When we’re in the mood for good old fashioned pizza, as opposed to personal-size “gourmet” pies - which is 99% of the time- we head to Stumpy’s Pizza in a strip mall on Northern at about 13th Street.
Our friend Randy introduced us to Stumpy’s while we were in mourning for Carusotti’s Restaurant up at Bell and Tatum. They would load the pizza up with good quality ingredients (although the crust would get soggy) and also served entrees that Ken liked. I stuck with the pizza. We tried a number of restaurants and pizza parlors but nothing really satisfied. So, prepared for another disappointing experience, we ordered Stumpy’s all meat pizza with extra ricotta. Smiles all around. The crust, fat around the edges and thin in the center was nice and chewy. It’s cooked in a gas oven so it doesn’t have the smokey taste of some, but it seems to be brushed with garlic butter before baking, and I’ll take garlic over smoke anytime. The amount of toppings was more than generous and contrasted beautifully with the sweet tasting ricotta. Ken, who ordinarily eats all the toppings off the crust and leaves it behind, ate every last bite. In order to make it a healthy meal we had a side salad. All the ingredients were nice and fresh, and instead of the lettuce and the one slice of tomato salad served in most places, this one had onions, mushrooms, olives and a few other things mixed in.
Since we’ve never made it beyond ordering the meat pizza, I can’t vouch for the rest of the menu. There are quite a few sub sandwiches ranging from Italian to several types of chicken to tuna and meatballs. They all seem to be $6.75. Entree salads are $7.25, and the pizza goes from $7 to $20. It’s also available by the slice for $2.25. Lasagna, manicotti and ziti with meatballs are in the $7 range. Randy didn’t love the pasta.
The place is kind of cute, with mis-matched tables and chairs, and a wrought iron butcher block serves as the ordering counter. The large room is divided in half, and you can watch the pizza being tossed and cooked. Service is friendly and efficient. One other thing worth noting -before being served, the pizza is placed on a piece of corrugated cardboard, then on the pizza pan so whatever grease accumulates doesn’t make the crust soggy.
Thank you Randy!!!
Stumpy’s Pizza
1331 E. Northern Ave. Phoenix
602-997-2727
pizzabystumpys.com
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