Now that the $5 Di Fara slice has hit the New York Times, I've got friends and strangers emailing and twitting me with questions I feel I've answered a million times here on Slice—albeit over the span of many different blog posts. So, as a public service, here is all the info you need to know about Di Fara gathered in one place—a Di Fara FAQ, if you will. What's So Great About It? This "crowd" is fairly light, as far as Di Fara goes. Do I really have to rehash all this? A pie from Di Fara can... More

You heard it here first, kids, but the New York Times finally filed a story on the Di Fara $5 slice price, so I guess it's officially news now. Best quote of the story: “It’s like they dug up my grandma and she made the pie." But perhaps the most interesting part of the story is the revelation from Dom's daughter Maggie that something has changed in the way he makes the pies....... More

Zagat Buzz Zagat Buzz has a nice interview with Mathieu Palombino of Motorino: "I always thought I would be in a fine restaurant," he sighs. "It was my profession; what I knew. But gastronomy in New York was going toward something that didn’t excite me any more – molecular cuisine and things that were too trendy. I saw a couple of guys doing simple spots like a barbecue place in Williamsburg, or Mario Batali’s Otto – things without pretension. So I threw my knife over. I am still always seeking perfection, whether it is a game bird or pizza.... More

The site of Chris Iacono's future pizzeria.* The News The brother of Lucali's Mark Iacono has plans to open his own pizzeria in South Slope/Greenwood Heights. Chris Iacono has taken the space at 691 Sixth Avenue, Mark Iacono confirms, and hopes to turn the former medical supply shop into a wood-oven pizzeria styled after Mark's renowned place in Carroll Gardens.... More

Angelina Pizzabar 2728 Broadway, New York NY 10025 (104th/105th streets; map); 212-932-1000; angelinapizzabar.com Pizza Style: Neapolitan and thin-crust square Oven Type: Revolving-floor brick oven The Skinny: A pizza "concept" rather than a pizzeria with heart and soul Price: Pies range from $14 to $22 With all the press attention on new-fashioned pizza, it's not surprising that fresh pizza "concepts" are opening all over the U.S. There's gold in them thar pizza, these folks are saying to themselves. That's probably what the owners of Upper West Side Japanese restaurant Tokyo Pop were thinking when they swapped their Japanese concept for... More

Photograph from ~Twon~ on Flickr Here's a pizza style we neglected to round up in our list of Regional Pizza Styles: the pizza strip, which is apparently available in New England but thrives in Rhode Island. Native Ocean Stater Christopher Borrelli writes about it in the Chicago Tribune: The pizza strip is the pizza I grew up on, and unique beyond its shape. I doubt I ever attended a party or cookout in Providence where a pile of strips was not served. A box of them was always in our kitchen, the cardboard studded with grease spots. Some call... More

The 2009 Doctor Who Easter special, Planet of the Dead, just materialized Stateside on Sunday (it was originally broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on April 11). In it, the Doctor finds himself stranded on the planet San Helios with a busload of Londoners. While trying to call U.N.I.T. with his sonic-screwdriver-enhanced cellphone, he transposes two numbers and ends up calling Pizza Geronimo instead. In case you were wondering, a quick Google search reveals there is no Pizza Geronimo in London. Video, after the jump.... More

"Here's your food. I wish I could have gotten it here sooner. Unfortunately, the good tippers got theirs in thepizzaguy, on Tales from the Road... More

Bogey's Pizza & Guns seems like it might be legit, according to the website Neatorama, which found a website, reports of people visiting, and a phonebook listing. When I called, however, the shop said it was "closed for a couple of weeks," with no definitive date to mark the temporary closing or reopening. I'm still skeptical until I can get verification, but it's fun to think it might be real. And, heck, there have been weirder combos—like this sneaker shop burger joint. Bogey's Pizza & Guns 113 County Road 1604, Clifton TX 76634 254-622-2005; bogeys-gunshop.magix.net/website... More

Photograph from Sony Pictures Entertainment As far as pizzeria names go, Nicky's Pizza is a pretty popular one. From Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to Saugus, Massachusetts, Nicky definitely gets around. But the facade of the one in Julie & Julia (in theaters August 7) doesn't actually exist. When asked about the storefront below her apartment, Julie Powell told us that in real life, it was a diner. The fictionalized pizzeria on 40th Avenue in Long Island City, often flashed on screen before a kitchen scene upstairs with Powell, cannot actually be reached at 718-555-0163. Like all Hollywood and TV-show 555- numbers,... More

