Reviews and Testimonials

 

 

 

Barb and Scott,

 

“Bumstead’s a special place to eat and you find us there for lunch several times a week.  What makes them special 1) service, 2) quality and quantity of food, 3) a great value, and 4) the great desserts made by Barb.  Scott & Barb the owners always make you feel like you are part of Bumstead’s family.” 

Doug & Deb
Local Business Owners
Debra A. Janzen
The Janzen Wahl Group, LLC
548 W. Lester St.
Tucson, Arizona  85705

www.janzenwahl.com

 

"Nice bar on 4th Ave with some of the best comfort food we've ever had...great portions, prices and...oh, so tasty!  No honey...let's not cook tonight...let's go have a couple of beers and split a sandwich at Bumsted's!"

Rodney & Lanette Mackey, a couple of regulars.

R o d n e y   L a n e   M a c k e y,  AIA, LEED ap
M  a  n  a  g  e  r    o f    D  e  s  i  g  n

University of Arizona Facilities Design & Construction
220 W. 6th Street, P.O. Box 210300
Tucson, Arizona 85721-0300
www.fdc.arizona.edu

520.626.7834, Cell: 520.235.0942, Fax: 520.621.5668

 

 

TOM STAUFFER
Tucson Citizen 

What was ordered: Patty Cake sandwich ($7.95), Green Eggs & Ham sandwich ($7.95) and a side of Sweet Potato Fries ($1.95 with any sandwich) for a total of $19.30, within our Cheap Eats goal of a meal for two for less than $20.

Comments: The rap against 'Sted's has never been about the food.

The imaginative and downright bodacious sandwiches are consistently impressive - loaded with quality ingredients and nice, little details.

The sticking points for me and more than a few other loyal fans of Bumsted's had been one or both of the following:

• The service, which often ranged from sketchy to infuriatingly flippant;

• The frequency with which the aforementioned servers would return to your table to say "Dude, we're all out" of what you had ordered minutes (sometimes tens of minutes) earlier.

These shortcomings never stopped me from coming, and somehow had actually become endearing, a kind of involuntary branding that gave 'Sted's its signature. That's why it's with something of a heavy heart I report that the service and organization at Bumsted's have taken startling and significant turns for the better.

On my latest two visits, my companions and I enjoyed excellent, timely service, not to mention everything we ordered down to the last, little detail with no substitutions. If this is how Bumsted's is now doing business, they're going to need to either take over the adjacent unit or move to a bigger location before too long.

The Green Eggs & Ham sandwich on my last visit was gargantuanly good. Loaded with mild, fresh-made egg salad, thick-sliced peppered bacon, cream cheese, lettuce and tomato, it's a powerhouse BLT and Egg Salad sandwich all in one with a surprisingly demure and soothing flavor profile given it's hulking stature.

My companion opted for the Patty Cake, which featured a 2-inch slab of meatloaf, "loaf sauce" and mayo on grilled bread (he went with wheat). The loaf and sauce were sweet and slightly spicy, along the lines of mild BBQ sauce, which nicely complemented the salty, rich ground beef.

As good as the sandwiches were, they were outdone by 'Sted's famous Sweet Potato Fries. Fresh-cut jumbo spuds julienned and fried to a crunchy, maroon sheen, these may well be the best fries (or Pommes Frites for that matter) to be found in these parts. I don't even like sweet potatoes, but after tasting the way their sweetness plays off the salt, fries made from plain-old spuds will never measure up. The fries are $1.95 with any sandwich, but I highly recommend opting for the gigantic stand-alone order ($2.95) as an appetizer to share or take home with you.

Bumsted's also has a comfortable bar, a "micro-arcade," and a 750-gallon saltwater aquarium, which I would enjoy much more if it contained fish you could actually point to and have battered, fried-to-order and shoved between two slices of sourdough. Given the dramatic upgrades in service and consistency, that's about the only improvement I could suggest for this Fourth Avenue favorite.

Bar: Full

Children's menu: Yes

Web site: bumstedstucson.com

Most recent health inspection: A "Good" rating Oct. 6. A critical violation was reported for potentially hazardous cooked foods not held at 130 degrees or above.

 

 

 

Bachelors beware

By Coley Ward
CWARD@AZSTARNET.COM
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.28.2009
A bachelorette sat on the stage in Bumsted's main dining room and questioned three bachelors, all with the first name Ryan.
"Bachelor number two," she said, "if you were a pigeon, who or what would you poop on?"
"I would poop on no one," Ryan Gallagher replied, "to avoid offending anyone."
The crowd booed. "Don't you boo him," said Veronica Chase, the drag queen who hosts the game. "The cute ones can't always be smart."
"The Dating Game," the ABC TV show that debuted in the '60s and stuck around in various forms for the better part of 30 years, is back.
Bumsted's, a watering hole on North Fourth Avenue, hosts a live version of the classic game on the last Friday of each month.
The first two tries were popular, attracting a large crowd of mostly 20-somethings.
Owner Barbara Shuman says Bumsted's launched the dating game to bring in some new customers.
"We wanted something original and fun," she says.
Most of the questions posed to contestants are sexually charged, and many are about ice cream. ("What would you do for a Klondike bar?")
The next occasion to see local singles tackle sexually explicit questions is Friday at 10 p.m. There will be several drink specials, including $3 Irish car bombs and $4 Guinness imperial pints.
If you're not hip to the rules of "The Dating Game," here's how the TV show worked: a bachelorette or bachelor questioned three members of the opposite sex and chose one to go on a date. There was only one catch: the contestants were hidden behind a screen.
Bumsted's has brought the show into the 21st century, with both straight and gay contestants.
The game will be hosted Friday by Pat Coco, a Southern Wine and Spirits rep and a longtime friend of Shuman's.
Thomas Schad, a University of Arizona planetary sciences student, says his friends entered him in the competition and he went along.
"I didn't have anything better to do," he says.
Schad didn't get picked to go on a date. But don't feel too bad for him.
There are no losers in "The Dating Game." Those who appear onstage and are rejected get a $10 gift certificate to Bumsted's. Those who get picked to go on a date win $50 toward dinner at a Tucson restaurant fancier than Bumsted's.
Wanna join in the fun? You can pick up a registration form at Bumsted's.
A version of "The Newlywed Game" might be next.
"We'll see if we can break some couples up," Shuman says.

 

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