Toronto's Kensington Market, after many decades, still holds serve as one of the most interesting and diverse neighbourhoods in the entire city. Maybe some of the previous free-ranging spirit has been lost, with multiple big brand stores and low-rise condos springing up uncomfortably in the close-as-possible adjacent area... but even now in 2024 a stroll through Kensington still gives a sensation unlike any other area in all of Toronto.
In my experience, I associate the market more with vintage clothing shops or little smelly-in-the-best-way food markets than anything else (if you don't get a wiff of something strongly cheesy or fishy during your visit, you're doing it wrong). Of course, there are some damn fine restaurants in Kensington as well and pizza is no exception to that. Indeed, still the only time I've tried Via Mercanti was their Kensington location... but this article is more about the pizza slice options to be found in the extravaganza that is this, or rather that this is. Which is more correct? I don't know! So lets jump right into pizza: it's a Kensington Market Triple Pizza Slice Extravaganza! (now with extra 'ganza').
Frank Ranalli's Pizza and Italian Beef
The newest spot of the three, Frank Ranalli's took over the old spot of Mare Pizza (which I never tried) on the south side of Baldwin Street between Augusta and Kensington Avenues. I only mention the 'Italian Beef' part of their title because they double as a hot dog joint! That particular combination must be a first in my experience: plenty of small pizza joints will also offer wings... many others some kind of burger... and very authentic ones (or those attempting to pretend) will provide a decent cold cut sandwich or pasta option. But hot dogs? As the poster running mate? Truly a new one. Fascinating.
This is clearly a straightforward pepperoni slice without anything fancy... do they pull it off? Answer: indeed they do. Nothing about the flavour is particularly new or exciting, but often something 'reliable done well' is all you need to hit the right spot... and the nicely light, crisp texture helps drive those classic components home.
For a thin slice it is deceptively cheesy, the pepperoni has some nice sting to it, and while I'd have preferred considerably more tomato sauce presence that is genuinely a 'me' thing (but seriously a little more would've been swell). It isn't terribly greasy either, and is a good enough size to land right between the sweet spot of snack and seriously filling.
Overall... really nice slice! Not reinventing the wheel but it is good to see more pizzas and especially slices akin this on the Toronto pizza scene. The more quality slice spots, the better.
Plus, they played "See No Evil" by Television. Nobody ever plays Television anywhere! Well, in rare cool spots obviously... but regardless I approved.
I'll hand out my grades to all three joints at the end, for now we move onwards and upwards, not forwards. Backwards, not forwards...
Pizzeria Da Mario
...and always twirling, twirling towards freedom...
First off, the answer is "yes, they do have a mural of Super Mario on their wall." These are the important questions. Crucial.
Pizzeria Da Mario is beloved by Google Reviews (4.8/5!) and my dear friend/longtime occasional pizza companion, who lives fairly closeby to da Mario, was indeed curious what my impression of them would be.
The vibe inside the place is bare and and unassuming: white tiles, few decorative frills, bright ceiling lights (ever the more noticeable in such a white coloured space), plenty of those type of plastic tables you find in the corners of fast food restaurants... it really is a very specific type of feel.
It conjures what exactly your classic last night pizza slice spot would look like. In some ways it even reminded me of the long gone but still legendary Big Slice right at Gerrard and Yonge... only without the decades of grease turning the white tiles yellow and the inevitable shady characters milling about in the back (although Da Mario is open until 3am most nights, so...)
Once again I went simple and got a pepperoni slice, although (and I'm still unsure if this was a split second, in-moment blunder) when given the option for additional stuff/seasonings on the slice such as chili flakes, garlic powder etc... I said yes. I never do that! At least not when reviewing something, or when eating a pizza that doesn't desperately need such an injection of anything resembling flavour. So whoops on me.
Whereas Frank Ranalli's had a firm, crisp foundation... Da Mario here is way, way more of a flopper. I was indeed warned of this, but even after letting it cool, folding the slice, all the usual tricks... this is a real tricky one to transfer successfully from hand to mouth, especially those initial bites.
As such it is very different than its Kensington Market neighbour, and not only in texture. Rather than the tiny crispy cups of pepperoni, this is more of a thinly sliced salami. Both can be excellent though I do think in this case, I prefer Da Mario's. Really some nice flavour in this pepperoni, not fatty, kind of a hidden little heat kick that sneaks in, and it is generously plentiful. This and the tomato sauce, which unlike Ranalli's you can taste much more of here, are the two strongest aspects of this pizza.
The cheese is fine... very much on the gooey side, and the texture of the crust is merely okay and not memorable beyond being kinda soft. It's impossible not to compare these two slices since they are merely two blocks from another, I got the exact same slice from both, and it was also the exact same day... maybe an hour apart. As such, their distinct differences from one another stood out even more... their notable positives not at all shared. Who will prevail? Well, still one place more to go before the final verdicts.
