Only the truly dedicated put up with the long, long wait for the awesome pizza at Di Fara.
But how long have you waited?
Longtime Slice reader Norman has a great idea: "You should do a post to find out who's waited the longest for a pie from Dom. I'll go first: 2 hours 15 minutes."
Norman, I think I've waited almost that long but unfortunately did not take official time readings, so I'll cede the crown to you so far. Can anyone else top Norman?
I know for a fact that my longest was 1 hour 45 minutes exactly. That is from walking in the door to eating my pizza. Stood there for about 45 minutes waiting to talk to Maggie, and it came an hour after that.
QUICKEST was when we showed up at about 10:45, walked in the door at opening, got our five slices and sat down. Literally minutes.
a couple summers ago i clocked my wait at just under 2 hours and 30 minutes, give or take a couple minutes. a couple of friends and i got there at around 12:30 and we got our pizza around 3pm. i had my order in a few minutes after joining the scrum. somehow our order was forgotten about. these things happen.
How about the shortest wait? I got in line at 11:40 am a couple Sundays ago as the first stop on a Brooklyn pizza tour day (Di Fara, Franny's , Totonno, Grimaldi's). Dom handed us the first pizza out of the oven 15 minutes later, before they were even officially open. Brilliant! As the comment above says, nothing compared to my five hour odyssey during a prime Saturday night at Sally's.
I once waited an hour and fifty minutes. Uncoincidentally, that was my last visit. Used to go weekly, but I really can't deal with the scrum anymore. Now DiFara is the legendary pizza of my late youth, joining Pizzatown USA in Elmwood Park, NJ (the legendary pizza of my childhood and adolescence).
My only wait was like 15 minutes. ACCIDENTALLY. As Dom was cutting a pie I told him "Dom I came all the way from California to eat your pizza." (I had made a tour of pizza places on my vacation) Dom said thank you and handed me the first two slices he cut. His daughter objected. But Dom waved her off. I told everyone in line what happened, offered up my slices, but no one wanted them. His daughter said..."Well if he wanted to give 'em to you what can I do."
The great part, seeing this pizza artisan cut fresh basil was one of the transcendent food moments of my life!
maybe its just some kind of dumb luck, but I've never waited more than about 45 minutes, and we've been many times. Have always gone sometime mid-afternoon, Sat or Sun. Granted, I haven't been in the last year or so...and it seems like its gotten worse.
Usually my wait hasn't been terrible, but one time we did wait 3 hours. We ended up closing out the place with the last pie of the night. The sad part was about 15 minutes into the wait Dom had an unclaimed pie that we were very, very tempted to call our own. But we held back not wanted to steal it from it's rightful owner. By the end of the night it was clear that no one picked up the pie. :(
I don't know about confectionary sugar but surely some pizza lovers out there have tried honey? Legendary pie spot here in the pacNW has a honey bear on every table... Try it on peperoni!
The sugar is for the zeppole in the bottom left of the picture.
I once waited 3 hours in the middle of the day--that was tough, but still its fun to watch Dom make pizza. Usually though my experience is to wait one hour or less.
personally, i don't go there very often because of the hassle and the fact that i can have a more civilized, less sloppy, and just as tasty meal at totonno's. whatever.
@sloppy: It wasn't posted to "drum up traffic" but as a suggestion by way of Norman. I'm sure I could think up better ways to drum up traffic. As it is, talking about the wait at Di Fara or how good it is is pretty stale. Not too many new ways to talk about the place anymore.
I feel like we were there for 3 hours. Of course, it got smokey at some point and I stopped being able to see inside. I didn't even think it was WORTH the wait. Pizza was kind of too oily although the cheese was heavenly.
Why are the lines so long? Does he only sell by the slice and make a single pizza at a time? Can you not call in an order? Is the whole thing really about the show??
My lone wait was in the 2 1/2 hour territory, last summer, the night the tropical storm hit the area on a Saturday night.
As for being "overrated......" I mean, it's a very good pizza, but it just can't possibly ever match the praise that's thrown at it. You'll never have a pizza with more love put into it, but you'll have better pizza.....in New Haven, and even in a few places that get little love in NYC.
Me and a friend waited for 3 hours for a square pie once, but it was prime-time on a very nice spring day on a Saturday (ordered at 3, got it around 6)
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28 Comments:
I know for a fact that my longest was 1 hour 45 minutes exactly. That is from walking in the door to eating my pizza. Stood there for about 45 minutes waiting to talk to Maggie, and it came an hour after that.
QUICKEST was when we showed up at about 10:45, walked in the door at opening, got our five slices and sat down. Literally minutes.
Prairie at 1:45PM on 03/05/09
Crazy. Well, I've only been once but I guess I hit the magic time as I walked right in and got my slice without wait.
s4xton at 2:10PM on 03/05/09
a couple summers ago i clocked my wait at just under 2 hours and 30 minutes, give or take a couple minutes. a couple of friends and i got there at around 12:30 and we got our pizza around 3pm. i had my order in a few minutes after joining the scrum. somehow our order was forgotten about. these things happen.
di fara's has hands-down the best pepperoni ever.
egadman at 3:09PM on 03/05/09
Under 3 hours? Wow, that makes Di Fara look wonderfully short compared to some of my longer Pepe's and Sally's waits in New Haven.
kaszeta at 3:31PM on 03/05/09
How about the shortest wait? I got in line at 11:40 am a couple Sundays ago as the first stop on a Brooklyn pizza tour day (Di Fara, Franny's , Totonno, Grimaldi's). Dom handed us the first pizza out of the oven 15 minutes later, before they were even officially open. Brilliant! As the comment above says, nothing compared to my five hour odyssey during a prime Saturday night at Sally's.
apizza82 at 3:59PM on 03/05/09
Y'know how the temperature during the winter is reported with "wind chill factor" making it feel like....?
