After likely touring Dartmouth on a previous jaunt through Hanover and hearing parents ask the College's tour guides, "So, how's the food? Will my little Jenny/Johnny be well nourished? Will she/he be happy?," the questions will finally be answered. Here is The Dartmouth's guide to dining options in Hanover.
Just as a general overview of the dining situation, there are places you can eat on-campus, and there are restaurants where you can go off-campus when you begin to tire of Dartmouth Dining Services -- hereafter referred to as DDS.
In general, the off-campus dining options in Hanover are somewhat limited. Most menus are about as similar to each other as fraternal twins -- or at least first cousins. But that's not to say they're not a pleasant change from the dining halls once in a while.
One interesting characteristic of off-campus dining is that there is no fast food -- like that joint called "McDonald's" or that other establishment called "Burger King" -- in Hanover proper.
If you do crave the grease-laden victuals of those locales, and you have friends with cars, you can easily access all the grease you desire in West Lebanon, Hanover's neighboring metropolis.
Vegetarians, too, have options both on- and off-campus, though admittedly if you are vegan you may have a somewhat difficult time dining in the Upper Valley. It would also be rather difficult to adhere to Halal and Kashrut (Muslim and Jewish dietary laws, respectively). There are ways to do these things, of course, but they are more of a challenge up here in the woods.
Food Court
It's appropriate to start with the largest and most commonly used dining hall, Food Court. Food Court is located in Thayer Dining Hall (not the engineering school) and is the typical college-style dining facility.
Here's the deal with FC: you walk in, see half of the students on this campus, feel compelled to say hi to a few (or leave quickly to avoid a run in with someone from the night before), then grab a tray and survey what's there.
Food Court has pizza, a grill, daily lunch and dinner specials, a salad bar, soda, yogurt and sandwiches. A new attraction at FC is the Eddy's ice cream machine. Yes, it's expensive, and in the future it probably will be found to be dispensing, with the ice cream, some sort of highly-addictive stimulant, but for now it provides a highly popular and delicious dessert.
Despite the easy-to-predict nature of the place, it's nice because it's quick and if you actually want to see someone, you probably will run into him or her there.
Also, at night Food Court-goers are treated to a fantastic selection of pop rock, which is a good accompaniment to any meal.
Homeplate
This "healthy" cafeteria is also located in Thayer, and is noticeably more popular among girls than among boys.
Homeplate has a fabulous grill for you meat-lovers who enjoy high quality grilled food (though it is extremely slow). The Homeplate grill offers things such as grilled chicken and steak on sticks. Both are very popular.
Homeplate also has a salad bar with interesting nuts and seeds, as well as the more traditional salad fare. Baked potatoes are also available. The sandwiches at Home Plate are made on fresh homemade bread (as in freshly baked, not as in "not moldy.") And the hot dish line always features both meat and vegetarian entrees.
In line with its health-nut image, Homeplate has a Stonyfield frozen yogurt machine and other low-fat desserts. Unfortunately, if you can't make it to dinner before 7:30 p.m. you'll miss dining at Homeplate, usually finding yourself in the sandwich line at Food Court instead.
Collis Caf
To help out those of you who are vegetarians, it is appropriate to mention Collis Caf, which is more vegetable-oriented than some of the other on-campus establishments.
The Caf is located in the Collis Center and is open during the school year from early morning -- breakfast time for students with morning language drill sessions -- through dinner time.
From 9 p.m. until 3 a.m. each night, the same space doubles as Dartmouth's on-campus coffee house -- The Big Green Bean.
In this unique setting students lounge on sofas and chat while sipping hot chocolate and coffee (for those all-nighter types) and munching baked snacks by candlelight.
During the daytime Collis offers a menu of sandwiches, soups and homemade baked goods.
Collis has a few big highlights, most notably the smoothies. You can choose from fresh fruit and see it blended. Not only are these healthy and delicious, but it's entertaining to see fruit whirling around in a blender.
Another attraction is the "stir fry," which can be made with veggies, tofu, beef or chicken with a variety of different sauces and rice.
Collis also cooks up made-to-order omelets and sandwiches. The main courses usually involve new-aged food like tempeh or chick-peas. The salad bar is well stocked. There are also excellent homemade baked goods including oversized cookies and popular "tea cakes."
