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.
OH that is awful. I guess one day we will have to accept the fact that he will not want to continue to make pizzas! Question is, can his daughter continue to run the place.
I just ate there today, and had the last whole pizza that was cooked at the end of lunch at 4:45pm. I had the pleasure of watching Dom make my pizza with the front doors locked....with me, another couple and a guy who ordered a square the only ones inside.
A whole pie and a San Pellegrino Limonata was a perfect way to watch the rain which passed by as I ate.
@pizzablogger what are you doing in Brooklyn? Thought you'd be in the land of Francis Scott Key on this holiday weekend. If I had known, I might have fit you in to my tasting last night.
@ Paulie: I visited 6 shops in Maryland, 3 in Brooklyn and 3 in Manhattan, sampling a combination of some 17 slices of regular/plain cheese and sauce and some sicilian slices as well on the 2nd of July. Traffic was such a cluster F**K all day that I had to cut out six planned visits. I limped back into Baltimore at 2:00am.
So yes, I am in the land of pleasant living today and am going to Fort McHenry at 3:00pm to see the canons being fired and the reading of the Star Spangled Banner before either boogying to DC for fireworks (I love NYC for fireworks, but the patriotism of watching fireworks from the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial is very hard to beat) or staying in Bawlmer for fireworks in the Inner Harbor.
Now, I am tickled pink that you would even consider having me for a tasting! Paulie, you give me about a week or two notice and I will definitely drive up for a tasting before heading back home to Bawlmer! Thanks and have a great and safe 4th.
Forgive me, I've never been there, but is the pizza really that good? From what I've read the wait is very long, plus all the locals get served ahead of everybody else. It also looks like he uses somewhat sysco-ish ingredients and he did get shut down by the health department right? Maybe I'm wrong. Again, I've never actually been there.
@cliffyb: I suspect you're asking this question to stir the pot here—particularly the "Sysco" comment. But if you're sincere, then I apologize for jumping to conclusions and will answer:
The pizza is very good. The wait is very long. Budget at least one hour (on a good trip) and up to three hours (if things are horribly packed and Dom forgets your order).
You are perhaps half correct in assuming locals get served first. What I've seen happen is that people who push to the front and have the brashness of native New Yorkers get their pizza quicker. If you're meek and deferential, your wait will increase accordingly. But it seems to have less to do with Dom favoring locals than just serving whomever's at front. Pizza darwinism, I suppose. That said, I have seen occasions where Dom has served police and firefighters first—seems to be an old-school take-care-of-the-folks-in-uniform thing.
The ingredients: Definitely not Sysco-esque. Maybe the most common mass-market thing he uses is the Grandé aged mozzarella, but even Grandé is widely regarded as the best mass-market pizza cheese.
Adam- I wasn't trying cause a scene. I come in peace. But to hear that people wait up to 3 hours for a pizza makes me wonder. Is it justified, or is it sentimentality/territoriality? For an outsider it seems like a HUGE amount of hype.
@cliffyb: as mentioned, only the Grande "Rotondino" Fior-di-latte cheese, which is among three cheeses Dom typically uses including an imported mozzarella di bufala from his hometown outside of Napoli and either freshly grated (as in grated per order) blocks of parmegano-reggiano and/or pecorino romano, and in my opinion the olive oil, could even be remotely construed as "Sysco-esque"....and that Grande Rotondino is very high quality stuff.
This is one of the more expensively topped pizzas, without the need for additional toppings, you are likely to encounter in the pizza world as Dom adds very high quality toppings with the finesse of a sledgehammer. The only thing normal about his pizzas, and I was prepared for it in advance, is his crust. If you go at the right time of the day you will not have to wait that long. As far as the hype, I think only you can decide that. I will say making a trip to DiFara is something anyone with a love for pizza should do once in their life and my short time there is one of the absolute top cherished moments in this dummies pizza eating life.
