Opinion: Train Station Pizza?

In February, the peculiar NomNom Pizza vending machine appeared at the Wellington Train Station.  It promises “Freshly baked artisanal pizza 24/7”. So, of course, like the bulwark of student issues that is Salient, we sent two of our finest news writers to see for themselves whether NomNom really stands up to their slogan claiming “Anytime is Pizza Time”. 

Rolling up at a cool 1 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, Dan and I were greeted by the metal behemoth which was already occupied by two young boys. Clearly the news was out. 

We ordered the aptly named Peppeholic 30cm which was described as “Loaded with pepperoni and chorizo over rich tomato sauce—bold, comforting and seriously satisfying.” We were less satisfied at the price, a generous $17.50. A mere 2 minutes later, a pizza-box shaped slot opened up and there in its cheesy glory was our Peppeholic 30cm. 

The pizza itself seemed to be misshapen by the metal grid that it sat upon, and it wasn’t precut. Instead, we were provided with a wooden knife taped—with duct tape might I add—to the side of the box. We spent a few minutes sawing at the pizza next to the train station toilets while our resident photographer Sophie looked at us in shame. Fitting, for the Sex Issue. 

Eventually, we managed to bite into a slice of the pizza and… it was… fine? Nothing stood out, but, I mean, it was what I expected. A little doughy perhaps, but overall a very typical pepperoni pizza. Or, as Dan Moskovitz put it, “an incredible 6/10.” And that it “would probably be a 9/10 if I was super drunk.” 

I concurred, it was an incredibly average pizza. 

Throughout this arduous process one question remained: who was this for? 

It was more expensive than other fast food pizzas,  and nowhere near as good as more premium pizza offerings such as Scopa. The only thing that ‘the little NomNom that could’ had going for it was that it had an incredibly fast turn around time. 

Perhaps this was for the commuter wanting a quick bite after a long day of work in the public sector? Or a student out on the town, now heading home via train and wanting a drunken snack?

We assumed the latter, and decided in order to try  this pizza in all its glory; we must return to it while drunk.  This request was rejected by our Editor Phoebe, who told us that “Salient won’t fund our drinking habits.”

And so ends our tale of NomNom Pizza. Perhaps you should try it for yourself? But also perhaps not. After all, in a world full of Curriza, why settle for NomNom?