<p>I know this topic has been discussed in other threads, but they mostly degenerated into debates about the ethics of veganism or PETA jokes...I just want to know which top colleges have decent vegetarian food. I know that most colleges talk about how they have a vegetarian option at most meals, but from my visits it seemed like this option is often french fries, salads, or one of those strange, bland tofu dishes that give vegetarian food a bad name. I applied to Dartmouth, Williams, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Pomona, and Princeton, so information specific to these colleges would be helpful. Thanks!</p>
<p>Not sure about those, but my vegan daughter seemed to like the options at Oberlin the two times we visited.</p>
<p>Tufts has great vegetarian food. Their options include about a dozen different things at night, in addition to a huge salad bar and pizza station.</p>
<p>As I recall, Williams has good veggie food.</p>
<p>Harvard is supposed to be bad for vegetarians - just not enough options (i.e. part of the "salad is a vegetarian meal" group). </p>
<p>My guess it that you'll have the best luck with West Coast schools. California, IMO, understands vegetarianism - good, healthy, tasty food. :)</p>
<p>Stanford vegetarian food is excellent. However understand that food itself varies from dining hall to dining hall as well. In terms of veggie options in general Stanford was amazing, and I went 3 dining halls.</p>
<p>Here's the deal with Pomona. Both of its dining halls have decent but not truly excellent veggie food, including vegan pizza (tasty) and good salad bars, bean dishes, soups, hummus, and (sometimes) weird tofu dishes that are kind of nasty. I will also sing the praises of the smoothie bar that appears at breakfast, and brunch on weekends. Frozen fruit, yogurt, juice, milk, variously flavored soymilk.... and a bunch of blenders. You just mix up whatever you want, and it's heavenly. As a Pomona student, you can eat at any of the other Claremont Colleges, and both Scripps and CMC have better vegetarian options. Awesome bread, superior hummus, sometimes more selection in the salad bar, and it really only takes a few minutes to walk to either of these places. </p>
<p>Short answer: you won't starve. Jeepers, my mouth is watering just thinking about the bread they have at CMC. </p>
<p>'Course, I'm old (graduated in '03) so things could've changed a bit or might change in the future.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding! (Irene, your description of Pomona is making me hungry!) I go to a high school where eating the cafeteria food is mandatory even though the only vegetarian options are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and wilted salads, so I'm pretty sure that almost anywhere would be a step up from this. I think that out of the places I applied, Williams, Stanford, and Pomona (maybe Dartmouth?) have the best vegetarian options, but since I probably shouldn't write off colleges because of the food choices, I'm still interested in what people have to say about Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Is it as bad as it sounds? How much do the dining options vary between residential colleges? Do vegetarians join eating clubs, or are they stuck at the co-op at Princeton? If so, does being vegetarian impact social life?</p>
<p>one of Yale's colleges is known for its vegeterian/vegan? food, but to eat there, you have to either be a memebr of that college (and assignments are random) or be accompanied by a member.</p>
<p>Uchicago's (bartlett dining hall at least) vegetarian offerings are supposed to be great...not that I would know though...I like meat</p>
<p>S is a vegan. He will get a small refrigerator for his soy yogurt, rice milk ice cream, vegan (yuck) cheese, and the other little goodies that keep him alive.</p>
<p>Haha Yulsie, my dad suggested the same thing: just get a refrigerator, stock it with soymilk, and you're golden (I'm not vegan but we are a Sun-Soy obsessed household.) But I don't want to miss out on any of the college dining experience, especially after seeing some of those ritzy dining halls some of the Ivy League schools have...and I'm a bit too lazy to cook for myself all the time...so I am still trying to figure out which of my schools have solid, healthy vegetarian offerings in all of their dining halls and offer them in a way that does not separate vegetarians from others socially (i.e. I don't want to have to trek way in the boonies to the vegetarian dining hall or join a co-op while all of my friends sit eating a steak in the dorm cafeteria.) If that isn't possible at Princeton, Yale, or Harvard, I'm curious to know why and which of them is better...any takers? Suggestions?</p>
<p>i wish i were vegetarian.... maybe i will become one in college!</p>
<p>I've been a vegetarian from birth so I can't compare it to eating meat (plus I am determined to prevent this thread from becoming another debate about the ethical and societal questions posed by the vegetarian lifestyle blahblahblah...) but I say go for it! Unless you want to go to Harvard...in that case it looks from the posts on this thread that you'll just be eating salads...just kidding.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/hds/dining/resdinng/menus.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.stanford.edu/dept/hds/dining/resdinng/menus.html</a>
