Bobanna's Pizza — Restaurant in Albany

Just OK pizza.

I gave Bobannas a try based on another reviewer who claimed it is "a close second" to Maria's in Oregon, WI (now closed). I was hoping to find a local pizza that could replace what had become my favorite over the last few years. I thought that this may have caused me to be harder on them because I might have been expecting too much. I thought about it for a few days and I kept coming back to one thing - the statement on their Facebook page.

The Bobanna's Facebook page states "Bobanna's is a family owned & operated business that takes pride in serving the best pizza pies. Here, every dish is created using the finest ingredients".

That decided it for me so here goes.

Upon entering the building, that houses Bobanna's, you will be met with the smell of mildew and a dim dining room that shows it's age. It does not look like there has been any attempt to improve this. Not a good sign. I was almost happy that it was dimly lit. The only thing that kept me from turning around and leaving was the hope that this would be another Maria's.

The person working on the night I visited was pleasant and friendly. My order was taken quickly and the pizza was done in about 25 minutes.

After that I can only say that I was left disappointed.

This is not "the best pizza pies". It is a stretch to say that it was even a good pizza pie.

Most people would agree that the best pizza pies are made with fresh dough that is hand stretched and tossed.

The crust I had at Bobanno's was a doughy, preformed, tasteless disc reminiscent of cardboard, but not as crisp. If you make the claim to serve "the best pizza pies" don't opt out of making dough. These cracker-like, chalky, perfectly round, premade crusts, that have had all of the flavor sucked out of them, scream this is NOT great pizza.

The sauce was pulpy, dry, and laced with one of those Italian herb blends that have no place on a pizza. It can be overpowering and keeps the other ingredients from shining.

The toppings were plentiful but nothing special.

The cheese is laid on heavily and may be one of the things causing the doughy crust. The cheese is also sprinkled with the Italian blend of herbs.

The Italian sausage and pepperoni are run-of-the-mill, void of any defining flavor. As you eat the pizza they hint at the possibility of something better - maybe fennel or garlic in the sausage that will elevate it - but do not follow through.

The fresh vegetables seemed fresh (a plus) but are cut at a small dice and get lost in the abundance of cheese. The mushrooms looked fresh and were thinly sliced. I like fresh vegetables on my pizza and don't mind larger chunks, but that is my personal taste.

As a whole though Bobanna's Pizza is nothing to go out of your way for. Even if you are in Albany I would not recommend it. The generic pizza crust and common ingredients make it nothing special. There are better frozen pizzas that you can purchase at the grocery store and will cost you less money.

Also, it does NOT reheat well.

If you want pizza that has character and flavor you are better off at Famous Yeti in Stoughton (if you like garlic) or La Rocca's in Oregon. You will pay more, but you won't be...

We ordered pizza to go on our mini vacation and it was a 10/10! Exactly what I look for! The perfect amount of sauce, cheese and toppings and I'm a cut in squares type of person when it's a thin crust so this pizza was perfection in my book. When you go inside Bobanna's to pick up, there are historical photos of Albany on the wall. We were on a Genealogy vacation so that was interesting to look at while we waited.

The woman who took our order and checked us out was also...

Good pizza but thin crust only made here. No Dr. Pepper served here. That's two strikes. Had a Philly sandwich here that was great. Big dining area. Family friendly. Prices are reasonable. No wifi. Can't even get a signal outside to make a call. Not open enough hours. Don't answer the phones sometimes. Albany has 0 places to eat out on Mondays. They do...