Colby - Amici’s cucina in downtown Waterville. Family, Italian, very very good. 5 stars. I want to go back.
Saint Michael’s, UVM, Champlain - Pizza Verita in Burlington, another 5 stars. very nice, I wish I saw that you could sit at a bar and watch the kitchen before we sat, I would have sat there to watch them make the pizzas.
St. Olaf or Carleton: The Ole Store in Northfield.
Columbia–Tom’s Restaurant. Hey, if it was good enough for Seinfeld…
^^ha, ha
Bates (Lewiston)
A few of the restaurants within an easy walk of the Bates campus (20 minutes by foot or 5 minutes on the Bates shuttle). IMO, best casual = Forage, best fine dining = Fuel.
http://www.foragemarket.com
http://www.guthriesplace.com
https://www.fuelmaine.com/home/
http://www.marchemaine.com
http://www.fishbonesag.com
http://bearbonesbeer.com/#The%20Community
http://railsmaine.com/menu/
http://www.davinciseatery.com
http://www.thecupcakery.org/home.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g40708-d4605885-Reviews-Orchid_Restaurant-Lewiston_Maine.html
plus tons of Indian, Thai, Asian fusion, American, Japanese, and Italian restaurants.
Free wine tastings at The Vault
http://www.wineatthevault.com
and beer tastings at the Baxter Brewing Company.
http://www.baxterbrewing.com/event-calendar/
Lisbon St., where most of these restaurants are located, is undergoing a food and arts renaissance. If you’d prefer to stay on campus admissions will give you a pass to the dining commons. The food’s quite good and includes vegan and gluten-free options.
Uni of Rochester: Dinosaur BBQ, everyone was there! Fun place, lively, good food, good value.
Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA: Cafe Bruges. The BEST mussels, and homemade, really delicious ketchup, of all things. Lively, lots of food, good value. Probably best to go if you like mussels and real fries cooked in lard. Too die for.
Bates, Lewiston, Me - Second the recommendation for Fuel https://www.fuelmaine.com/
Brown, Providence College - Los Andes (not walking distance but worth the few mile drive) http://www.losandesri.com/andes/index.php
UPenn, Philly
Right near campus: White Dog Cafe http://www.whitedog.com/university-city.html
Not near campus but definitely worth a visit (make reservations well ahead of time): Zahav http://www.zahavrestaurant.com/
Princeton - D’Angelo Market great sandwiches, bakery, deli stuff for takeout or a small dine-in area http://dangelomarket.com/
Bowdoin Brunswick, ME Gelato Fiasco http://www.gelatofiasco.com/
Middlebury Costello’s Market Italian Deli with great sandwiches and picnic tables out front http://costellosmarket.com/
U of Iowa, Iowa City - Pullman Bar and Diner http://pullmandiner.com/
Skidmore, Saratoga Springs - Putnam Market sandwiches and salads http://putnammarket.com/
Holy Cross or any of the schools in Worcester. Flying Rhino on Shrewsbury St. Casual, super friendly place with outdoor seating. Shrewsbury st has a vibrant restaurant scene.
Colgate- The Colgate Inn. Cozy and inviting.
Columbia/ Barnard: The Mill for Korean food; Toms as mentioned before is Seinfeld fame, but the food isn’t so great . . . . take a photo in front and eat someplace else; On 111th and Amsterdam is a cafe called Hungarian Pastry Shop. This is where the locals hang out. You can get old fashioned pastries and so-so coffee; cross the street to the gardens of St. John the Divine to eat your cookies and watch the live peacocks strolling around; the world’s largest slice of pizza (not really but it’s big) and cheap is Koronet pizza; some of the best bagels in NYC are at 107th and BWY at Absolut bagels. Best grown-up restaurant is Pasticci for Italian food grown on their own farm. Another Italian place where they make their own pasta is Max Soha at 122 and Broadway. V&T pizza at 111th and Amsterdam is 1940s restaurant that’s still there, family place, great old fashioned pizza. Columbia has nice cafes on the campus. In Philosophy Hall (with the Rodin Thinker statue in front) is a cafe called NOUS. Just wait for a student to exit and you can walk in. They have fresh hand-made sushi, Vietnamese sandwiches and great coffee. In the basement of the architecture building there’s Brownie’s cafe, with sandwiches etc. For great coffee on Broadway there’s Oren’s which roasts their own. In the new silver building on the northwest corner of campus there’s a coffee shop called Joe’s. Great coffee. For decent Chinese there’s Legend at 109th. For the best pub food (beer and burgers and good salads) go to Toast at 123rd and Broadway. Oh and for cheap rooms in NYC contact the Union Theological Seminary; CU TEachers college guest houses; or International House.
Plug here for eating in the dining hall! Many schools will give you vouchers to eat for free, but even if you have to pay, that’s where you should eat. The information you can gain is priceless.
Syracuse- check out Pastabilities in the armory square section of the city- 10 minute drive from the campus. Wednesday night at 8 there was still a 20 minute wait. Amazing pasta!
We ate at the Carleton dining hall before D2 was admitted; the Ole Store was for graduation.
Case Western/Cleveland Institute of Music/Cleveland Institute of Art:
Breakfast: The Inn on Coventry- the lemon ricotta pancakes are amazing!
Any meal: Tommy’s, which is also on Coventry. The menu is about 40 pgs, & you can get gluten free, vegetarian or vegan, nut free, lactose free or just about any accommodation you need. The milkshakes are to die for!
L’Albatros Brasserie - Right on the campus back by CIM is this lovely French restaurant, perfect for a wonderful meal to unwind after a hectic day touring campus.
I also think it’s best to eat in the dining hall if possible. Of course you can get better food elsewhere, but the point of the trip is to learn as much as possible about the school.
Georgia Tech: Varsity Burger
Yes, we always eat in the dining hall, but I think this thread is more geared towards places to eat out while doing college road trips. Most people are aware that colleges will often give vouchers for dining halls, and if they aren’t aware, they will be now:-)
“Georgia Tech: Varsity Burger”
I think this almost counts as campus dining.
Skidmore: Hatties for southern food 
Yummy.
UCLA has good on campus dining options but if you want to eat off campus–get outa Westwood and head to Sawtelle.
not that far from campus, but you do need to drive.
especially:
Daikokuya and my fave,
Shin Sen Gumi
If you eat on campus, just keep in mind that some colleges improve the quality and choices of their food during accepted student days. During my son’s freshman summer orientation, they served really good food in the dining hall, and then the parents could not understand why the students were later complaining about the quality of the food.
If you don’t eat on-campus, I would go to a place nearby where many students eat. That will help give you a sense of the local culture, and you can also learn from keeping your ears perked up.