I tried both ambassador and Frank’s yesterday.
Both seem to be in the NYC style. Ambassador credibly had differences and I’m starting to understand that Windsor style and appeal as its similar to NYC.
Frank’s, they changed how i view Toronto style and pizza in this city. Frank’s is definitely NYC style and after talking shop with Georgio (at Frank’s) and asking the question, “what is Toronto style pizza, specifically old school Toronto style?”, he mentioned old school Toronto style pizza IS NYC style pizza. The history behind it is that Italians came over via NYC. So they landed in NY, lived there a bit, then moved to Toronto and surrounding areas. So naturally, that old school NYC pizza style spread here.
He agreed that the thicker pizzas using rollers or machines all the way through on the dough makes it taste bready (I described it more like a foccacia than a pizza and how i wasn’t a fan of this since I noticed Sbarro makes pizza like this).
It’s my guess that hand stretching it like how a proper pizza is made takes more work so folks are skipping that critical step (I’ve seen some spots offer a “thin” crust, which in NYC means cracker crust like in Chicago but it seems thin in GTA is regular hand stretched dough instead of the bready type). I’ve also noticed a lot of electric ovens being used. I’m also not a fan of that coming from NY.
I was watching Georgio make pizza after pizza and it was crystal clear to me he puts a LOT of love in what he does and into each and every pizza he makes. He’s the Dom equivalent (from Di Fara in Brooklyn) of Toronto in my book. I will be driving out to him each time i crave pizza. I sat there staring at the crust after biting into it cause it had a LOT more flavor than other shops (he ferments his dough 48 hours unlike the same day dough I’ve had at most places I’ve visited).
Also, i can’t believe the prices he’s charging. I asked them if what i was charged was a mistake because it was far too low compared to what other folks were charging. He needs to raise his prices… I can’t imagine inflation has been kind to their bottom line which affects what he rightfully should be paid for with all that love he pours into each and every thing he makes. A slice at ambassador for example was 9 bucks or something. Slice at Frank’s? Between 0 to $3… I paid $3 but i feel it should’ve been between $4 ~ $5.
Slices at Frank’s are also the grandma slice. He used to do slices from round pies but he said since everyone else was doing it, he wanted to try something different. This was why i also got a small cheese pie to try out his pizza to compare with others. I personally much prefer his round pies. Man, are those fantastic!
I’m sad Gerrard’s is no longer around. I’m going to have to definitely check out Danforth Pizza House!
Currently, Frank’s is at my top spot ahead of Badiali.
With places like North of Brooklyn (not nearly as good as Frank’s) and others claiming to be NY style being more popular, i don’t understand the disconnect given that the better NYC style old school Toronto pizza has been around since 1965 at Frank’s.
I’m just glad i found them. Thank you for leading me to a slice of home!
