In the day and age of Uber and Netflix, it’s not surprising that we’ve got a range of food delivery services that will bring us our favorite meals with only the push of a button. One of the newest services has just hit the Columbus market: DoorDash. We got a chance to try it out this week, and one evening when we a.) had a hankering for Vietnamese food, and b.) had very little desire to leave the house, we decided to take DoorDash for a spin.
I downloaded the DoorDash app onto my iPhone, and found it was frighteningly easy to use. The navigation is straightforward, and it’s easy to search for specific cuisines or just browse the available restaurants. The listings also tell you if a restaurant is open or not, and the estimated delivery time for food.
We landed on Phy Phom Pho in Grandview, which we hadn’t yet tried. Again, the menu was very easy to thumb through. Individual items were even broken down into further options, like choosing chicken, beef, or tofu + all the toppings for pho. We ordered bowls of pho, spring rolls, kimchi, wings, and a rice bowl. The only confusing moment was customizing the rice bowl; they listed several add-ons, but none of them could actually be selected.
Once I completed the order, I was given a confirmation and a link (by phone or on my laptop) for live tracking. I also got text updates, telling me that the order has been picked up from the restaurant and when the driver was approaching our house. There was even a follow-up text asking us to rate the experience.
And lo and behold, our driver appeared right on time! The total time was just under an hour, from delivery to arrival. I’m not sure if that changes at all, depending on the time of day, day of the week, distance for delivery, etc.
We certainly tested the system by ordering a full spread. Everything arrived still hot and efficiently packaged. (I realize now we ordered one of the trickiest to-go items: soup.) We enjoyed everything we ordered, although a few items need a little punch of seasoning. The wings were nice and tender, for instance, but just didn’t have much spice.
The pho broth wasn’t terribly complex, and was a little on the sweet side for our tastes, but altogether it made for a lovely meal. It’s certainly nice being able to order something different than pizza or boxed Chinese food.
We honestly don’t have that much of a need for food delivery, but if DoorDash keeps up the consistent pace and good communication, I’d use them again. I’d love to see more restaurants on the list.
If you want to try DoorDash yourself, use the code BREAKFASTNICK and get $5 off your first order of $20 or more! Find them at doordash.com or download their app for your smartphone.
Disclaimer: this post was sponsored by DoorDash. All photos and opinions are my own.
