<p>My son is in the process of making his college decision. He was accepted to 10 schools and now his decision is between Brown and another school. While we were visiting the other school, my son had a chance to have lunch in one of the cafeterias. Believe it or not, he was blown away by the 10 different kinds of cream cheese he could schmear on his bagel. My question is: how many different kinds of cream cheese, toppings, etc are available. I know this sounds strange, but I suspect for him it’s a bit of an issue. We’ll be revisiting Brown in a couple of weeks so I hope that he can get a meal on campus.</p>
<p>Congratulations. The single most ridiculous thread I have yet seen. He should go to Yeshiva University if bagel condiment selection is that much of an issue. I’m sure they have a nice spread!</p>
<p>Thanks, the sarcasm was MOST appreciated. I’ve heard about kids who don’t go to schools for odder reasons. Try checking out the Parents Forum.</p>
<p>This might not include your questions about cream cheese (you’re right-- odd question-- 
), but this link is for Brown Dining Services, and it does include the current menus at the various eateries. Perhaps that might assuage some worries…</p>
<p>[Brown</a> Dining](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Food_Services/]Brown”>http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Food_Services/)</p>
<p>Oh thank you so much. This will help a lot.</p>
<p>For the record, there’s a great (IMO, and in the opinion of my very discerning friend from NY) bagel chain called Bagel Gourmet with two locations at Brown, and I think they have more than 10 kinds of cream cheese, and you can get various kinds of sandwiches on bagels. And it’s really cheap. So, if they options at the dining halls (I personally don’t remember how many options there were) aren’t up to his standards, then that’s always an option!</p>
<p>Odd question indeed! Is your son worried about cream cheese specifically, or food diversity more generally?</p>
<p>We come from a small town in northeastern Maine. The school lunch program does the best it can with limited resources but there is a certain lack of culinary diversity. I think the cream cheese stood out because it never occurred to him that he would be dining on more than burgers, pizza and shepherd’s pie when he goes away to college.</p>
<p>When I was at Brown, I knew people who chose to go there because there were soft ice cream machines in the cafeterias. (They are still there.)</p>
<p>I literally have soft serve everyday. I don’t feel satisfied when I eat off campus and don’t top off my meal with soft serve. It’s somewhat problematic, actually. But yeah, I really enjoy the Ratty: there’s 4 different lines, at least at dinner: the burger/fries line, which is always “good enough,” the vegan line, which occasionally has some really interesting noodles or rice or wraps, the “Tastes of the world,” which switches between various semi-cultural foods, and the main line, where you tend to get regular, more home-style meals.</p>
<p>But the V-Dub’s the best (at least for lunch, when I go): it’s got a waffler, a panini griller, oftentimes Nutella, peanut butter and marshmallow spread, as well as Chicken Finger Friday. Best day of the week.</p>
<p>You guys are making ME want to go to Brown, and I’m a parent… long done with college, lol.
Is the food really that good in the dining halls? That would make me very happy (on my son’s behalf).</p>
<p>I still say Yeshiva would have better cream cheese.</p>
<p>My daughter loves the food in the Ratty. She lives off-campus and is still on a meal plan (although it is a reduced one). When she lived near the V-Dub she loved that food as well. I don’t know if everyone feels the same way, but such is life!</p>
<p>Chicken Finger Friday is the reason I get out of bed on Fridays. The VW is typically better, but it doesn’t have as many choices. As a rule, their burgers and chicken at the VW are better (and probably less fatty) than the Ratty’s. Yesterday’s VW dinner was horrible, though, so it’s not always amazing. The food is decent but not exceptional, but there’s enough variety that, assuming you look at the menu beforehand, you’ll always find something good to eat on campus on the meal plan if you want.</p>
<p>The strength of food at Brown is the range of options. I went to the Vdub more than the ratty just because I liked the sunny atmosphere (at least on the south side with the windows) better than the big beige box, the vdub is more like a buffet restaurant you’d go out to whereass the ratty is like a big giant room so the noise level seems to rise since there’s little separation. The architects of the ratty (thomas mott shaw I think) didn’t really consider views into the architecture. You can’t really see out unless you sit in one of the cave’s and even then you’re in a “cave” where it’s more dimly lit. So, the vdub won for me. </p>
<p>The food is actually pretty good, my only complaint was that it they didn’t have enough variety at the stations. To counter that you can make your own creations. There’s a recipe list on the daily joly somewhere I think but I never used it. Chicken finger friday was always a salvation and the desserts at the vdub were always better minus that molasses bread from a can (which was actually a plus whenever I saw it because I got to spend 5 minutes laughing at it). I liked the grilled cheese sandwiches at the ratty until my friend who worked there told me how they preserved them for a couple days or something along those lines, but that’s an exception most likely. The salad bars are all great full of options and toppings. One other thing that I get a kick out of is that you can get coffee milk in the dispenser at the ratty. For those out of the know coffee milk is the state drink of RI.</p>
<p>I went to Brown as did my DD ('01, MS 02). At Brown, unlike too many other schools, the Univ Food Services is Brown, not Sodexho or Aramark. The fresh stuff is fresh, they get locally grown when they can, and while it is still an institutional kitchen, it has way less premade stuff than other schools. There are also regional N Engl & RI hints to the dishes such as clear clam chowder and kale soup. </p>
<p>The menu does repeat after a number of weeks, but you have to expect that. You cook the same stuff again & again at home, too! </p>
<p>If you tire of the Ratty or VDub, there are a lot of ethnic restaurants on Thayer St for a break. I did not go there often, nor did my daughter, for financial reasons.</p>
<p>haha^^ you people are quite funny, as is this thread. I am seriously glad to hear about the good food and the range of choices. Fortunately, my son only eats plain cream cheese so the lack of variety won’t be an issue for him This is all assuming he goes to Brown, as his mind is not fully made up yet.</p>
<p>Well, I never tried so many different soups until I came to Brown! :)</p>
<p>And the vegetarian line is delicious. Sometimes I go there voluntarily. :)</p>