Since this section is a “Cafe” let’s talk food! How is it - really - at your school? What’s good/not so good? Does your school have any cool foodie traditions? Hungry minds want to know!
I’m interested in hearing about Exeter food…
Our crew tried the food at Exeter twice. A wide variety of entrees and sides, salads, soups. More choices than at other schools. Nothing seemed overcooked. We didn’t note any dish that was distinctive or unusual. Exeter’s cafeteria style dining facilities lack some charm but one benefit is a lack of long lines. You can get in, eat and go, a plus for kids on the run.
Our first visit was on an ordinary school day and we came back during revisit days. Some schools reportedly ramp up their food quality during revisits but, as far as we could see, Exeter did not, to its credit.
A two visit experience can’t possibly be definitive. Hopefully we will get some reports from current students…
@Agincourt 's perspective can be applied to basically all schools. Bottom line, there are always choices. Every school will be better than the food in a hospital cafeteria and no school will have food as good as mom. 
The only school that I’ve seen/visited/heard about with exceptional food is NMH. My kid almost chose to go there JUST because of the food ;-).
Yes NMH has a great rep for food. I was hoping to hear more about it. Is this due to the NMH farm and the general philosophy of the school? Other schools with farms include Putney, Hotchkiss and Lville.
DD is going to Deerfield and they have a “scratch” kitchen. Meals for parents during revisit day were similar to the family-style students receive at sit down meals I believe. As someone else described, Exeter seemed to be a regular lunch day and the food was fine.
The dining hall staff at Groton are some of the kindest, most generous and selfless people around. They also happen to be fabulous chefs, so that’s a plus.
@stargirl3 - now we are on to something. Good food has a definite connection to kindness and care, doesn’t it?
Agreed on NMH, but Hotchkiss food is also quite good. Afterter all, Hotchkiss has to have something going for it, since you can’t get a cell phone signal. 
Has anyone had the food at Andover? I’m an international applicant so unfortunately I’ve never been able to visit Andover, so I have no idea how or what the food there is about!
The food is one of the best parts of Andover. Truly going to miss the omelettes made to order every morning, and the fresh brick oven pizza
brick oven pizza? that’s ridiculous and beautiful. especially after 8 years of 30 variations of chicken noodle soup at school.
Quite a few schools have farms/ gardens for fresh food but the reality is that in the northeast, little of the harvest will be available during the school year. But if you attend a summer camp there, you may enjoy the bounty!
Wait no phone signal??? Really?
There is NO signal at hotchkiss.
@MAandMEmom and @skieurope speak the truth… NO Cell reception there. This does not seem to affect the number of applications for admission!
Yup. Really.
Practically speaking, yes, there is no cell service although DS2 reports that you can get it out by the graveyard sometimes and generally speaking texting works. Oddly service seems to improve over Parents’ Weekend…
The lack of reliable cell reception at Hotchkiss only seems to annoy the parents, not the kids. The whole campus has good WiFi, and in my experience, most teens these days aren’t using their phones to actually call their friends, they’re just texting or IM’ing. No problem with doing that, it’s just making a cell phone call that’s challenging. (and the kids each have a landline in their dorm room, so no problems with being able to call home)