July 12 Geyer’s Oven – Pizza Farm Road Trip Day 1

Thursday was my first trip to an Iowa Pizza Farm! I have been scouting out the pizza farm scene in Iowa for about a year and I was excited to finally make it out there and enjoy some pizza. One of my greatest joys since moving to Chicago has been recruiting new Pizza Farm Enthusiasts and having Pete and Alexa, my brother and sister-in-law, and their friend Bobby commit to a four day Iowa Pizza Farm Road Trip made me even more excited.

Bobby managed to pack light, which balanced out my complete inability to do so (thanks, Mom!). We loaded in my chairs, blankets, table, cooler, snacks, board games, mix cds, and pizza themed clothes and left Chicago, headed out to the rolling hills of Iowa and the promise of farm fresh wood fired pizza and craft beer.

We left a little later than intended and ended up bypassing all stops (including The World’s Largest Truck Stop) except John’s Grocery in Iowa City to load up on locally brewed beer. Geyer’s Oven is BYOB and we didn’t want to show up unprepared. We arrived at Geyer’s Oven Bread and Pizza 45 minutes after the start of Pizza Night and the parking was already impressively full. My friend, Kassi, from Minneapolis had arrived just a few minutes after Pizza Night started and noted there was already a line. She managed to secure a nice shaded spot on the lawn and we joined her just in time for some more slices.

Geyer’s Oven was the first farm I have been to that uses the flat-rate payment, all-you-can-eat service style. Since 2005 the farm has been making pizza with farm fresh ingredients and has grown from a single wood fire oven to three ovens cooking up about 8 pizzas at a time. Guests waited in line and were provided plates if needed (I always prefer to bring my own) and then chose what slices they wanted to pile on as they got to the front. The main line had the two biggest ovens and two counter tops with staff that efficiently and expertly kept a steady flow of pizza available. Signs nearby outlined the ingredients and the friendly staff in charge of pizza cutting also gave appetizing descriptions of what was coming out of the oven. A third oven around the corner had a shorter but slower moving line with the same menu of delicious pizza options.

As is my preference, I arrived fairly early and stayed a little late. Amanda, the co-manager of the operation that I had reached out to, recognized me by my ridiculous hat. She introduced me to Anna and Dave, the farm owners (and pictured with me below). I also lingered long enough to have some conversations with several of the staff responsible for cooking and cutting the pizza as they finished serving what I learned was 450 pizzas for the night! The Beef and Slaw pizza (with beef and cole slaw from Geyer’s Farm) may have been the first to run out with the Beet Feta Walnut close behind. Almost all of the produce on all the pizza was right from the farm along with the beef mentioned above with the pork coming from nearby Newhall Locker to make an exceptional pepperoni pizza. One of my favorite pizzas, as always, was the one with zucchini – a summer squash and pesto delight. And the pizza makers at Geyer also had a dessert pizza with a berry topping. The quality of the pizza was very high and I think it is safe to say that I wasn’t the only one who overate.

Speaking with Anna, the owner, was a nice treat for me. I love the experience of visiting and eating at a pizza farm, but as I have become more involved I have also come to love meeting the pizza farmers and learning a little more about what goes on behind the scenes. Anna told me that years ago when she started the pizza nights she visited Robbi and Ted up at A to Z for advice and now in turn she has been taking some time to mentor and help out a newer Pizza Farm on the scene (and one I previously had not heard of!) Grinnell Heritage Farm! I appreciate the community and the cooperation between these small farmers and I find it makes the Pizza Farm movement even more powerful, important, and endearing knowing that they all work together to succeed.

Some old college friends currently living in Iowa joined us for pizza as well, so we ended with a nice sized group of eight adults and two children and our experience was one part Pizza Farm Road Trip and one part Old Friend Reunion. One of my favorite moments was looking around at all the groups of people having their own special Pizza Farm experience. There were a couple large groups including high school students from all over the country participating in a summer writing workshop, some smaller groups including a Mobile Health Clinic volunteers, what appeared to be part of Roller Derby Team, and some bicyclists we suspected might be training for the long rides of RAGBRAI.

We left Geyer’s Oven full and impressed. The team was efficient and skilled and the main line in particular moved quite quickly. The pizza makers confessed that not every night goes as flawlessly, but in the world of Pizza Farms, there are always some surprises. The pizza was delicious and when all was said and done, it came out as our favorite of the trip. The toppings were creative and colorful and the pizza was cooked well. Geyer’s Oven was also the least expensive pizza farm I have ever attended at $12 per adult. The atmosphere was enjoyable and the surroundings were scenic. There was enough space for the various groups and Anna had some beautiful gardens to explore. Everyone was friendly and welcoming and I had a great time chatting with strangers as the evening wound down. After a few brief conversations with several guests, I learned that many of them were locals, but quite a few of them were visitors from across the country. I could tell that the ones I spoke with were feeling the magic of the Pizza Farm experience just as I felt 7 years ago at A to Z Produce. Congratulations to Geyer’s Oven for creating a community place that is also exposing people from all over the country to wonderful experience of a Pizza Farm.