They stand on opposite corners on Harbord Street, just east of Bathurst. At 189 Harbord stands Pizza Gigi, a Harbord Street institution for 30 years, critically acclaimed in some circles as one of the best pizza joints in town. How they must look out their large front windows at relative newcomer Mama B’s, who mock them with their sign’s slogan “Second to None,” with sheer hatred. You can almost imagine the owners of the two storefronts glaring at each other across the street, occasionally leaving the safety of their restaurants to hurl curses and balls of mozzarella at one another.

With this kind of rivalry and proximity, how could we not put them to the ultimate test: a head to head pizza showdown for the right to call themselves the best pizza in Toronto, or at least the best pizza you can get at a pizza place that’s on the corner of Harbord and Lippincott?

The rules were simple: my companion and I would each walk into one of the stores and order a small pizza with the same three toppings and bring them back to Harbord House, the Panic Manual’s main base of operations, and devour them, perhaps sharing them with whatever Panic Manual groupies happened to be in the house at the time.

Issue number one: we couldn’t agree on the three toppings. On the way to the respective pizza places, getting colder with every step in the chilly February evening, we decided to order whichever three toppings we individually desired. Issue number two: while Mama B’s was devoid of customers when my companion entered, Pizza Gigi had four people in line in front of me, with each one taking longer at the till than the one that preceded them. By the time she had completed her order at Mama B’s and come across the street to wait with me, I was still waiting for two people in front of me to finish their business. Issue number three: Mama B’s had a projected wait time of ten minutes, while Pizza Gigi promised theirs would be done in fifteen, so our Mama B pie would therefore be five minutes colder, plus my extra wait time at the till.

Still, despite these obstacles, we bravely pressed on.

The first differences we noted before even looking at the pizzas themselves was the size of the boxes and the price. Our Mama B’s small pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms, and green peppers was an even $9 after the man at the counter generously rounded the price down to the nearest dollar, and came with a small container of a garlicky white crust dip. The competition, a small from Pizza Gigi with pepperoni, mushrooms, and italian sausage, which counts as a “premium topping” on Pizza Gigi’s menu, and therefore costs $1.50 on a small pie instead of $0.75 for a regular topping, came out to almost $11.50, with no crust dip. However, at first glance the small size Pizza Gigi pizza appeard about 25% larger than the small from the Mama B’s menu. I have no idea if this size difference holds true for the larger sizes, but it’s nice that when the pizza costs 25% more, it’s also about that much bigger.

The Gigi pizza was noticeably thinner; a thin crust gives way to a thin layer of sauce but a pleasantly thick and tasty layer of cheese and toppings. Mama B’s seems doughy by comparison, but brought a nicely tangy sauce and a solid layer of cheese. The results from the judging room at Harbord House? Surprisingly mixed. One taster tried only the Gigi, declaring it to be quite good. Steve “I’m a shark and you guys are my remoras” of Fashion4Nerds.com had both and declared the Mama B’s to be the superior specimen. My lovely companion wussed out and decided they were “both good in different ways,” though she did point out she felt it was unfair that “her” pizza from Mama B’s had regular toppings while “my” pizza from Pizza Gigi featured a premium topping, the sausage.

My opinion? I thought the Gigi won, hands down. The Mama B’s was a bit too doughy and chewy for my taste, and the pepperoni had little flavor. The Pizza Gigi, however, had a nicely thin, crisp crust, and the toppings were very high quality, each adding it’s own flavour to the pie. It may also be worthwhile to note that while I write this, I’m eating three slices of leftover Mama B’s for lunch, while the Gigi is long gone. Though it is possible that this has something to do with me personally eating three slices of Gigi last night and only one slice of Mama B’s. I voted with my stomach, and since this blog entry is not a democracy, what I say goes.

2.5/5 for Mama B’s Pizza.  It was good, but not really exceptional in any way, offering little that you can’t get from the major pizza chains in town. They do, however, have chicken wings, if you’re into that kind of thing, and are open for lunch, making them popular with the local high school students.

4/5 for Pizza Gigi. With it’s thin crust and better than average toppings, Pizza Gigi offers a much different (and better) pizza than what you’d get from your local Pizza Pizza or 241. Pizza Gigi isn’t open for lunch, but is open until 4 am daily, and while the interior looks a bit grimy, especially compared to the bright white interior of Mama B’s, eavesdropping on the colourful characters behind the counter proved very entertaining.