We had a vegetarian and a meat entree choice at each meal and the meals were fairly balanced. If there was anything to complain about it was that the food tended to be not highly spiced in order to reach the common denominator. But we had hot sauces and the like so that people could spice things up if they wanted.

In practice, you tend to have people of like-mind coming together and actually syncing preferences closer over time.

It's been very efficient in any communal setting I've been in.

Sounds like you're hung up on a trivially solved problem for some reason.

What's the trivial solution?

Talk with your roommates or make your own food if you're a picky eater.