<p>We are visiting Vassar next week, driving down from visiting Bard in the morning, and are looking for a quick, cheap and good place to have lunch. We are easy to please but I want to avoid anyplace particularly dreadful and if there is a great pizza/falafel/sandwich/soup place I don't want to miss it. Any ideas?</p>
<p>Oh and if you have any great ideas of things to do there to entertain my 12 yo while her sister takes her tour, that would be great too. It looks like the Vassar Farm is a great place to hike which we both enjoy.</p>
<p>I'm looking forward to this visit; I'm only sorry we won't get to see/meet students since its spring break.</p>
<p>food: on raymond ave there are many places to eat but i would recommend twisted soul. raymond ave is the main road that the main gate is on. on collegview ave (which is behind jewett and josselyn houses and is perpendicular to raymond ave), babycakes is very good and has good sandwiches. your cheapest bet would be bacio’s pizza, which is also on collegeview. it has really good pizza and italian food. these 3 would be my recommendations.</p>
<p>entertainment: i would recommend the art gallery (if she likes art) or walking around the library. they might sound boring but they are gorgeous buildings. the library has some nooks and crannies too which you could explore. i think the farm is nice but it may be really muddy as its been raining a lot and the snow is melting. the campus is really pretty- i dont think it would be the end of the world if she walked along the tour and saw the sites</p>
<p>Thank you! That is perfect. Twisted Soul looks great.</p>
<p>And I wasn’t thinking about the mud factor! Duh. I think I always assume the campus will be lovely and sunny like it is in all the photographs. ;-)</p>
<p>All those places near Vassar are great. Partial to Baby Cakes myself.</p>
<p>You might look into the Culinary Institute of Ameria (CIA)on Route 9 between Bard and Vassar as well. That is supposed to be a great place to eat. There are places in Rhinebeck on your way down as well.</p>
<p>The Vassar campus is mostly mud free but the farm is…well a farm. and mostly open space. One night a week the observatory has open viewing but I am not sure which night that is. Only works if it stops raining one of these days here in the NorthEast. The art museum is fun.</p>
<p>There will be a fair number of students around as not everyone goes home. I am sure they will be happy to chat.</p>
<p>Have a nice trip. With one at Bard and another at Vassar I have driven Route 9 quite often. Prettier with the leaves on the trees but you can see more of the river without leaves. Stopping at the FDR home or the Vanderbilt mansion is fun too but I think you will likely not have time for that.</p>
<p>Lucky you with your kids near each other and in such a lovely spot. The rain is supposed to stop after tomorrow and we will be there Tuesday so we may get lucky. </p>
<p>And its good to know there will be some students around. Thanks.</p>
<p>We will also be driving between Bard and Vassar in three weeks, but instead of stopping for lunch, I figured we should eat in the Vassar cafeteria before the afternoon tour to get a sense of it. Or is that a mistake?</p>
<p>Is the FDR house right on the way? Is it an easy stop? I would love to see that.</p>
<p>We’re hoping for some leaves by early April, but that may be too much to hope for…</p>
<p>Caeterias are not bad spots to observe students in “their natural habitat”. Vassar has a cafe in the student center in Main Building where many students also eat lunch. That might be just as good a spot to observe them and a slight step up from the cafeteria experience, which is not that different from one school to another.</p>
<p>FDR and Vanderbilt are directly on the way between Bard and Vassar (marist and the CIA as well). While you can take the Taconic Parkway I would suggest Route 9 for more local color. It is slightly shorter too.</p>
<p>Good luck. Hope the weather is good and you do see some leaves.</p>
<p>For a prospie, I’d definitely recommend picking up something at the cafe in the student center and doing some people watching. If school is not in session, may as well try the off campus eateries.</p>
<p>The Culinary Institute of America has wonderful food, but may need reservations, though I believe one of the eateries is more casual. I’ve only eaten in their fanciest restaurant. I wouldn’t necessarily take a 12 year old unless they are serious foodies.</p>
<p>The route drive is pretty and easy. We visited both schools in one day last year.</p>
<p>Thanks! Much as I’d like to try the CIA, we should eat in the student cafe-- the point of the trip is for my D to learn about the schools and see if she can picture herself attending them. I’m going to try to make time for a stop at the FDR house, too! (The day before we are heading up to Red Hook after a SUNY New Paltz visit, so we should have time then.)</p>
<p>We wound up eating on campus at Bard, The Manor House Cafe which is by the theater. Very nice food and definitely a chance to observe students. Vassar was on spring break while we were there but the campus is beautiful. We liked both schools very much. Enjoy your trip researching4emb. Lots of green was coming out as we left New York City on Monday after the warm weekend so you may get some leaves.</p>