<p>My S attended a summer session at Exeter last year, and was fairly happy with the options and quality of the food in the dining hall. He is applying to Exeter, Andover, and St. Paul's for fall admission, and is curious to learn if any current students out there on CC could discuss their dining hall experiences at these schools during the regular term. He visited Cardigan Mountain as a 7th grader, and refused to even consider applying because the food was totally inedible and he had barely 20 minutes to inhale and dash.
Also, Andover seems to be refurbishing their dining hall, our guide was unclear on when it might be complete.</p>
<p>I can't comment on the food choices at those particular schools, but having to "inhale and dash" can occur based on your individual schedule. My son now has days when he can't have lunch, and has to wait until 6:30 for dinner because of his schedule, sports, and scheduled meetings.</p>
<p>My older son graduated from Exeter last year, and now that he is at college he misses the food at Exeter! My younger son is a prep at Exeter and he seems really happy with the food. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to tell you that I am an absolutely HORRIBLE cook so I am sure that in comparision to my "homecooking" pretty much anything would be good!!!</p>
<p>Here's the good news: BS food in general has come a long way in the last 20 years or so. Salad bars etc, and a lot less "mystery meat". We used to get a lot of Salisbury Steak, which we less than affectionately called "scabs". I knew guys who got very creative with corned bread.</p>
<p>More good news: even if the food is poor, most BS grads I know are not what you'd call picky later in life and will eat just about anything, like it, and be grateful.</p>
<p>To quote the great Clint Eastwood: "adapt and improvise".</p>
<p>fun is fun... your post made me laugh, the comment about "scabs", I went to boarding school more than 25 years ago, and we use to call the chicken parm "elephant scabs" ewwwwww.... but it is funny how some things never change!!</p>
<p>I realize that on more days than not my S will not have time for a leisurely lunch , but at Cardigan it was built into the schedule that everyone descended
on the dining hall in a swarm, and there was literally 25 minutes before the next scheduled class. It was chaos. The salad bar was iceberg and the mac and cheese was processed and congealed.
My experience with Exeter is that there is approximately a 90 minute window of time in which to get a hot main meal if time permits that day, or if the student's schedule is tight, a bar where you can make a sandwich or salad and dash. Plus, there are snacks (like wheat thins and pretzels) available at all times. This seems flexible, and pretty ideal. I could not get a sense of either St Paul's or Andover from our visit as to whether this is a universal set-up or specific to Exeter. My S will be a 9th grader in the fall, and is having a growth spurt. Food availability is really important to him, as is healthy food.
If possible, I really would love some current students or parents to these schools to post comments.</p>
<p>twosonmom --</p>
<p>Chicken Parm!!! You must of gone to one of them fancy schools.</p>
<p>Even though Andover's dining hall is temporary at the moment, the food is still good. My biggest complaint is that the food can be bland, so after a while you get a little tired of it. If the main food doesn't look good there are two types of pasta bars (one's just penne and different sauces, the other is more like a make your own at restaurants where someone makes it in a pan for you), stir fry (you order it and someone makes it), pasta, soup, cereal, yogurt and granola, two sandwich lines (have someone else make it and get it toasted, or make your own) and, of course, dessert. The dining hall renovation should be finished next spring. We've had conflicting specific dates, so there has been some confusion. We generally have around 45 minutes to eat, but it can be longer depending on what day it is and what your schedule is.
