Cooking - no matter how much you love to do it - might not always make it to the top your priorities. It isn’t even a matter of laziness. Time just isn’t always on their side. We’ve all been there, especially during our college years when cramming sessions takes precedence and kitchen access isn't readily available.
Boston is home to numerous companies aimed to make eating easy for the masses, students and young professionals included. Here’s a list of them, along with each one’s respective pros and cons. So when you’re sick of your usual fall-back dinners of scrambled eggs with hot sauce and canned soup, know that you have these options. Here are our picks for the six best food delivery apps in Boston:
Foodler
OK, this one is obvious. But how could I do a list of food apps founded in Boston without giving a shout-out to one of our city’s pioneers in this space. Foodler has been around since 2004 and (with the help of its much-larger rival GrubHub) it’s primed Bostonians for ordering food online and is still a solid option. But its rewards system and discount specials are a major advantage over GrubHub. Respect.
Zomida
People love take-out because it’s so quick and easy, but nothing beats a home-cooked meal. Zomida is blending the best of both worlds, offering you the chance to order delivery from local cooks. It’s meant to give you healthier, more authentic eating options that are equally as convenient as take-out. It’s planning on re-launching this spring, so get pumped for the upcoming promise of on-demand homemade food.
Chef Nightly
If you’re going to treat yourself to take-out, you want to do it right. Chef Nightly curates only the cream of the crop for the city’s delivery options. So whether you want to know what’s generally good to eat in your neighborhood or where to score the best sushi in town, this app will help you pin down and buy some top-tier food.
No Pots and Pans
This startup has taken a step away from restaurant and moved closer to catering. No Pots and Pans has partnered with some of Boston’s best caterers to offer a continuously changing menu from which you can order. One consideration to keep in mind, though, is that No Pots and Pans isn’t exactly on-demand food. You need to place an order in advance and it will deliver your meals in the afternoon. So as long as you have the insight to order ahead and are fine with your food chilling outside your door in a cooler until you get home, you’ll be in for a real treat with this app.
On Demand Chef
Have you ever wanted a personal chef? On Demand Chef is making that option available to you at a fraction of the cost. You simply browse the menu the startup has created for each week, pick what you want and when you want it and On Demand Chef sends a chef to your home to cook it for you. It’s the ultimate convenience. The venture takes care of the grocery shopping and post-cooking kitchen cleanup so you can sit back and relax.
Caviar
I can’t say there’s anything outrageously revolutionary about Caviar, but it brings you more take-out possibilities. It’s essentially the same setup as your average food app - just with a ritzier name and some classier restaurant choices like TRADE and Toro thrown into the mix. As an added bonus, you can pre-order meals even when restaurants aren’t open yet so you can have your lunch or dinner delivered right when you want them.
