Hi everyone!
I know that food and the dining halls are something that students are always interested in before coming to college. That was definitely the case when I was preparing to come to Wellesley for the first time. This is why I thought it might be useful to tell you about the four dining halls that we have on campus. I will mainly focus on the food options for lunch and dinner.
Tower
The Tower Dining Hall, as the name might suggest, is in Tower Court, one of the biggest residential buildings on campus (and my home this semester). Like the building itself, the dining hall has a more old-fashioned look to it with circular wooden tables, big windows, and a big (not functioning) fireplace in it. It has the typical dining hall arrangement. First, there’s a section for the main course meals, which usually includes some type of a meat-based dish, a vegetarian substitute, and sides like rice and different kinds of vegetables. Then there’s a salad bar with veggies, toppings, and dressings. There’s also a soup bar (usually it’s 2 soups—one with meat, one that’s vegetarian). There’s also always a pizza bar with a few different, freshly made types of pizzas, and a few types of pasta. There’s also some drink options, like a drinks fountain, juices, coffee, hot chocolate, and milk. Additionally, this dining hall has a sandwich bar. As for desserts, there’s always ice cream and different pastries baked in the Claflin bakery on campus. Tower in particular also has a Mediterranean bar with stuff like falafel, tzatziki, and feta. Something else about Tower is that it is the nut-aware dining hall for people with nut allergies. Because (almost) everyone in Wellesley is enrolled in the meal plan, all you have to do to get food is to swipe your Wellesley ID card when you enter the dining hall. You can also get food to-go using the Ozzy containers Wellesley provides.
Tower Dining Hall!
Bates
Bates was my favorite dining hall last semester. It’s the dining hall closest to the Science Center, so I often end up there. I like the way it looks because there are two separate big rooms to eat in: the Bates side, which is usually the busier and louder one, and the McAfee side, which tends to be quieter. It has most things that I mentioned when writing about Tower, except for the Mediterranean bar. Something cool that Bates has is a second option for the main meal, which is usually a type of comfort food like fries, tortillas, burgers, and toasts. Bates also has the best ice cream options because they often make the ice cream themselves. All dining halls have ice cream all year round, but the one in Bates is my personal favorite because they like to experiment with flavors and toppings.
Bates Dining Hall!
Lulu
Lulu is usually the busiest dining hall because it’s the closest one to the Quad (five of the West Side residential buildings). Lulu is a lot of people’s favorite dining hall, but I tend to go there the least often just because of how crowded it can be. This dining hall is in the Campus Center, so it’s also open to the public and has a more modern look to it. Like the previous two, it has the typical stations, but there’s also a separate station, which rotates between Chipotle-style bowls and sandwiches.
Stone-Davis
Stone-Davis is a dining hall that I visited a lot last year but haven’t visited as often this semester. This one is the vegetarian and vegan dining hall, which is why it’s a bit smaller than the other ones, and it looks a bit different. There’s the main course meal, which includes a protein-based meal (with things like tofu, beans, and plant-based chicken nuggets), and usually only one choice for a soup. There’s a big salad bar, and a big sides bar (with stuff like sweet potatoes, corn, and quinoa). There’s also a rotating station between a nachos bar and a Mediterranean bar. This semester they are trying to also have a protein sources bar and a vegan pizza.
If you ever want to look at the typical weekly menu at Wellesley, you can do so online here.
That’s it from me for this week. Stay safe!