Made the trip out from Manhattan last year, early evening on a weeknight. Waited a full hour for two slices while locals repeatedly cut the line, ordered extra pizzas at the last minute, etc. One of the locals took pity and gave me one of his own piping hot slices, seeing that I was getting totally screwed (and was starving to death!). It was very good pizza, but in no way lives up to the hype you see on message boards. I headed back into the city and picked up a pie at Una Pizza Napoletana (no wait), which was pure pizza bliss. I'd take any of the great NYC pizza institutions, including Grimaldis before heading back out to DF. If you live right near the place, I can understand going back, becoming a regular, etc. But you're not missing much if you don't go.
I've been to DiFara only twice and I doubt I'll ever go back unless their policy changes. Although I thoroughly enjoy both his slice and his Sicilian, it is simply not worth the hassle. It should be an establishment's responsibility to assure that their customer recieve the pizza in a fair and orderly fashion. They can easily impliment a process to accomplish that, but the obviously have chosen not to. I'm sure they realize that the uncertainty that their non-system has created is in great part responsible for their extreme popularity and have no intention to change it. I do recall hearing something recently about Dom's daughter establishing some kind of order, but it seems like that effort never took hold from the comments I've read about the place since. If and when things change, I'll head back their for their excellent slices, but until then if I want that style of pizza, I'll head to Lucali and get a pie.
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20 Comments:
OH that is awful. I guess one day we will have to accept the fact that he will not want to continue to make pizzas! Question is, can his daughter continue to run the place.
pizzaexpert at 5:14PM on 07/02/09
But I've got out of town guests coming!
norman at 5:36PM on 07/02/09
I wish good health to Mr. DeMarco.
He truly is a paragon of Italian cooking : the freshest ingredients, cooked with love and a fine sense of Italian artisan craftsmanship.
Cincinnatus at 8:50PM on 07/02/09
Gothamist is reporting that it is open.
BigAl72 at 11:03PM on 07/02/09
I just ate there today, and had the last whole pizza that was cooked at the end of lunch at 4:45pm. I had the pleasure of watching Dom make my pizza with the front doors locked....with me, another couple and a guy who ordered a square the only ones inside.
A whole pie and a San Pellegrino Limonata was a perfect way to watch the rain which passed by as I ate.
Pizzablogger at 2:20AM on 07/03/09
This is ridiculous - sure, he's an institution, but he's the *only * man who can make his pizza?
Then again, that sicilian looks goooood...
JimInHolland at 4:23AM on 07/03/09
You know, come to think of it and looking at one of my pictures, Dom had a white smudge of something on his right lower lip, maybe from the surgery?
Pizzablogger at 1:06PM on 07/03/09
@pizzablogger what are you doing in Brooklyn? Thought you'd be in the land of Francis Scott Key on this holiday weekend. If I had known, I might have fit you in to my tasting last night.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 9:33AM on 07/04/09
@ Paulie: I visited 6 shops in Maryland, 3 in Brooklyn and 3 in Manhattan, sampling a combination of some 17 slices of regular/plain cheese and sauce and some sicilian slices as well on the 2nd of July. Traffic was such a cluster F**K all day that I had to cut out six planned visits. I limped back into Baltimore at 2:00am.
So yes, I am in the land of pleasant living today and am going to Fort McHenry at 3:00pm to see the canons being fired and the reading of the Star Spangled Banner before either boogying to DC for fireworks (I love NYC for fireworks, but the patriotism of watching fireworks from the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial is very hard to beat) or staying in Bawlmer for fireworks in the Inner Harbor.
Now, I am tickled pink that you would even consider having me for a tasting! Paulie, you give me about a week or two notice and I will definitely drive up for a tasting before heading back home to Bawlmer! Thanks and have a great and safe 4th.
Pizzablogger at 12:32PM on 07/04/09
@Pizzablogger: Next time you come up to NYC, lemme know. I'd love to grab a slice or pie with you.
Adam Kuban at 12:46PM on 07/04/09
Forgive me, I've never been there, but is the pizza really that good? From what I've read the wait is very long, plus all the locals get served ahead of everybody else. It also looks like he uses somewhat sysco-ish ingredients and he did get shut down by the health department right? Maybe I'm wrong. Again, I've never actually been there.
cliffyb at 1:55PM on 07/04/09
Re cliffyb: Don't feed the trolls, people.