Nothing could ever pursuade me to go back to that farce of a pizza joint. THey could raise the price to $10 a slice or drop it to $1 a slice, they've got the worst service on the East Coast.--Larry "mrgrooism" Steller, Master Mendicant... More

The New York Post checks in with the news that Slice readers have known for weeks—that Di Fara has raised its regular slices to $5. The paper talks to those opposed and those still willing to pay. Point "They must be out of their minds. It would have to be the best slice of pizza in the world," said Phyllis Turim of Brooklyn, who doesn't plan to find out for herself. Counterpoint "When I shop, I always buy what's high-priced," [Dom DeMarco] said. "What I use, other pizzerias don't use." Yours truly was quoted as well, if you feel... More

The site People in Pizza Costumes Becoming Pizzas cleverly clones single "slices" of pizza-costumed people into whole "pies." In addition to the cute little baby slice above, there are five other pizzas on the site.... More

First some backstory here, in case you don't follow the ins and outs of the NYC food media scene. A few months ago, it appeared that New York Daily News food critic Danyelle "Restaurant Girl" Freeman had started tweeting. Then it came out that someone was faking it. Then the faker revealed himself to be Adam Robb of The Life Vicarious. (That's a sample of his handiwork above.) Lawyers were eventually called in, but through it all, Robb has continued his parody tweets (now with disclaimer!) along with a blog written by Fake Restaurant Girl called The Gourmet Glossary.... More

"Here Come the Nice" Veloce Pizzeria 103 First Avenue, New York NY 10003 (b/n 6th/7th; map); 212-777-6677; velocepizzeria.com Pizza Style: Sorta Sicilian, sorta grandma-style (somewhere in between) pan pizzas Oven Type: Gas The Skinny: If cooked to sufficient doneness, these 12-inch pies are delicious. Crunchy crust with a spongy-springy interior topped by a thick tasty sauce and quality mozz. Just be sure to eat it IMMEDIATELY; the dough (which may be too oily for many people) loses its crispness fast, becoming flaccid within 5 minutes of sitting in the pan and downright soggy after 10. Your best bet is to... More

A number of you have been emailing and tweeting us (@slice), asking if we had any word on when Totonno's in Coney would be open again. (Last we heard, it was mid July.) Well, I just got off the phone with Totonno's owner Lawrence Cimineri, and he says we're looking at late August now. While rebuilding, they found some structural issues unrelated to the fire that they wanted to take care of while they already had the patient opened up, so to speak. "It's a very old building, you know how it is," Cimineri said. So there you go,... More

"It sometimes seems as if he's living in an alternate pizza universe—one where Papa John is Chris Bianco and ambiance should be a topping that you can order like fennel sausage." Mic check 1, 2, 1, 2. Bubbles B in the place to be. Comin' outta retirement to work ya like a fireman. What's good, sliceheads? I know it's been a minute, but I have to break you off with a little something. I made a move to the Upper East Side (it's not all bad—Central Park, Museum Mile, D'Ag hags) and can't say much for the pizza thus far,... More

A couple things about Twitter as regards this website... First Thing: New Twitter Box As eagle-eye readers may have noticed, we added a small box to the right over there that displays the latest tweet from the @Slice Twitter account. The Slice Twitter account functions in a few different ways:... More

Video from gastrodamus on Flickr There may yet be a glimmer of hope for us Anthony Mangieri fans in the New York City area. Although it's been reported that he may be opening his next pizzeria in San Francisco, he may not be, either. A Bay Area pizzeria for Mangieri is far from a foregone conclusion. It is entirely possible that another Garden State venture may be in the offing. Yes, Anthony Mangieri is thinking about going home again. "I've been working making bread and pizza, first in Jersey, then in New York City, since 1993, and though I... More

Roberto Caporuscio, one of the partners-pizzaiolos at Kesté Pizza & Vino in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, led a Neapolitan pizza-making class last night. Before he began punching dough balls and spreading tomato sauce, he went over the basics. Naples is a couple hours south of Rome, and "the pizza from there is not better, it's just different." He gave us a little history on the famous Naples-originating Margherita pizza, which we were about to bake in the Kesté oven cranked up to 950°F. A baker named Rafaele Esposito whipped up the first pizza Margherita in 1889 to welcome the Queen... More