Outside of the dining hall we have fourth meal in our dorms. Each week the house counselors order snack foods (chips, pretzels, peanut butter, jelly, bread, etc.) that are available whenever you want them. Every Wednesday night, there is a cluster munch at the cluster dean's house where you can get some food and take a study break. Our house counselors also have munches for us on the weekends or sometimes kids in the dorm will make food for everyone. Munches are more common in some dorms, but they generally try and feed us well. We also have a bus that runs every other Sunday to the local grocery stores, so you can buy groceries and not have to carry them back up the hill. There are refrigerators and microwaves in all the dorms, and house counselors are usually willing to lend a kitchen.</p>
<p>Liddbyb4, at St. Paul’s the food is fairly good as boarding schools go. Nothing is inedible and there are lots of options. The major complaint among students is that the hot food line at dinner can be repetitive. I’ll list below what are the staples of every meal served at the upper (our dining hall):</p>
<p>Breakfast (6:30-8:00): Hot breakfast line, cereal bar, pastry bar, fruit, omelet station, and make-your-own waffles. </p>
<p>Lunch (11:00-1:00): Hot food line, salad bar, deli-bar, and dessert bar. </p>
<p>Dinner (5:30- 7:00): Hot food line, salad bar, make-your-own stir-fry (personal favorite), pasta bar, dessert bar, and salad bar. </p>
<p>A student can go at anytime when the dining hall is open. For lunch, there is also a deli-line (make your own sandwiches + apples + chips + cookies) in the student center, which is closer to the academic buildings than the dining hall. Students usually have 50-60 minutes for lunch. </p>
<p>In addition to regular dinner, we have Seated Meal, which is twice a week. The entire school (including faculty) sits down together in the dining halls, with a faculty or prefect head at each table. The tables are assigned randomly and you eat a family style sit-down dinner with the people at your table. New tables are assigned every three weeks.</p>
<p>I'm currently a senior at boarding school and I can honestly say the last time I ate school food was at a required sit down dinner before Christmas; maybe it's because I'm vegetarian, but the options are slim and I find it easier to buy my own food.</p>
<p>Most kids find it a bit easier to find food - though I have to say that most eat the same thing for every meal. It's divided into three groups: those who only eat salad, those who only eat carbs (pasta, toast) and those who actually eat the hot food. I'm not saying it's bad food, it's good as far as boarding schools go, it's just that we need change and that's frankly impossible to do.</p>
<p>yeah, the food at sps is pretty good, but people manage to complain anyhow. some of the biggest complaints is that there isn't enough options for vegetarians or people who want to eat healthy, but we have a new nutrition who sends amusing emails (well the first two were amusing, i've stopped reading them).</p>
<p>liddyb, You can probably request menus. I believe when we visited Exeter and St. Paul's a few years back, Exeter had online menus for the students. You could probably have something e-mailed. My son's school also posts the menus on the school intranet.</p>
<p>Thank you to all who have responded. Keylyme, you are correct that Exeter does post menus. Though Exeter is not perfect, they do seem to do food really well. Excellent baked goods and desserts and a themed salad bar that changed every day - my son liked the General Tso Chicken and some other meals - he did not find the menu too repetitive last summer. When he did not like something they went to the grill and paid for "kid food". I guess I am worried that not all schools can match that standard. Andover was a large space, and as previously stated, they have a really similar plan to Exeter. Sps worried me - we did not see the Hall because "it was too far away". We did see the deli area - it seemed like it would be a madhouse during lunch if most kids think the dining hall is too far to walk to. Maybe I read too much into our guide's comment, however.</p>
<p>You could search for posts on SPS....I know there are some SPS students on here.</p>
<p>The dining hall is not on the tour... the tour makes a loop around the part of campus that includes that academic buildings, art buildings, gym, some dorms, and the chapel. Because students give tours during their free blocks, the tours can not take more than an hour, so some places have to be cut. </p>
<p>Most students go to the dining hall for lunch. Sometimes there is a line at the deli line, but it moves quickly. Not all classes get out at the same time, so the arrival of students is staggered.</p>
<p>Bump for Swiss Chard</p>
<p>from experience at summer sessions in universities, not prep schools, i know for a fact that the staff tends to get a bit less motivated in cooking good food during summertime. so if exeter's food was good in the summer, i'm guessing it's probably a lot better in the schoolyear.
the only problem with dining hall food is that you will miss something you've eaten at home, even if you hate whatever you ate at home. and at some point you'll probably go through the "omg we eat the same food EVERY DAY" phase. but usually with enough soda and discussion, the food doesn't become so bothersome. and the phase passes as well :)</p>
<p>Does anyone know about Choate???</p>
<p>All I know is that the food is provided by Aramark, which is the same food service organization that supplies the United Nations in NY. I figure, if its good enough for Ban Ki Moon and Kofi Annan, it will be fine for my son! He's already looking forward to better food than what mom cooks!! :)</p>
<p>I'm glad I'm not only mom who can't cook. I think my kid is looking forward to eating some "good" food for a change :)</p>