Adam Kuban at 2:03PM on 07/04/09
Re A.Ku: Good one. Am I wrong?
cliffyb at 3:01PM on 07/04/09
@cliffyb: I suspect you're asking this question to stir the pot here—particularly the "Sysco" comment. But if you're sincere, then I apologize for jumping to conclusions and will answer:
The pizza is very good. The wait is very long. Budget at least one hour (on a good trip) and up to three hours (if things are horribly packed and Dom forgets your order).
You are perhaps half correct in assuming locals get served first. What I've seen happen is that people who push to the front and have the brashness of native New Yorkers get their pizza quicker. If you're meek and deferential, your wait will increase accordingly. But it seems to have less to do with Dom favoring locals than just serving whomever's at front. Pizza darwinism, I suppose. That said, I have seen occasions where Dom has served police and firefighters first—seems to be an old-school take-care-of-the-folks-in-uniform thing.
The ingredients: Definitely not Sysco-esque. Maybe the most common mass-market thing he uses is the Grandé aged mozzarella, but even Grandé is widely regarded as the best mass-market pizza cheese.
Adam Kuban at 3:24PM on 07/04/09
Adam- I wasn't trying cause a scene. I come in peace. But to hear that people wait up to 3 hours for a pizza makes me wonder. Is it justified, or is it sentimentality/territoriality? For an outsider it seems like a HUGE amount of hype.
cliffyb at 4:00PM on 07/04/09
@cliffyb: as mentioned, only the Grande "Rotondino" Fior-di-latte cheese, which is among three cheeses Dom typically uses including an imported mozzarella di bufala from his hometown outside of Napoli and either freshly grated (as in grated per order) blocks of parmegano-reggiano and/or pecorino romano, and in my opinion the olive oil, could even be remotely construed as "Sysco-esque"....and that Grande Rotondino is very high quality stuff.
This is one of the more expensively topped pizzas, without the need for additional toppings, you are likely to encounter in the pizza world as Dom adds very high quality toppings with the finesse of a sledgehammer. The only thing normal about his pizzas, and I was prepared for it in advance, is his crust. If you go at the right time of the day you will not have to wait that long. As far as the hype, I think only you can decide that. I will say making a trip to DiFara is something anyone with a love for pizza should do once in their life and my short time there is one of the absolute top cherished moments in this dummies pizza eating life.
Pizzablogger at 5:36PM on 07/04/09
@cliffyb:
Made the trip out from Manhattan last year, early evening on a weeknight. Waited a full hour for two slices while locals repeatedly cut the line, ordered extra pizzas at the last minute, etc. One of the locals took pity and gave me one of his own piping hot slices, seeing that I was getting totally screwed (and was starving to death!). It was very good pizza, but in no way lives up to the hype you see on message boards. I headed back into the city and picked up a pie at Una Pizza Napoletana (no wait), which was pure pizza bliss. I'd take any of the great NYC pizza institutions, including Grimaldis before heading back out to DF. If you live right near the place, I can understand going back, becoming a regular, etc. But you're not missing much if you don't go.
powermd at 8:27PM on 07/04/09
I've been to DiFara only twice and I doubt I'll ever go back unless their policy changes. Although I thoroughly enjoy both his slice and his Sicilian, it is simply not worth the hassle. It should be an establishment's responsibility to assure that their customer recieve the pizza in a fair and orderly fashion. They can easily impliment a process to accomplish that, but the obviously have chosen not to. I'm sure they realize that the uncertainty that their non-system has created is in great part responsible for their extreme popularity and have no intention to change it. I do recall hearing something recently about Dom's daughter establishing some kind of order, but it seems like that effort never took hold from the comments I've read about the place since. If and when things change, I'll head back their for their excellent slices, but until then if I want that style of pizza, I'll head to Lucali and get a pie.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 9:39AM on 07/05/09
My kingdom for a comment editor. I guess I better be more careful in the meantime.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
pauliegee at 12:30PM on 07/05/09
i'm in love with the pizza maker.... like gepetto in pinochio!
pooch at 6:24PM on 07/05/09