"A beatific smile slowly crept over my face as I wallowed in pizza delight." Tony's Pizza Napoletana 1570 Stockton Street Union Street, San Francisco CA 94133 (at Union Street; map); 415-835-9888; internationalschoolofpizza.com Pizza Style: Amazingly, all kinds Oven Type: Again, amazingly, four different types The Skinny: World Pizza Champion team member Tony Gemignani's combined pizzeria/pizza school is a veritable university or museum of pizza, with four different oven types to make an endless variety of pizza styles, from Neapolitan to New York to Trenton tomato pies, and more When I first decided to go public with my thoughts and feelings... More

"Maybe the 500th best pizza in America, but even that's doubtful." Bob & Timmy's 32 Spruce Street, Providence RI 02903; map); 401-453-2221; bobandtimmys.com Pizza Style: Grilled Oven Type: Grill The Skinny: Ranked as America's fifth best pizza by Alan Richman in GQ, but don't you believe it. This was the first MYOM (Melt Your Own Mozzarella) pizza I've encountered Price: Margherita, $14; Spinach and Mushroom; $13; Everything Pie, $14 When GQ published Alan Richman's Top 25 Pizzas list, we, like serious pizza lovers everywhere, devoured every last word of it and posted about it. Like everyone else, I had my... More

A new coal-oven pizza joint is set to open in Palm Bay, Florida, on Saturday, July 18. Looks like they're using an EarthStone coal oven. Fired Up Coal Oven Pizzeria 195 Malabar Road NW, Palm Bay FL 32907 321-727 - 3473; firedupcop.com... More

Pizza Hut: Chain launches iPhone ordering app. [USAT] LOL: "This is the box they use for pizza round our way. Not as bad as the man with the stick and the young girl, but do I really want to take a pizza from a toothless, homeless urchin? Still, I guess it is Naples, which probably means my wallet is being nicked as I take delivery of the pizza." [Le Franco Phoney] Boston: Where to find Neapolitan-style pizza. [GS Boston] Chicago: Where to find Neapolitan-style pizza. [GS Chicago] NYC > Neapolitan: Five more pizzas worth noting. [GS NYC] Seattle: When... More

[UPDATE BELOW]I just received this email from Patsy's in East Harlem: Patsy's is celebrating its 76th bigger and better than ever! 90¢ steak, 60¢ pizza pies, 1¢ sodas. The NYPD and the FDNY will have a pizza-eating challenge. 118th Street and First Avenue will officially be renamed "Patsy's Way," and many other surprises. Join celebrities, elected officials, and others as we do this like never before. After the phone number in the contact info is the directive to "CALL TODAY (Limited Seating)." They probably don't want a repeat of last year. When: Wednesday, August 26, 2009; 11 a.m. to... More

Clicking in to the Slice inbox today, a thoughtful email on the futility of ranking pizzerias. --The Mgmt. I'm a longtime reader and put a lot of stock in your (and Ed Levine's) opinions, and was just wondering what your thoughts were on the spate of recent high-profile pizza rankings.Here's my take (sorry so long): I personally think attempting to rank pizza is almost absurd for a number of reasons. Basically, trying to make finite distinctions between different pizzas is a very subjective and often inaccurate process.... More

"$90,000 annual profit at Motorino? Who do they think we are, the IRS?" —Paulie Gee... More

sliceriapizzeria.com Marcello Bucca and family have opened Sliceria in Sunset Park. Per Eater, the place is officially open. Per Grub Street New York, it's selling one of those crazy hot dog–topped slices. Oy! Mr. Bucca's cousin serves as the weekday pizzaiolo, while his wife pulled weekend pie-making duties. Says Bucca, "We felt that Sunset Park lacked a modern, cool pizza joint and wanted to bring a new choice to Brooklynites. Also—there aren't that many women making pizza in town." Slices are $1 and 18-inch pies go for $8. You can't beat that. Sliceria 6016 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11220... More

Note: This post marks the first in a 50-entry series of—you guessed it—pizza state by state. We asked Slice–Serious Eats correspondent Jenn Sit to poll the local experts, troll the various culinary boards, and basically get the lowdown on the pizza chowdown in all corners of the country. We'll be dishing these slices alphabetically, starting with Alabama. Have at it, Jenn! —The Mgmt.... More

Just got this photo in a quick "sent from my BlackBerry" message from FOS Tien Mao, along with the subject line "A Pizzafari at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Not going in! Too scary!" Come on, Tien: You're not going to take one for the team?... More

