Gumby's Pizza
Update: Gumby's is closed.
In a word: Who knew?
The specs: #0211
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; Yelp reviews; official web site;
Latest Gumby's Pizza news and reviews
JM, Jessamyn, and Nichole ate the Texas Ranger pizza (beef, bacon, chicken fingers, tomato, bbq, and ranch dressing).
The bill was $23, or $7.67/person, plus tip.
JM and Nichole gave Gumby's an A-; Jessamyn gave Gumby's a B+ (see our grading rubric).
We all went into this without a preconceived idea of what Gumby's pizza was all about. We all came out pretty much pleasantly surprised. And a little post-pizza research turns up some polarization of opinion: Gumby's has an official anti-web site, yet was voted one of Madison magazine's best of Madison in 2004 (albeit technically not a winner, because it's a chain).
Gumby's is part of the fabric of college life, it seems. When Nichole mentioned it at work, she was told tales of roommates holding an epic standoff over who'd clear a dish of Gumby's chicken wing bones off the kitchen table. When Sean informally polled his friends about whether anyone had ever had a good pizza from Gumby's, he got emails universally deriding the place, based on pizza consumption circa 2000.
All that said, the pizza was not that bad.
In fact - and we say this with a cringe - it might just sometimes be better than - gulp - Glass Nickel*.
Before we get flamed, let us explain.
Gumby's has a very extensive specialty pizza menu. Don't look for authentic Italian fare here - but you will find all kinds of cra-azy topping combinations. The Texas Ranger, our choice, was about average in terms of topping combos.
The reason it was so good, compared to, say, Glass Nickel's Santa Fe, is that it didn't stint on the sauce. The crust was a little floppy on our huge 20" pie, but it would probably be OK on a smaller one. It wasn't overly bready nor too thin.
Jessamyn praised the texture/mouthfeel, but felt like the breaded chicken fingers didn't fit in as a topping. The cheese was plentiful (and non-yellow), nicely browned and covered some v. hot toppings.
So, all in all, a pretty decent pizza. Our biggest problem was - where the hell do you store it?
o <- Gumby's pizza, 1/160th actual size.
*Delivery from University Ave. location - YMMV.
But...it's all about the Pokey stix! They are the best. :-)
Posted by: Tracy | November 20, 2006 at 06:00 PM
I've never ate at Gumby's Pizza, but I like the name.
Posted by: Gomer Klingman | February 28, 2007 at 06:07 AM
Best pizza I've ever eaten. It's good!!!
Posted by: Elmo Crump | February 28, 2007 at 06:09 AM
Elmo:
Is Gumby's by any chance the only pizza you've ever eaten?
Posted by: Ninja | March 02, 2007 at 01:29 PM
I had a horribele expereience at Glass Nickel and would never recommend eating there. They food was late, cold and wrong. When I called to fix my problem, I had to talk to three different people and was told that my order could not be refunded(the food they sent actually made me sick to my stomach), so instead of being refunded, I had to wait another 25 minutes for the delivery driver to come with the correct food. Overall satisfaction: Horrible
Place: Glass Nickel
Posted by: pizzalover | November 18, 2007 at 10:22 PM