Couchworthy

The Pizza Ninja finds more than just a slouchy name at this Manayunk pizzeria.

Hello pizza fanatics.

The Ninja’s favorite thing to do while eating pizza is sit on the couch and watch TV.

What does that make him?  No, not a couch potato:

couch po·ta·to – noun informal – a person who spends little or no time exercising and a great deal of time watching television.

….the Ninja is a couch tomato.

This month, the pizza shop is one that is located outside of East Falls, but will deliver to the 19129.  Located down the street in Manayunk, on 102 Rector St is “The Couch Tomato Café.”

Will this pizza gently lull the ninja into a carb coma whilst he eats on his couch?  Read on to find out.

The Ordering Experience – 4.25 out of 5

Couch Tomato has a healthy mix of ordering options:

  1. In Person
  2. Over the phone
  3. Their website ordering system which is actually fairly robust
  4. GrubHub App

The Ninja placed his order over the phone at 5:23PM and the delivery time was quoted at 45 minutes to an hour.  Disappointing, but this perhaps spoke to the popularity of The Couch Tomato.

Shockingly and surprisingly though, the pizza arrived at the ninjas doorstep at 5:47PM.  Talk about under-promising and over-delivering!  A staggering 24 minutes later!  This almost earned The Couch Tomato a perfect delivery score, a Ninja first, had it not been for one annoying “feature” when ordering over the phone.

It appears that The Couch Tomato wants to push their orders towards the online method.  Their phone number isn’t readily available or obvious on their website.  But do some digging, and you can find it on the ‘Contact’ page.  Even more frustrating, when you call, you quickly find out that The Couch Tomato employs an automated phone system.  That’s right, much like the frustration you experience when calling Comcast, or tech support for any company, you have to jump through the same hoops to order a pizza.

You are first greeted with a message thanking you for calling and giving a spiel about the restaurant, at nearly 18 seconds in, you are told to press 1 if you’d like to place an order.  This then takes you to ANOTHER phone menu, with more options.  At this point, nearly 45 seconds into the call, you’re given the following additional options:

  • Press 1 to hear the homemade soups of the day
  • Press 2 to hear the special pizzas of the day
  • Press 4 to place your order

45 seconds before you talk with a live operator to order a pizza?  Wasting precious seconds and putting extra time between you and your pie?  That’s a violation, folks.

The Ninja does the hard work and research for you though:  Dial 215-483-2233, Dial 1, and then Dial 4 and skip listening to the messages, unless you’re one of those weird soup eaters.

The Pizza Experience

Presentation: 4.75 out of 5

I like this box.  It’s quirky, it’s custom, it has a positive message on the side (“Feel good about what you eat!”).  The box is made of a robust cardboard, and calling it ‘Artisan Pizza’ gives an air of affluence to what you’re about to experience.  This made the Ninja feel special.  Let’s look under the hood:

This pizza looks very appealing.  The sauce is a vibrant red color.  Good cheese coverage and a perfect golden hue.  The pizza has a ‘pizza saver’ on top (that circular plastic thing that goes in the middle of a pie to prevent the pizza from sticking to the top of the pizza box) — this is a nice touch, you don’t see pizza savers too often anymore.

Overall, the pizza looks to be cooked perfectly throughout, let’s take a taste:

Cheese – 4.5 out of 5

Wow, flavor explosion.  The Ninja really likes this cheese.  Not only is it baked to the proper level, but it’s very tasty.  Just the right combo of salty, sweet, and creamy.

Sauce – 5 out of 5

Much like the pies at Ninja favorite, Pizzeria Nonna, you’ll have a hard time deciding if you like the cheese or the sauce more on this pie. Both are seriously fantastic. This is a bold, sweet sauce.  Slightly chunky, but overall, a proper ratio in respect to the cheese and the crust.  Imagine notes of a vine ripe tomato and fresh basil on your palate.

Crust – 4 out of 5

Great crust, certainly not the stand out of the pie, but very good.  Not too crisp, not too limp, just right.  The crust tastes warm and fresh with a classic bread flavor to it.

Conclusion – 4.5 out of 5

Imagine ordering a pizza only to be greeted by a robot, which leads to furiously mashing the 0 button on your telephone dial in a futile attempt to reach an operator because you are HANGRY and in a PIZZA RAGE.

Is it worth it?  For Couch Tomato, the answer is yes. Yes it is.

About Pizza Ninja 22 Articles
Born in Chicago, arguably the capitol of world class pizza options, the Pizza Ninja consumes pizza an average of 3 to 4 nights a week. From local options to frozen pizza, no crust is left behind. He has been eating pizza for 34 years and currently resides in East Falls along with his wife, daughter and two dogs. On occasion, he will graciously share a slice of his pizza with them. Follow the Ninja on Instagram.

2 Comments

  1. Nice! I’ve only had their pizza once – I usually go for the sandwiches, which, are also awesome! I always order online, but have also thankfully experienced shorter-than-promised delivery wait times 🙂

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