This week's issue of New York magazine, the "Cheap Eats" issue, has a special package on pizza, focusing mostly on what it's calling the "Great New York Neoclassical Neapolitan Pizza Revolution." Stories include an analysis of pizza economics, a time line of New York pizza moments, and a day in the life of Una Pizza Napoletana's Anthony Mangieri, which this quote is from: Mangieri’s take on his competition is similarly pointed, to say the least: Luzzo’s pizza is “garbage,” Kesté’s “tastes like shit.” “There’s no love,” he says of the latter. The idea that something he’s been doing for twenty... More

Joseph L. Nizza/Atlantic Food Channel On Staten Island, 84-year-old Sylvia Prestia has been making pizza for decades in a makeshift coal oven. From the Atlantic Food Channel: Only in Staten Island could a pizza like this be the next best thing to eating meat, a pie created in 2008 for the meatless Fridays of Lent. Only in Staten Island could that pizza be called "The Passion of the Crust," and come with a free T-shirt declaring, "IT'S ABOUT THE PASSION!!" Only in Staten Island could that very same pizza spark so much outrage, it was featured on the front... More

Prompted by an item on Eater, we're going to let go with some news we've been sitting on for a couple months—it appears that Anthony Mangieri may be selling Una Pizza Napoletana and that Mathieu Palombino of Motorino may take over the space. An unnamed and well-placed source told us in late April that renown pizza-maker Mangieri had been thinking about selling his space and oven to an existing pizzeria. Mangieri told the source he was thinking about leaving Manhattan's East Village and opening a new pizzeria either in New Jersey or San Francisco. So when I saw this... More

Pizza Party! is described by its organizers as "a night of video art, film, shorts, found video, and basically anything that that catches our eye." The bimonthly screenings offer pizza (from Driggs Pizza) for sale during the event, and the upcoming screening will also feature slices of pizza cake. Pizza Party 2 will include works by CHERYL, Andrew Filiponne Jr., Brendan Harman, Erica Magrey, Mike Nason, Sophia Peer, Rock-afire Explosion, Sunset Television, and Katie Klencheski and Lucas O’Neill. Pizza Party 2 at K&M Bar Tuesday, July 14, 8 p.m. 225 North 8th Street, Brooklyn NY 11211 (Williamsburg, at Roebling Street;... More

"It starts with hipsters trickling into Midwood, probably the most unhip neighborhood in all the five boroughs. This is a ZIP code where people wear plastic bags on their heads when it rains. So why the skinny jeans and the Airwalk Kicks, the scruffy faux-slacker dudes and the ironic model-gorgeous-geek girls? 'They are lost,' I tell my wife. 'They are lost.'" —Peter Catapano, on Di Fara... More

Fortune Cookie Chronicles New York Times reporter Jennifer 8. Lee, an obsessive of Chinese food culture, reveals that the legendary General Tso is now dabbling in pizza-making. A reader of her Fortune Cookie Chronicles blog sent her a photo of a menu at a Philadelphia Chinese restaurant that features "Chinese pizza." You can order your pie with General Tso sauce, sesame garlic sauce, or hoisin barbecue. This is funny because—and I may have told this story before; bear with me—a Chinese translator I know once had to translate some documents for a Chinese restaurant trade association. There was a... More

New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni examines the Great Pizza Boom of 2009 in his story "The Cult of Artisanal Pizza." It's a must-read that packs a lot of info. Let's summarize. The Cliffs Notes Version Bruni makes the claim that the artisanal boom started in 2004 with the opening of Franny's and Una Pizza Napoletana within a few months of each other. "Both brought a new kind of cachet (and vanity) to pizza making and pizza eating in this city. Both changed its demographics" He purposely focuses on newer pizzerias, leaving out old favorites "because they’re products... More

From a tipster: "I just called Lucali to confirm their hours for tonight and learned that they had a fire last night and will be closed for repairs. The fire was apparently in the chimney and no one was hurt. They were awaiting more details on the length of the closing—possibly one to two weeks." Slice is trying to get through to Lucali's Mark Iacono for further details. Stay tuned. Sadly, this isn't the only celebrated Brooklyn pizzeria to get hit by a fire lately. Coney Island's Totonno's caught fire in mid March.... More