Well, I waited one hour on a hot, humid summer day. With the heat index, that was equivalent to a wait of two days and seven hours.
famdoc at 4:26PM on 03/05/09
I once waited an hour and fifty minutes. Uncoincidentally, that was my last visit. Used to go weekly, but I really can't deal with the scrum anymore. Now DiFara is the legendary pizza of my late youth, joining Pizzatown USA in Elmwood Park, NJ (the legendary pizza of my childhood and adolescence).
frances224 at 4:32PM on 03/05/09
My only wait was like 15 minutes. ACCIDENTALLY. As Dom was cutting a pie I told him "Dom I came all the way from California to eat your pizza." (I had made a tour of pizza places on my vacation) Dom said thank you and handed me the first two slices he cut. His daughter objected. But Dom waved her off. I told everyone in line what happened, offered up my slices, but no one wanted them. His daughter said..."Well if he wanted to give 'em to you what can I do."
The great part, seeing this pizza artisan cut fresh basil was one of the transcendent food moments of my life!
pizzancomedy at 5:00PM on 03/05/09
i'm wondering what the confectionary sugar is doing in this pic..?
is he now adding a sprinkling of this after the pies come out the oven?
southlake98 at 8:53PM on 03/05/09
maybe its just some kind of dumb luck, but I've never waited more than about 45 minutes, and we've been many times. Have always gone sometime mid-afternoon, Sat or Sun. Granted, I haven't been in the last year or so...and it seems like its gotten worse.
jinx35 at 11:05PM on 03/05/09
Usually my wait hasn't been terrible, but one time we did wait 3 hours. We ended up closing out the place with the last pie of the night. The sad part was about 15 minutes into the wait Dom had an unclaimed pie that we were very, very tempted to call our own. But we held back not wanted to steal it from it's rightful owner. By the end of the night it was clear that no one picked up the pie. :(
BrooklynBrownie at 12:06AM on 03/06/09
I don't know about confectionary sugar but surely some pizza lovers out there have tried honey? Legendary pie spot here in the pacNW has a honey bear on every table... Try it on peperoni!
oregonpinot at 12:52AM on 03/06/09
@southlake98 and oregonpinot -- hey geniuses, Di Fara has zeppole, too.
mince at 4:48AM on 03/06/09
The sugar is for the zeppole in the bottom left of the picture.
I once waited 3 hours in the middle of the day--that was tough, but still its fun to watch Dom make pizza. Usually though my experience is to wait one hour or less.
thedairyshow at 9:24AM on 03/06/09
Di Fara overrated?
Check it out....
http://www.ubereater.com/2009/03/artisanal-sin-doubting-di-fara-pizza.html
The Ubereater
www.ubereater.com
Ubereater at 11:13AM on 03/06/09
hey, it's the annual anti-di fara blog post to drum up traffic! whoopee!!!
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2008/07/difaras-attacked-by-blogger.html
personally, i don't go there very often because of the hassle and the fact that i can have a more civilized, less sloppy, and just as tasty meal at totonno's. whatever.
sloppy at 12:59PM on 03/06/09
@sloppy: It wasn't posted to "drum up traffic" but as a suggestion by way of Norman. I'm sure I could think up better ways to drum up traffic. As it is, talking about the wait at Di Fara or how good it is is pretty stale. Not too many new ways to talk about the place anymore.
Adam Kuban at 5:03PM on 03/06/09
egadman and brooklyn brownie stole my crown! and hey - no cheating by bragging how quickly you got a SLICE!
i agree with you adam about the stale pie. i never eat old pizza, but dom's is great reheated for several days. i'm guessing it's the oil.
norman at 5:52PM on 03/06/09
That's crazy! I hope you had a good book.
If you are going to eat a lot at this joint, it may be worth it to invest in a Kindle!
Mooner at 12:19AM on 03/07/09
I always wonder how popular DiFara's would have become if only whole pies were available. We'll never know.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 9:09AM on 03/07/09
I feel like we were there for 3 hours. Of course, it got smokey at some point and I stopped being able to see inside. I didn't even think it was WORTH the wait. Pizza was kind of too oily although the cheese was heavenly.
nithya at hungrydesi at 5:26PM on 03/07/09
Why are the lines so long? Does he only sell by the slice and make a single pizza at a time? Can you not call in an order? Is the whole thing really about the show??
Really curious, never been there..
ratbuddy at 6:34PM on 03/07/09
Forget it denali1540. These people will never kick their DiFara jones.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 9:43AM on 03/08/09
Just posted a review of Lucali in Carroll Gardens...at least they let you call ahead :) And the pizza is amazing.
nithya at hungrydesi at 10:52AM on 03/08/09
@Adam Since you removed denali1540's ad, my comment doesn't have a reference. You should remove mine (and this one) as well.
Thanks,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 9:12AM on 03/09/09
My lone wait was in the 2 1/2 hour territory, last summer, the night the tropical storm hit the area on a Saturday night.
As for being "overrated......" I mean, it's a very good pizza, but it just can't possibly ever match the praise that's thrown at it. You'll never have a pizza with more love put into it, but you'll have better pizza.....in New Haven, and even in a few places that get little love in NYC.
DKA at 11:12AM on 03/09/09
@adam -- i was actually referring to the link right above my comment. you guys clearly don't need to rely on difara posts for traffic.
sloppy at 1:29PM on 03/09/09
Me and a friend waited for 3 hours for a square pie once, but it was prime-time on a very nice spring day on a Saturday (ordered at 3, got it around 6)
cmballa at 6:53PM on 03/10/09