Can N_K_D Pizza deliver?

Dubai; If you’re fanatic about Facebook or love tweeting, then the words or letters N_K_D Pizza will come as no surprise. I can firmly state that no pizza delivery opening has ever been more highly anticipated here. N_K_D Pizza’s entry into the Middle East market was realised yesterday with the opening of its first outlet at Dubai Marina.

Otherwise known as Naked Pizza in the US, NKD was founded by entrepreneur Jeff Leach in New Orleans in 2006, post Katrina, with the mission to create the world’s healthiest pizza. Umm…yeah you’re thinking how’s that possible. Well, for starters the pizza crust is made from ten grains, as opposed to the usual one, plus plenty of prebiotic fibre and probiotics (friendly bacteria that our digestive track requires to function well). Secondly, no added sugar, high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oil are used. As a result, NKD claims that the pizza is slowly digested, burning more calories (yippee!), reducing the insulin dump and leaving you with a satisfying feeling, rather than an ‘OMG I am so stuffed’. 

Thanks to its excellent social media campaign, and a craving for pizza (this weather is making me hungry), FooDiva couldn’t resist ordering on Day 2. I thought I’d give them a day to iron out teething issues. The online ordering process is a tad confusing, but anyhow I stuck with it and proceeded, only to discover they were not delivering anywhere. I picked up the phone, and NKD confirmed they would be able to deliver to Internet City, as their website claims. Back online, I was only able to complete my order by selecting pick-up. At which point I called up again (needless to say FooDiva was getting irritable), and without boring you too much, 30 minutes later, and after numerous conversations with two different people, NKD confirmed my delivery honouring the price. All I could think was I hope it’s worth the hassle.

NKD promises a 25-minute delivery frame, and lo and behold they delivered just under that, so kudos to them. My pizza of choice was the Meditteranean (artichoke, fetta, sun-dried tomato, onion and black olive toppings) with a skinny crust. But in typical FooDiva fussy style I had to make some ingredient changes, which the online ordering process allows you to do; substituting red onions and sun-dried tomatoes with sliced tomatoes, plus one half of the pizza fetta and the other artichoke. Oh yes and a Meditteranean salad – you can tell where I come from, no?

The crust was skinny all right, and crisp to the fore – not quite stone baked but they don’t claim to be either. The toppings were all fresh and easily digestable as NKD claims, and I love the fact that you can chop and change toppings on different sides of the pizza if you think one particular ingredient may be too overpowering.

Spot the difference?

A large is 32 cms wide, so even with my big appetite it’s plenty for two. Ooh and how could I forget, the pizza arrived lovely and warm. The salad of mixed greens mostly lettuce, black olives, tomatoes and fetta drizzled with Italian dressing was light and crunchily fresh.

Given I didn’t topple over for a siesta afterwards, I guess NKD’s health claims are infact true. As for the calorie intake, I’ll let you know what the scales say in the morning. Despite the hassle of ordering, the quality of the pizza is by far one of the best deliveries I have had. And a 4 out of 5 FooDiva rating. Grand opening is on the 28th so get down there for your free pizza slices. Just one word of warning, be patient and order by phone for now.

One large pizza and salad; AED 64. N_K_D Pizza is open from 10.30am to midnight and until 1am on Thursday/ Friday. Tel: +971 (0) 4 4534313.

A bientôt.

FooDiva. x

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