From the Slice inbox, an interesting message about Jimmy Kimmel's love of pizza. Who knew? --The Mgmt. Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel discuss pizza. NSFW--it's the "Man Show" reunited. Need I say more? Video Highlights Kimmel: "I make my own pizza." Kimmel: "Chris [Bianco] has acquired an oven for me--it's built in Houston, Texas--in fact, it's on wheels, so next time I move ... Chris apparently built a mini model of it, with fake firewood and a candle in it to simulate fire." Carolla: "It's is crazy as human beings how weired and dialed in we are that we can... More

Pizza T-Shirt: Shirts & Destroy releases limited-edition gross-out pizza tee (above) in specially printed box. [Pizza Rules!] Pizza Delivery Etiquette: Eight tips for those about to order in for the evening. [Pizzalicious!] For My Gluten-Free Peeps: Ener-G 10-inch rice pizza shells reviewed. [My Celiac Blog] Point, Set, Match: Andy Murray sculpted in pizza dough. [Telegraph] Crime: Woman given suspended sentence for filching Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown's credit card and using it to buy pizza. [AP] More Crime: Des Moines man allegedly smashes pizza into girlfriend's face. [Des Moines Register] Brooklyn > Lucali: A second location in South Slope for... More

I just got some Di Fara news from Dom DeMarco's daughter, Maggie. She says that the celebrated Midwood pizzeria will be raising slice prices to $5, a sum that we at Slice believe is the highest priced plain slice outside a ballpark or airport. Plain slices at Di Fara were previously $4 a pop. Pie prices will also go up for a few dollars, Maggie says. Other news: Di Fara will now be closing on Tuesdays as well as Mondays. Update (7/7/2009): Just got further word from Maggie. The plain pies are now $25, square pies are $30, special... More

Hola. Just wanted to say Happy Fourth of July! Spangledly, Slice Dude... More

I just got back from a trip to Di Fara to check out unsubstantiated rumors of a Di Fara closing. The pizzeria was indeed closed, but Dom DeMarco's daughter, Maggie, was there and reports that her father was at the doctor for "minor mouth surgery." No word on when the place will reopen. Stay tuned. Update: It has reopened.... More

Serious Eats contributor Daniel Zemans, our man in Chicago, checks in with another piece of intel from the road, this time in Iowa City. —The Mgmt. Wig and Pen Pizza Pub 1220 Hwy 6 West, Coralville, IA 52241 (map); 319-354-2767; wigandpeneast.com Pizza Style: Thin crust, stuffed and Flying Tomato Oven Type: Gas The Skinny: The Flying Tomato is short on tomato, but will still appeal to those who like mozzarella in very large quantities Price: Large Flying Tomato with one topping, $24.35. On my way back to Chicago from Omaha a little over a week ago, I took a break... More

Pizza in a Cone: Yes, again. Cone pizza just doesn't seem to be catching on—at least not here in the States. Yet another company, this one Spanish, is tilting at windmills. [EMD] Pizza Vending Machines: "I have had the future of pizza and it is not good." [Internet Food Association] Pizza Site Review: Worstpizza.com, analyzed. [Blog Pizza] Speaking of Which: "Pizzaexpert" offers to sell worstpizza.com to AOL. [SAI] LA: S. Irene Virbila reviews Bottega Louie, whose thin-crust pizzas are "not particularly inventive but fine." [LAT] NYC > Openings: A wood-fired pizzeria is coming to the new Eataly Italian supermegamarket.... More

Photograph from Life, hosted by Google Bloomberg reports on something wacky: A deconstructed pizza in a bulbous test tube featured this week at a dinner in London where each course was prepared by a different Italian chef. The event took place on Monday at Dolada restaurant, whose chef Riccardo de Pra created the liquid pizza with mozzarella, tomato, basil and olive-oil components to be guzzled in one go, accompanied by chunks of crust for texture. Oh my. [via Eater SF]... More

"The pissaladières, baked in a wood-burning oven, reach out to the ever more rapacious ranks of pizza hounds..." —Frank Bruni, in his review of Bar Artisanal... More

Money Pizza is an promotional concept for an imaginary pizza chain that sells a $5 pizza. The magnetic fridge-based coin keeper holds $5 in change. As its creator, artist Matt Brown, says, "The concept eliminates the shame people feel when they pay for something all in change. No counting involved with this, both cashier and customer know exactly how much money there is on that pie." Of course you're still left scrounging for the tip. [via EMD]... More