Crispy Basil – Guilderland, NY

When I’m in the mood for pizza, I’m really in the mood for pizza. It’s not going to be enough to sit down with a slice or two; I need to make sure there’s a whole pie ready for me in case I can’t stop.

And that’s really the reason I have to abstain from pizza for the most part. That and it happens to open my appetite for massive amounts of all of the other great things in the world no matter how much pizza I eat!

I’m human.

One day, when I was ready to eat, I sat down at Crispy Basil in Guilderland (Formerly a Friendly’s) with a pie.

Crispy Basil Menu

It was a little difficult to decide what kind to pizza to get. I wanted to try something with toppings, and Buffalo chicken sounded great, but they offer three different types.

  • Classic Buffalo Chicken Pizza: Pizza sauce, mozzarella, hot sauced crispy chicken. Tomato sauce base.
  • Cheesy Buffalo Pizza: Crispy chicken with hot sauce, bleu (sic) cheese, mozzarella. White base.
  • Artisan Buffalo Chicken Pizza: Pizza sauce, mozzarella, hot sauced crispy chicken, celery and carrots drizzled with blue cheese. Tomato sauce base.

All were $13.99.

Crispy Basil Interior

Ultimately, I decided on the classic buffalo chicken pizza; I figured it would be most similar to what I’ve had elsewhere. I also ordered a Mediterranean Salad (Lettuce, baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, roasted red pepper, feta, olives, banana peppers with Greek dressing – $6) to eat while I waited for the pizza. [Maybe, if I fill up on salad, I’ll eat less pizza. Yeah. Yeah, right!]

Mediterranean Salad  Most Popular Lettuce, baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, roasted red pepper, feta, olices, banana peppers with Greek dressing.

Mediterranean Salad  Most Popular Lettuce, baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, roasted red pepper, feta, olices, banana peppers with Greek dressing.

Mediterranean Salad  Most Popular Lettuce, baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, roasted red pepper, feta, olices, banana peppers with Greek dressing.

It was somewhat disappointing but not unexpected that the dressing served alongside was not homemade. The salad wasn’t particularly outstanding or great by any means; the size of the portion was worth the price.

I was the only customer at the time, so the pizza didn’t take all that long to arrive to my table.

Buffalo chicken pizza from Crispy Basil

It was hot, so I let it cool for a moment before digging in.

Buffalo chicken pizza from Crispy Basil

When I did grab a slice, I was taken aback by the serious lack of crispness. The regular dough they use wasn’t terribly crispy, especially under the pie; the edge had an ok amount of crispness, but was also very chewy and soft. The lack of crispness in the chicken was also troubling, since “hot sauced crispy chicken” is verbatim from the menu. The flavor of the chicken was good, but the sauce was very acidic and not much more flavorful than something like Frank’s Red Hot.

The size of the pie and amount of toppings make the pizza a decent value, but I can’t say it’s the best pizza around for miles.

They did have a number of pizzas for slices behind the counter, and there were quite a few I’d like to try (especially the cheeseburger pizza) in case I ever want just a couple of slices.


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2 thoughts on “Crispy Basil – Guilderland, NY

  • Mike

    love the frankness…this is a classic case of a restaurant compromising flavor for convenience…the salad dressing packet is a red flag for taste…it sounds like they use those pre-prepped pieces of buffalo chicken, too. Grab a handful out of freezer, throw ’em on your pie and nobody will know the difference…except people that know how to cook…or people who think DiGiorgno is a great pie!


  • Pirate Jeni

    I had them deliver to my office one day when I was really dying for a pie. I got the vegetable one because of the mushrooms and olives…. I enjoyed it, but I also attibuted the limp crust to the delivery and sitting around on my desk for 1/2 hour before I had a chance to eat it.



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