Malcolm Gladwell’s review of the food may have provided impetus for them to improve it! That, or he should have inquired whether a change was in the works.
@prodesse @Marcie123 The Claremont Consortium is unusual in that there is competition among the dining halls. CMC and Pitzer use Café Bon Appetit, Harvey Mudd and Scripps use Sodexo and Pomona is independent. The different dining rooms essentially compete with each other for “swipes.” I think that contributes to better selections, variety, etc. Here’s a link to the 5C menu’s, although right now it’s Fall Break (Oct. 16-17) so they’re not all open: https://aspc.pomona.edu/menu/. Check the link in a few days and you’ll see the broad variety of options.
Every single school we visited with both kids had a salad bar at lunch and dinner. The schools were my kids ended up, Oberlin and Wellesley, have a lot of options for people with allergies.
Cornell University is ranked in top10 for dining and is known for their farm to table fresh food. When I dined at one of the commons I was blown away with the veggies especially the corn on the cob. I typically don’t eat corn on the cob or corn in general due to gmo and pesticides but I could tell their veggies were neither. I mean, they have the one of the best Ag schools in the country and they know fresh food! They consult NYC on urban farming
There was an entire Malcolm Gladwell podcast devoted to comparing the food at Vassar and Bowdoin. Check it out.
There was also a great deal of criticism of Gladwell’s podcast.
@Kenneth1960, the argument that Gladwell made, that Bowdoin’s food was better but that Vassar demonstrated better priorities, is no longer valid. Since Vassar completely updated their food service this summer their food may well be on par with Bowdoin’s (though I doubt they would ever offer a lobster bake).
^^fwiw- Was at Vassar recently for a tour. Our tour guide said the food had gotten better but still wasn’t great.
Toured quite a few schools with DD’s over the last two years and thought Bates and Bowdoin were best.
Yeah, I read about that and wondered what Gladwell’s reaction was. It’s a good outcome for the students, clearly. I wasn’t a buyer of his argument, ie more scholarships and less kale. Food is important.
D is a freshman at Vassar and she has been quite happy with the food, except she says there is not enough fresh fruit. The revamped dining hall is very attractive and the meal I had on move-in day was fresh, healthy, and pretty tasty.
Apparently from a Malcolm Gladwell podcast episode I was listening to, Bowdoin has world-class food (relative to most colleges).
I went to Vassar in the 80s and spent most of my spending money eating in the cafe (cash only). The dining hall was awful.
Was visiting Amherst a week ago and got a (free) lobster roll and chowder at the college Fall Fest 
Our extremely picky son stayed overnight at Vassar in Sept. and did nothing but rave about the newly done dining hall and the food. I got pictures galore from him of the new facility and it looked great. My husband and I stopped off at one of the eateries in the college center and our sandwiches were very good. Nothing but positive things to say from us!
As a lot of posters mentioned, WashU is known for pretty good dorm food. The menu choices on the website include nutritional information and whether the item is gluten-free or not.
Also of interest is that WashU is one of the few schools that has a completely kosher dining option. And there is a rabbi supervising the cooks.
My brother is a Cornell grad, yes, I can confirm the food is great there.