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I don't remember the name, but I saw a sign "eat here." From the inside, it looks like one of those swanky 1970s hamburger joints, I ate outside overlooking a small river.
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<p>You're probably talking about Eat Good Food, which the college recently took over and will use as a cafe/restaurant/social space. There will be live music and a bar. It's now called 51 Main.</p>
<p>College</a> holds soft opening for 51 Main Street - News</p>
<p>Nah, Tully and Maries is directly next to Taste of India and it does have an "EAT" sign and look like a diner downstairs. I think we're talking about Tully and Maries.</p>
<p>There are A&Ws all over the place!</p>
<p>My D just finished her first year at Middlebury. She lives in a suburb of Chicago and spent her first college year at NYU and the transfered to Midd. There has not been one weekend where she has complained that there is nothing to do, especialy in winter which she has learned to embrace! She has seen more bands perform, attended more parties and has made more friends than her year at NYU. The school participates in the Zipcar program which alows kids to rent cars and drive to Burlington which is nice for mall shopping, concerts and a "change of scenery". She found life at NYU had many distractions whereas at Middlebury, because of it's "rural" setting, it was easier to make friends, participate in "events" ( the latest being barbeques) and generally have a very fulfilling academic and social year. The town is a terrific example of New England and has some nice resturants which she has gone to with her friends. She loves Midd and her high school graduating class had 1000 kids, her freshman dorm at NYU had 600kids and her freshman dorm at Midd had 120 kids-do the math and you can't go wrong picking Mid!!!</p>
<p>Sounds like your D is having a fantastic time. Thanks for your insight! :)</p>
<p>I guess it's the last A&W where they skate out to your car and bring you your food in the car and all that. Not the last one period. Sorry about that.</p>
<p>middkid2, I was just walking past the NYU's Palladium on the Lower East side, and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I had chosen Midd over NYU.</p>
<p>A good social life isn't just about drinking, drugs, concerts, museums, the city life: it's about making substantive and meaningful friendships, not feeling lonely, apart, or lost, not feeling neglected by a intangible bureaucracy, etc.</p>
<p>Maybe A&W when it's open?</p>
<p>An interesting coincidence. I just found this blog post from today that talks about Middlebury's A&W:</p>
<p>Nosh</a> Vermont</p>
<p>Thanks, arcadia - the blog brought me back to my childhood. Root beer floats, real fries, and griddled hot dogs nestled in griddled buns were the best at that A&W! Delicious nostalgia.</p>
<p>I do remember having something like fried cheese curds at the A&W. Now that's special!</p>
<p>Speaking of cheese...I ALWAYS go to the Food Coop in town to get local cheeses.</p>
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The missing student probably drowned in that depressing river.
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I feel terrible joking about this. May he rest in peace.</p>
<p>well, it really is rural and it gets kind of depressing on winter, especially if you don't go skiing and if you're not used to living in a rural environment. it's not like you get bored--there's always something fun going on, be it an alcoholic or non-alcoholic event--it's just that you feel caged and trapped and you just want to get out of the "midd bubble."</p>
<p>Well it certainly is rural. I remember driving there for my interview. While looking out on the fields, I asked my mom, "Are those cows?" As I first walked to the admissions office, I knew it was a beautiful campus, but I wasn't sure I could spend four years there. When I came out from my interview I told my mom, "this is where I'm going to college." The interviewer showed me what a great place this could be for me. I spent four years there and I can honestly say they were four of the best years of my life.</p>
<p>Vermont is one of the most progressive states in the country. Look at its stance on same sex marriage. I don’t see it fitting the guns and religion stereotype at all. Look at Howard Dean.</p>
<p>My mom is a native Vermonteer, and at 86, still a strong progressive Democrat. Never even saw a gun in her entire life and is a committed atheist.</p>
<p>I know one example doesn’t prove a rule, but had to give her and her state a shout out.</p>
<p>My boys aren’t big partiers and are happy with the social life.They have been very happy just staying on campus with the occasional trip to beautiful Burlington.
We all love the wood-fired pizza at Flatbread, and for a small town, there are tons of restaurants of many kinds.
Economically depressed doesn’t really describe rural Vermont. Independent people with small farms who live close to the land and the seasons seems more accurate to me.</p>
<p>How does it compare in rural environment to Bowdoin? I’ve lived in huge, tropical cities all my life and I’m apprehensive about applying to a rural, cold school like Midd but some people have highly recommended it to me. Can you manage some decent shopping and shopping for necessities (like Walmart) without a car and without a driving license?</p>
<p>Hmm-the Maine winter is not as cold, because of the nearby ocean-but you get some mizzly cloudy stuff that I find more depressing than out and out cold. My S thinks Midd is sunnier than our upstate NY weather.
Middlebury is bigger than Bowdoin-Bowdoin is more like Williamstown with the ocean. Bowdoin is only 20 minutes from the shopping Mecca, Freeport, home of LLBean and MANY outlet stores. I can’t remember a Walmart nearby.Midd has a TJ Max, real shopping is in Burlington, which is a really nice city, somewhat like Portland and comparable distance from the respective schools.
Some one can correct me, but I think it is marginally easier to get around and shop at Midd-again, you’ll be lucky if you get a choice-
To me, Bowdoin felt less egalitarian, more old-New England blue blood, more frat oriented than Midd. Of course I am a Batesie, and we have always been rivals. We had an awful tour there (Bowdoin) and neither of my S liked it. The Admissions counselor and the tour guide kept harping on and on about Bowdoin’s contribution the the Civil War.</p>
<p>Thanks for your very insightful post Batsie. It is really helpful. I visited Bates as well this summer and quite liked it, but felt it was a bit too isolated. I am just trying to keep my options open at this stage though.</p>
<p>i’m not so sure oldbastiedoc’s post is all that insightful if it has inaccuracies. Middlebury is biggier as a campus than Bowdoin or Bates, but the town of Middlebury is less that half the size of Brunswick and is much more isolated. Brunswick is located within the larger Portland metro area and has a nice mix of urban and rural – plus there’s the ocean. Heck it’s even a simple drive from Bowdoin to Bates and many kids have friends and social time at either school. Shopping is quite easy, they have all the stores – lot’s of options – and then there’s Freeport, and Portland’s music and restaurant scene.</p>
<p>As for egalitarian, I have no idea where that comes from. They have no fraternities or sororities and great diversity and acceptance among students. As you may have guessed, i’ve got a son attending Bowdoin;-) He raved about Middlebury as well and has made a couple weekend trips there to visit new friends. </p>
<p>Just wanted to paint a little clearer picture of a fantastic school in a fantastic location.</p>
<p>Personally for a student to be happy at Middlebury (or any rural school) they need to be happy hanging out with friends doing stuff on campus … as opposed to feel the need to frequently go clubbing, or shopping at the mall, or dining at fancy restaurants. </p>
<p>PS - IMO the town of Middlebury is very small … one of the smaller towns for a northeast LAC … but there are two BUTS … first, Middlebury is sort of a funky artsy town so there is more to the town than I expected given how small it is … and second, Burlington is fairly close, and I believe Burlington is a TERRIFC college town</p>