Lone Pine Tavern
If you walk downstairs from the Caf, you'll find Lone Pine Tavern, whose name is pretty self-explanatory.
Lone Pine offers similar food to the previously mentioned Food Court but with menus and servers. In addition to burgers, pizza and chicken wings (and just about anything you can imagine drowned in an inch of melted mozzarella), the Tavern also has a long list of exciting drinks. Some are partial to the design-your-own pink and frothy drinks. You can experiment.
Plus, for (legitimate) card-carrying 21-year-olds, Lone Pine is the only on-campus bar operated by the College.
Sharing a kitchen with Lone Pine is Midnight Express where students can go for late-night snacks.
Topside
After eating inside Thayer, you can head up the stairs to Topside, Dartmouth's convenience store, where you can use your Declining Balance Account (DBA) to make your purchases.
At Topside, you can buy such necessities as pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, cans of food, chips, drinks and much, much more ranging from laundry detergent to candy.
Plus, you can rent videos or buy trashy magazines using your Discretionary spending account that you wouldn't spend "real" money on (read: the new YM love issue), but on which you feel okay spending the invisible kind of "run my card through the machine" money.
Courtyard Caf
This DDS facility is located in the Hopkins Center and is Dartmouth's answer to the "fast food" craze that has been sweeping the nation for the last 40 years.
Some students would contest the "fast" nature of this dining establishment, since long lines are often hard to avoid at lunch time. Lines aside, however, students' feelings on Courtyard Caf are mixed: some think it's the best thing that ever graced Hanover while others hate it with a passion.
At "the Hop," you can get prepackaged pasta salads, sandwiches and salads as well as cookies of various varieties, slurpies and grilled foods.
Of the foods served from the grill, the quesadillas and breakfast sandwiches are popular, as are the "hop fries," which are red in color and a bit spicy.
Off campus
Moving off-campus (get your credit card ready or take a walk down Main Street to get some cash out of the ATM), there is also a selection of restaurants to ease your pangs of hunger.
For food that's similar to what you'd find in a T.G.I. Fridays (with a slightly nicer atmosphere), head to Molly's, Murphy's or Patrick Henry's.
All offer a wide-variety of food selections, the servers are often chatty, and at Molly's, you even get crayons to color with before your meal arrives.
If you want pizza, there are three options: Everything But Anchovies (known fondly as EBA's) -- which takes orders via phone or the Web until 2 a.m. -- as well as Ramuntos and C&As.
Panda House is the place to go for Chinese food and sushi. It's located next door to Ben & Jerry's (that's ice cream, for you non-New-Englanders) behind the Hop.
Subway is right next door, sharing a little pink house with Ben & Jerry's, and fills the role of Hanover's only commercial fast food joint.
If you crave a bagel, head to Bagel Basement, located across from EBA's, right off of Main Street. It makes a wide variety of cream cheeses, bagels and other baked goods on a daily basis.
If you're looking for a place to do brunch, or have a weekend lunch, your best bet is Lou's, which has a prominent building on Main Street, near the College Supplies store. There you can find diner-style booths and an all-day breakfast menu. Lou's is also the only bakery in town, so if you want to buy a cake or an oversized rice krispy treat, you should head over there.
For a classier in-town dining option, check out Caf Buon Gustaio, which is located across the street from the Food Stop at the end of Main Street. Although untapped by many members of the Dartmouth community -- probably because of its prices-- Buon Gustaio offers nicely prepared, tasty Italian cuisine in a nice environment.
Food Stop is Hanover's only 24-hour food option. It's actually a gas station convenience store, though it certainly has gusto. Go there when you need something -- desperately, of course -- at 4 a.m.
If you are looking for Indian cuisine, two options exist: India Queen and Jewel of India. For Thai there is one option, Mai Thai, located on Main Street.
Finally, if you need a coffee fix, do not search for the nearest Starbucks -- it's two hours away. Instead, head to either Dirt Cowboy, conveniently located at the corner of Main Street and Wheelock Street, or Rosy Jekes, located beyond Ben & Jerry's. Both feature a cozy atmosphere and have a wide selection of coffees and coffee-alternatives, as well as sandwiches and baked goods. Dirt Cowboy is also open until midnight, and has smoothies and ice cream, as well as the more traditionally coffee-shop fare.
