Hi, my name is Brandon and I'm a '25 from just outside of Chicago. I study Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies, and am involved with multimedia journalism and videography on campus. I am passionate about documentary filmmaking and using film as a tool to present lived human experiences in subjective visual, aesthetic, and sonic terms. In my free time, I love to spend time with my cat, follow the Chicago Bulls, and study Arabic. Please enjoy these snapshots of my life in Hanover!
Although food isn't the first thing that comes to mind when applying to colleges, it can become a critical aspect of day-to-day life of campus life. I'd like to share the different dining options available on campus, and give a student's perspective on how food is like at Dartmouth.
FOCO: FOCO, or officially known as The Class of 1953 Commons, is the largest and most popular dining option for Dartmouth students. This was my first dining experience, and it was a pretty positive one. The dining hall has a huge variety of options; every day pizza, sandwiches, chicken tenders, and other easy-to-eat foods are served for people who want them. There's additionally a rotating menu of entrees for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that changes every day. My favorite entree is teriyaki chicken! If you don't like the entree that day, the pizza and sandwiches are a safe bet all the time. There's also a dessert bar - the cookies, in particular, are famous around campus for being tasty. While FOCO is great, it can get repetitive throughout the term, especially if you eat there 3 times a day every day.
The Courtyard Cafe: Located in the HOP, this grill-based dining area is my favorite on campus. While the menu isn't massive, they serve grill-style foods. Burgers, quesadillas, chicken tenders, and a wide array of fried sides. The food is really tasty; however, again, it can definitely be repetitive due to the small size of the menu. Expect a longer wait than FOCO, although you can catch up with friends while in line. My personal favorite option is a Chicken Tender BBQ & Buffalo Queso.
Novack: Connected to the central Baker-Berry library, Novack is a small cafe run by student workers. They serve Starbucks drinks, snacks, pastries, and breakfast sandwiches. While you can't really go wrong with Novack, their selection is relatively skewed towards breakfast food. Therefore, while Novack is great, it definitely is a niche spot to eat. And if you like to sleep in like me, breakfast can be an uncommon occurrence.
Collis Cafe: Located in the front of Collis, the Collis Cafe boasts a smoothie bar and a changing menu depending on the time of day. The fruit smoothies here are great, especially when you need something tasty to start your day in the morning. Additionally, they serve the best breakfast sandwiches on campus (in my opinion), and offer selections such as pasta and stir-fry around dinner time. However, what makes it stand out are definitely the smoothies.
There are a couple more dining options on campus, but I haven't eaten at them enough to give my opinion on them. Dining at Dartmouth is pretty good, and I hope this helps provide you with some more insight on the main places to go!
Welcome back to Open Doors—your inside look at life in the Woods! This week, Sarah Getraer '26, a studio art major, showed me around her dorm room, where we discussed Dartmouth residence halls, classes, and campus life.
