide variety of food choices. Some days are better than others, but with the large selection one can always find something good to eat. The V-dub offers less selection but the food is usually better quality and better tasting.

Nov 15, 2011

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Campus Dining at Brown University

saraann

'15

Language Studies and Linguistics

3.5
B

Go Flex

The food in the dining halls is decent but very repetitive. A flex plan is definitely the way to go, and the eateries where you can spend points have significantly better food than the all-you-care-to-eat options.

Nov 06, 2011

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Page 1 of 7

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 If you don’t feel like eating the regular dining hall food, a good number of restaurants have very central locations on campus. In addition, a number of trucks and food carts come out around mealtimes. Overall, there are plenty of options and variety to keep things fresh.
Did You Know?

There is a Ratty Recipe Repository link off of Brown’s Daily Jolt Web site which has student-submitted recipes for meals using ingredients in the University’s cafeteria. Recipes include “Curry Chicken Salad,” “Fruity Desert Crepes,” and “Macaratty and Cheese.”

Dining Halls & Campus RestaurantsWhat's This?

The Blue Room
Location: Faunce House, the Main Green
Food: Sandwiches, soup
Hours: Monday–Friday 7 a.m.–6 p.m.

Campus Market
Location: Under the Blue Room
Food: Cereal, dairy, dry goods
Hours: Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–11 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 2 p.m.–11 p.m.

The Gate
Location: Alumni Hall, Pembroke campus
Food: Pizza, subs
Hours: Monday–Friday 11 a.m.–2 a.m., Saturday 6 p.m.–2 a.m., Sunday 4 p.m.–2 a.m.

The Ivy Room
Location: Wriston Quad, below the Ratty
Food: Omelets, pizza, salad, smoothies, wraps
Hours: Monday–Friday 11:30 a.m.–1:45 p.m., 8 p.m.–12 a.m.

Josiah’s (Jo’s)
Location: Middle of Vartan Gregorion Quad
Food: Grill, soups, sushi, wraps
Hours: Daily 24 hours (food is not available 2 a.m.–6 a.m.)

The Sharpe Refectory (The Ratty)
Location: Wriston Quad, main campus
Food: Grill, kosher meals, trattoria, vegetarian
Hours: Monday–Saturday 7:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m., Sunday 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

The Verney-Woolley Dining Hall (The V-Dub)
Location: Emery-Woolley Hall, Pembroke Campus
Food: Fruit station, sandwich station, vegetarian meals
Hours: Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m., 11 a.m.–2 p.m., 4:30 p.m.–7:30 p.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 Brown

Name: Justin Kim

Hometown: Austin, TX

Major: Undecided

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