<a href="http://www.stanford.edu/dept/hds/dining/resdinng/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.stanford.edu/dept/hds/dining/resdinng/index.html</a></p>
<p>I don't know from experience, but this is what Stanford states on its residential dining website:</p>
<p>*Vegetarian and vegan dishes are offered at each meal, and our chefs, dieticians and nutritionists work to create varied and exciting vegetarian menus. We always offer you vegetarian soups, entr</p>
<p>This is what Harvard says on their dining services website. It sounds great, but has it actually made an influence at Harvard? Does anyone know?</p>
<p>"HUDS is an active member of the culinary community, and we have a great friend in Mollie Katzen, the world-renowned author, artist, and chef. Best-known as the pioneering author/illustrator of the classic Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, Mollie was named by Health Magazine as one of "Five Women Who Changed the Way We Eat." She has been increasingly focusing her work on issues of healthy, delicious eating for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.</p>
<p>At HUDS, our collaboration with Mollie extends to both the kitchen and the dining room. She is helping us develop recipes, especially related to our meatless offerings, and to more fully answer the unique dietary needs of people who choose a meatless diet.</p>
<p>We have hosted several Katzen-inspired meals at which Mollie appears and speaks with diners. She also contributes to our newsletters, carries on email dialogues with interested individuals and, as a member of the School of Public Health Nutrition Roundtable (founded by Dr. Walter Willet), offers ideas for how we can integrate the Roundtable's findings into our regular offerings."</p>
<p>Dartmouth is supposed to be at the top of the list for best food overall at colleges. I imagine if they make the top of that list, their vegetarian options will be pretty good also.</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry about finding stuff to eat - anywhere. Ever. I'm sure you have experience with this, but I hate when you go out to eat with people who are not vegetarians and they ask stuff like "Should we go here? Will they have something for you to eat? How will you be able to find anything?" After four years of being a vegetarian, I have only had one or two occasions where I had real trouble finding something to eat (and that was on a 40 person trip to England where our meals were preplanned). Seriously - I go to a university that is NOT NOT NOT environmentally friendly in the least bit, yet there are numerous options for good veggie friendly food. In fact, my RA is a vegan, and he's never had a problem with the campus food, either. In short, all places that are made to serve the masses had side dishes and salad bars and pasta and omlettes and cereal and veggie wraps...basically, based on my personal experience, you'll be able to find (at the very least) decent food wherever you go. So good luck, and don't worry too much!</p>
<p>Thanks! Yeah, I'm not too worried about it but if you saw my description of my school's food (#6) you can see that I am officially paranoid that the world is out to starve me. No, I'm just kidding...sort of...but it is so painstakingly difficult for me to be decisive and pick a college that even little things like dining halls mean a lot more to me than they should. The other thing is that I visited Princeton and ate at the Wilson College dining hall and although they had some vegetarian options (I think it was pizza and stew that night), I wasn't too impressed with it. Frist Campus Center was better but everyone told me that freshmen don't eat there much. That experience made me wonder what the food was like at other colleges, but as I had already visited all the campuses and neglected to try the food, I did the next best thing: start this thread. From what I hear and read, I have decided to (admittedly sorta randomly) rank my colleges for vegetarian food:</p>
<ol>
<li> THE WINNER: Pomona</li>
<li> 2nd Prize: Stanford</li>
<li> 3rd Prize: Dartmouth</li>
<li> Runner Up: Williams</li>
<li> Not so great: Princeton</li>
<li> Also not so great: Yale</li>
<li> THE LOSER: Harvard</li>
</ol>
<p>OK I know that this ranking is pretty useless, but it is fun to see Harvard at the bottom of a list for once! I'm still waiting for you Harvard/Yale/Princeton vegetarians out there to reply to this thread and prove me wrong...</p>
<p>Moxiest, wherever you end up going, why don't you start a Veggie/Vegan club to support each other's eating preferences. Maybe your club can even recommend menu items to dining hall staff.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestion! I might do that...if I'm not too lazy...but I'd prefer a college where being vegetarian doesn't have to be a huge part of my life, where it's easy and convenient. I know Princeton does have a vegetarian club; they worked to get a veggie meal option at every eating club, and I bet some of the other colleges do as well. Speaking of where I'm going, now that the letters are in I have narrowed my choices down to Stanford, Harvard, and Princeton, so I guess I didn't decide based on which has the best vegetarian food after all...but thanks for all your responses! (By the way, I'm still waiting for someone to redeem my view of Harvard and Princeton's food. I'm visiting Stanford in a couple of weeks so I'll be sure to report back on their food, if anyone cares to know.)</p>