Fresca Pizza and Pasta
Does anyone remember Massimo's Pizza? Without looking it up, I'm about 98.7 percent confident they was the former occupant of this fine little corner spot on Robert and College Street. We're talking like maybe fifteen to eighteen years ago here... and I only just remembered that detail because one time near the end of my teen years I having a slice at Massimo's during one of the first times I'd sampled a certain magical kind of fung... hmmm yeah maybe that's a tale I'll keep bottled up for now.
Whenever Massimo's left, Fresca moved in and has been on this corner for easily over a decade now. They were a reliable cheap lunch option in my UofT days, and I was delighted to see how several years later their prices have remained relatively the same (about 4.50-5 bucks now for a slice... back then I wanna say it was about 3.50). It'd been maybe five years since I last tried them and aside from a brief blurb in the First Pizza Quest, I've never really gone deeper into what makes them what they are.
This is a much adored pizza joint by many pizza lovers in Toronto, and while I am a harsher critic than most (pizza matters be serious matters, he writes at 5am with beer in hand) Fresca is an extremely easy place to like. No frills atmosphere (the kind with a TV in the corner always on CP24), good prices, big slices (I swear they're somehow always fresh) and most importantly of all: that goddamn garlic rub. A true necessity.
I was there around 4pm on a Friday and the place was really busy. Like, 'nowhere to sit inside' type of busy (and they have plenty of tables) so I grabbed a spot on this bench directly outside their door. Almost immediately, another dude with a fresh slice sat on the same bench (politely asking first if that was cool) which while fine also made me rather self conscious as I took these photos. "I actually write reviews, I swear!" screamed myself in my mind out to nobody in particular.
Enough existential doom, we're talking pizza here for crying out loud. Surely the greatest cure I can think of for that malady. Like I said, it was pre-pandemic since I last tried Fresca, and while the world has changed it's comforting to discover this pizza has not. It's still as goddamn oily as ever, and I couldn't even get as much of the garlic rub on here as I would've liked. Previously the person serving the slice would ask ("oh goodness yes" is the only answer) and then apply it for you. Now? A self-serve jar alongside the other seasonings... unsurprisingly there was little left.
The thing with Fresca's pizza, and maybe I mentioned this back in 2018... but the reason this isn't close to a top pizza in Toronto for me is because all of the basic elements are extremely ordinary. I love the reality of what they are far more than the actual product. It's pretty much exactly how I feel about Chito's Pizza: shawarma and sauce spread all over a pizza slice is pretty damn awesome, but the actual pizza itself is extremely meh. Likewise with Fresca, that garlic rub is such a floor raiser it can be hard to separate it from the true quality of the pie.
Fresca though, at its base core, is a considerably better pizza than Chito's. I think Fresca really is about as good as a one dimensional pizza can possibly be: every flavour is consistent, there's some pepperiness to the pepperoni, a good amount of cheese, kind of a lighter tasting dough that doesn't get crusty or dry once cooled... plus that crust is especially useful to nibble upon when the greasier, cheesier bites of the slice come through. The tomato sauce doesn't factor in much here and tasting it solo... it's entirely decent, a step above generic. Also a bit on the chunky side, and I wonder if I ever were to order a full pizza from there and requested extra tomato sauce... curious how that would play.
If this were a weaker pizza, the general flavour of it (every bite without the garlic tastes exactly the same) would become tedious, particularly once cold. Fresca is just good enough to avoid this: no bite ever excites beyond initial relief from hunger, and it remains entirely solid and tasty throughout. Beyond the oiliness, which is a lot but not to the point of ruining anything, its rather hard to describe much more about the pizza itself because really good is easy to write about, really bad is even easier. Reliable tasty competence? Huh.
It's really all floor and no ceiling, but it's a good floor. Now that I'm over 150 Toronto pizzas into my madness-I-mean pizza tasting tour, it was genuinely pleasant to try Fresca again, realize they still haven't changed and also that I happily still enjoy them.
Overalls!
I am leaning towards liking Frank Ranalli's the most of the three, but its stupidly close between them and Pizzeria Da Mario. Both are terrific, and while I think neither is a place I'd currently put out there as a "seriously go try this ASAP", they are knocking on the door from a slight tier below.
As for Fresca... this was a worthwhile re-evaluation. They are a place difficult to be objective about: the pizza is merely fine-to-good, but I love that they continue to go on strong (and clearly remain busy at that). They're still a step below the other two places here in the triple feature, and yet Fresca is probably the one I'd be most curious for people to try if they haven't yet. A low-key Toronto pizza legend sneakily growing.
Have some grades!
Frank Ranalli's -- (B) but a strong 'B'
Pizzeria Da Mario (B) likewise above
Fresca (B-)
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