<p>My D is looking at several women's colleges, along with some co-ed LACs, and food has recently come up as an important factor for her. Now, I don't think she will necessarily pick the school with the best food but all other things being equal....</p>
<p>Anyway, any insight into the food at Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke and Smith in particular would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr is consistently ranked in the top ten for best college food. In the Princeton Review, it typically falls between #4-8. The dining halls are always stocked with Haverford students. They have DIY stations that rotate (from pho to paninis to omelets), but also speciality, themed meals every month. A few years ago there was a Harry Potter Holiday Dinner that won a national award: <a href=“Log In ‹ Inside Bryn Mawr — WordPress”>Log In ‹ Inside Bryn Mawr — WordPress;
<p><a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/dining/about/awards.html”>http://www.brynmawr.edu/dining/about/awards.html</a></p>
<p>Smith has great food and a nice dining system with 10 different dining halls, which makes for a more intimate dining experience than at most schools. At some houses the residents eat dinner in their living room, which makes for an even closer experience. There are various offerings at different halls, so you have a variety of options. There are also a number of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. If you search for “menus” on the Smith web site you can see all the menus for the current month. There are special meals throughout the year. For example, on Julia Child Day there are special meals based on her recipes (she’s a Smith alum).</p>
<p>There’s also Kosher and Halal dining. If you live in a house with dining and play nice with the kitchen staff, they’ll go out of their way to help with any requests. </p>
<p>Haha these posts are making me hungry!</p>
<p>My D is at MHC and she is raving about the food. We ate in her dining hall 3 times this weekend and it was tremendously better than the college food I had back in the day! They have monthly (?) dinners called “Gracious Dinners” where the dining halls get set with tablecloths and linen napkins and have a theme. This Saturday was a Sustainable Dinner, with really wonderful local food including a sirloin roast, local vegetables, and some spectacular desserts. There were a bunch of vegan/GF/vegetarian options, too, as there were at every meal we ate there. I was really impressed with the salad bar which was extremely complete and VERY fresh. There is also a Halal and kosher dining hall. There are 7 dining hall options that each have their own chef, so they are known for different things. You can check online what’s being served where to decide where to eat. Some have unique offerings such as an Asian noodle bar or the kosher/hahal meals. My D’s dorm has ice cream every night, which is apparently very popular :)</p>
<p>In addition to regular meals, MHC dorms have a tradition called “M and Cs” every school night. “Milk and cookies” - it is a study break time with some sort of treat: cookies, cupcakes, etc…</p>
<p>You can see some current menus on this web page: <a href=“http://chef.mtholyoke.edu/foodpro/location.asp”>http://chef.mtholyoke.edu/foodpro/location.asp</a>. The students use an app on their phones.</p>
<p>I know Simmons isn’t on the list, but it is absolutely terrible.</p>
<p>Ha. I just wrote on another thread about food at MHC. (see quotes below – I think much of this applies to all the colleges on your list.) </p>
<p>MHC does have several dining rooms (in dorms and the main center) located around campus. The students don’t necessarly need to eat in their dorm’s dining room. The multipule dinning rooms lends to varity to routine and cuisine not found at other schools with a centralized dinning facility. Plus having B-fest /dinner right downstairs (no treking out on bitter-cold winter mornings /nights with wet hair) is a welcome treat. The other nice thing is that MHC offers one comprhensive meal plan. No worries about panicked phone calls about running out of “dinning dollars” or swipes. </p>
<p>Stacyniel, The MHC (like all schools) ups the ante for parents weekend. </p>
<p>“MHC has many dining options. While MHC food is much tastier than many other colleges my D visited, she isn’t overjoyed about the food. We’re from SoCal and she’s accustomed to an abundance of fresh fruits/veggies, ethic (mexican/asian/greek), organic, not to mention her mom’s healthy kitchen. No matter where you go to school, Institutional food and making the correct choices takes some adjustment. MCH offers “milk and cookies” each night in dorm living rooms at 9:00ish. It’s a cute tradition for the girls to gather at the end of the day for a bedtime (or pre-party) snack. YOu won’t find a scale on the MHC campus (except in the health office).The girls are encouraged to develop healthy body image not be “slaves to ideal weight”. Basically, institutional-food + milk-and-cookies + no-scales + sports-injury = an extra 30lbs for my first year daughter. My advise, is to bring your own scale, go to the gym, skip M&Cs.”</p>