a slice of life
Di Fara Pizza is not fast food. It's been called the BEST pizza in New York by pizza connoisseurs, Zagat, the Village Voice, New York Magazine, New York Times, chefs like Anthony Bourdain, and your average New Yorker that loves pizza. People from all over New York and around the world make the journey to this hole in the wall pizza joint in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Midwood, Brooklyn. The average cost and wait time for a pizza is $25.00 for a basic pie that takes 2.5 hours or if you want a slice to go it will cost you $5.00 (the most expensive slice in NYC).
*note the painting of mr. demarco behind mr. demarco. look familiar ?
Di Fara has been owned and operated by Domenico DeMarco since 1964 after DeMarco moved to New York from Caserta, Italy in 1959. DeMarco is the only person that makes each pizza pie (not even his children are allowed to make it). When he's not available to make the pizza, Di Fara shuts its doors. Mr. DeMarco insists on using only fresh dough, on importing his tomatos from Salerno and his Mozzarella from Caserta, and bringing in his fresh basil from Israel. He alone makes the pizza. He works hard. He looks proud of what he does. And it shows.
Di Fara is a New York Pizza Instituion and Domencio DeMarco is a pizza legend in his own right. The trek takes 30 minutes on the Q line from Union Square. And yes it sucks to have to wait almost three hours for pizza, it's almost absurd in any other instance, but it's worth it. The time you spend waiting and watching is a pizza event.
A few things we recommend: eat before you step foot into Di Fara (you're not going to get your lunch or dinner during lunch or dinner time), order the regular pie (you don't need the extras like pepperoni or mushrooms), and eat it when it's hot. There's some great articles on Di Fara that you should read: A great 2004 New York Times article on the hard work that goes into making a Di Fara pizza, New York Time's article on the $5 price, and a Di Fara tutorial on Slice Pizza blog. Heaven!
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