Mama Mia…Pizza Showdown

There’s two kinds of pizza, good pizza and bad pizza, and bad pizzas are still pretty good.
Regardless of whether or not you enjoy fast food, EVERYONE loves pizza. I’m 98% sure its every school children’s favorite “vegetable” (still not buying it school systems in America). On a school campus such as ours, pizzas are the go to delivery item on the weekends. That being said, my review of each pizza restaurant is based on two factors, the actual taste of each pizza AND what ordering from them is like.

The list that I have decided on today is based on their popularity and how well known each restaurant is.

And now we are at the point of the show where we introduce our competitors, on the chopping block today we have

1. Canyon Pizza
260 E Beaver Ave, State College, PA 16801
canyon

You might have never stepped in Canyons, but i’m sure you would recognize the black and white police inspired Canyons Pizza delivery car. Canyon has become more or less a staple for Penn State Students, greasy and dependable. Especially after a night on the town, the walk between frat parties to Canyons is one that has been trodden times again.

2. Gumby’s Pizza
300 S Pugh St #101, State College, PA 16801
gumby

If you don’t keep an eye out for gumbys you can easily miss this tiny inconspicuous pizza parlor, so its a good thing that gumby’s has a few tricks up its sleeves.

3. Mama Mia’s Pizza
128 E College Ave State College, PA 1680
mamamia

Sorted right across our main hall, Mama Mia’s is more known for as one of the “nicer” pizza restaurants. I will discuss the matter of taste during the ranking but it’s safe to say that the main reason Mama Mia has been added on this list is due to the quality of their pies.

SHOWDOWN – May the best pie win

In FIRST PLACE we have Mama Mia’s Pizza
This really wasn’t a hard question to make, in terms of taste and quality Mama Mia’s blows the competition out of the water. Let’s all be honest, Canyon’s and Gumby’s pizza are more or less designed to satisfied slightly tipsy college students, their main concern wasn’t how gourmet they could make their pies. Mama Mia’s tasted the best, with a very sweet sauce and lots of attention to details. As for the interior decorations, Mama Mia’s had a very cute Italian themed that was used to the full extent. The only downside to Mama Mia’s I guess would be that it is slightly more expensive than the other options on this list.

In SECOND PLACE we have Canyon Pizza
canyon pizza
We’ve all have Canyon Pizza, whether or not it was wanted or not, we ALL have had Canyon at least one time or another. Cheesy, oily and best of all, cheap as dirt. To be completely honest, I actually think Canyon’s is pretty tasty too, once you get over the fact that you’re basically drinking a class of cooking oil while eating a slice. (The bar-b-que chicken pizza is my personal favorite.) There’s really nothing too bad I can say about Canyon pizza because everyone already recognizes the faults, we know what we’re about to put in our body isn’t good for us. The store itself looks like a party deck for college kids, high ceilings and more often than not filled with drunk students on a Friday night. While the aesthetics aren’t five star material, you get you pay for.

In THIRD PLACE we have Gumby’s
I don’t like Gumby’s. 
Whew, had to get that off my chest. For some weird reason, most people I know have a soft spot for Gumby’s that I never really figured out why. The pizzas taste mediocre at best and Pocky sticks are basically baked pizza dough with a minimal amount of cheese on top. The store is small, dungeon like and not very clean. The only saving grace is that a large box of Pocky Sticks (Which are a Gumby’s special, baked pizza dough with cheese) is only around 6 dollars, but even then the enjoyment in these hard pieces of dough is very limited.
pokey

Regardless there are many other pizza place in State College and I think I want to write another pizza related blog soon!
Until next time, chow on!

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