Report on the Pizza-Vending Machine in Rome

Interesting! Will a 24-hour gelato scooping machine be next?

We will be there in a week, tried to get the wife to head that way and try one, but she seems cool to the idea.

I probably would get off on the process, it actually mixes and kneads dough from scratch, spreads the sauce, and applies toppings, within view. Fascinating, and yes, probably, can get a better pizza, cheaper, many places, probably still better than the average US pizza.

That's one of the things I'm curious about, Paul--how it compares to a US pizza.

probably still better than the average US pizza.

Well, that is a pretty low bar, Paul. :-)

if it makes the crust from scratch, applies the sauce and toppings and cooks it in 3 minutes I would be very sceptical. Pizza dough is yeast based. No time to work the gluten, no time to rise.

The article says there's minimal rising. That was apparently thought necessary to prevent slippage of toppings off the pizza and a mess inside the machine (plus a health issue).

My BIL likes to say that his gas station pizza in Italy was better than any in the US. 😂 Guessing he’d say the same about the vending machine. Wouldn’t go out of our way but if we find ourselves nearby, I’ll definitely try it out.

We fly out tomorrow and with all the obstacles we’ve dealt with the last few weeks, I won’t exhale until we’re over the Atlantic.

Not being snobbish but I'll take NYC pizza over Rome vending machine pizza. The story says it was meant to provide pizza to late night crowd. So I'm thinking convenience pizza Italy style, which I'll take over convenience pizza American style, but would probably not go out of my way to try it.

You critics probably haven't been late-night hungry in a long time. Not everything has to be a gourmet experience 😏.

Agreed Stan, nothing wrong with convenience pizza after a late night out.

It sounds like a novel experience, €6 notwithstanding. I have to give them credit for not including pineapple/Canadian bacon as a topping option, although mushrooms and/or olives would be a nice addition. The goofy pictures on the machine of the guy with a slice hanging out of his mouth are questionable, but maybe that’s his target audience.

If the planned Rome trip 7 weeks from now happens, this may be a thing to add to the agenda. I’ll be able to post a report, if so. Wonder whether the full machine experience is best late at night, rather than during daytime?