Stumpy’s Pizza - Review
Stumpy’s Pizza… the name conjurs up images of a pizza kitchen run by an old Navy cook who lost a leg in “the Big One.” I can honestly say that I have avoided eating at Stumpy’s for several years entirely based almost entirely upon their name. (For similar reasons, I never ate at Fuzzy’s Pizza either.)
Meanwhile, my wife, who has no cultural images of what people named “Stumpy” look like has been pesting me to use a two for one coupon and try them out.
Tonight, we decided to try them out.
Stumpy’s is a small restaurant on Northern, near the Squaw Peak Parkway. The owner (I believe his name is Chase, not Stumpy) was very personable. Between making pizzas and taking orders, he was out talking with the guests.
As I was out with other people, I split a 16″ pizza rather than consuming their smallest (a 10″) on my own. Their pizza is a very traditional New York-style pizza. The hand-tossed dough was very light and thin in the middle, but not with a particularly strong flavor.
The most distinctive taste was the sauce, which was very strong and very tasting of tomatoes. Most notably, it was very fresh-tasting.
Before we had the pizza we had an order of “Bread Things”, which were dough strips with cheese on them. The cheese on the Bread Things was very flavorful and so we were surprised that the cheese on the pizza wasn’t as flavorful.
All-in-all it was a good quality, good tasting pizza.
We spent some time talking with the owner about other pizza restaurants and gathered a little information about his background. He has been making pizzas for at least 12 years. As is my standard policy, I never reveal that I’m reviewing pizzas, so we weren’t able to casually gather more information.
We did learn one other thing: Why it is called Stumpy’s. Apparently, the previous owner’s knickname as a wrestler was Stumpy. When the current owner bought the place, he didn’t change the name.
Conclusion: Recommended, good fresh pizza, New York style
Cost per square inch: 16″ $0.06 (10″ $0.09 - somewhat pricey for the smaller pizza)
Stumpy’s Pizza
1331 E. Northern Ave.
Phoenix, Arizona 85020
(602) 997-2727
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