My first visit to Di Fara was bittersweet, timed as it was to mark my last day at Slice/Serious Eats World Headquarters. Still, what a way to go out. From reading Slice commentary, I expected the pizza to be delicious but possibly burned or greasy. The golden-crusted pies we got, however, were perfectly executed, the ideal New York pizza.... More

[Photographs: Nick Solares] The Mercer Kitchen 147 Mercer Street New York, NY 10012; 212-966-5454 Pizza Style: New American Oven Type: Wood and sometimes grilled The Skinny: Despite using high-quality ingredients and a wood-fired oven, the pizza here is seriously dated. The crust might have been considered gourmet in the 1990s, when MK opened, but these days it's an expensive anachronism Price: $9 to $13 for personal-size pies I have had a good run here at Slice. The last truly bad pizza I reviewed was at Fanelli's way back in January. It was inevitable that I would eventually be forced... More

[Photograph: Adam Kuban] So, today is Slice intern Aaron Mattis's last day. :( There were three places he wanted to get to during his internship here: Motorino, Franny's, and Di Fara. We did Motorino pretty early on but as of this morning had Franny's and Di Fara to go. With one final day left for pizza exploring, we kinda figured Di Fara should be it. With Dom's hours dwindling and a six- to 11-day vacation coming up, we thought it would be easier for Aaron to visit Franny's on a subsequent visit to NYC. So we headed down to... More

Note: I will add pictures to this later. I started writing and time slipped away from me. Right now I have to jump out the door and take the Serious Eats interns to Di Fara. It's Slice intern Aaron Mattis's last day, and it will be his farewell meal. —The Mgmt. First the pizzas were paraded before us so we could judge overall appearance. [Photographs: Adam Kuban] I don't know if you watch or read a lot of science fiction, but there's a term often used in the genre: planetside. It's when a space jockey lands his bird or an... More

What's in this box? A freakin' awesomely thoughtful gift from dhorst! Have I piqued your curiosity yet? Good, then click this way for the unboxing! » More

If you've got a backyard or deck and a grill, grilling pizzas is a natural in the summer. After lighting up the grill, hot, crisp-chewy, perfectly blistered crust is just a few minutes away. But what if you, like me, recently moved from a decked-out Brooklyn apartment to a Manhattan high rise with no outdoor space? The answer seems obvious: Grill the pizza indoors on a grill pan. More

Last week, I got an email from David S. with the subject line "Another pizza oven grows in Brooklyn." David was referring to Mark Wilkie's backyard Brooklyn pizza oven, which you may remember from August of last year. Building a pizza oven in a Brooklyn backyard is sort of a feat, since A) space is at a premium and B) it's often pretty damn difficult to get items into the backyard because there's often no access other than what you've got going through the living space itself. Anyway, David promises to keep us updated throughout the process. (Between his first... More

"Although the name clearly implies that we are looking to expose the worst pizza out there, we are actually trying to help find the best. By weeding through the pizza that sucks we help ensure that our readers never have to eat a bad slice again. Originally I started the site due to the poor pizza down in Florida. After moving from Long Island, New York, I couldn't believe what passed for pizza here. So when forming the site, it was my intention to complain about the bad pizza I had. As the site progressed, and our SEO got better, it seemed more beneficial to go on a quest to find the best slice." More

[Photographs: Philly Diner] Slice'r Philly Diner sent in an extremely appetizing My Pie Monday submission featuring great-looking pies made with premium ingredients: Here's my first submission to My Pie Monday!These are the first pizzas I made using my new DIY stone! I used a double layer of unglazed ceramic tiles preheated to 550 for 45 minutes in my sorority house oven, and it's been working like a charm. I made Peter Reinhart's recipe for both doughs. The first is a margarita with strained crushed tomatoes, local fresh mozzarella, and basil from my plant! The second is a delicious version... More

OK, in the Northern Hemisphere, at least, summer is here. It's been a scorching few days here in NYC, where Slice HQ is located. Which got me thinking this morning — do I really want to eat a slice of hot, cheesy pizza this afternoon? What about you? Do you stop eating pizza when it's hot outside? More

If you've been following today's My Pie Monday submissions you'll already be familiar with John Wozniak's high-quality pizza. John emailed Slice World Headquarters again this morning with a link to some great pics of a New-York-style pie with thinly sliced mushrooms. Check them out below: [Photographs: John Wozniak] Looks good, John! Keep those MPM submissions coming. Want to share your pie? Here are the details on submitting your photo to Slice.... More

Slice'r Mark Cohen, who was an active guest blogger here a couple of years ago, made a reappearance with these two mouthwatering pics for My Pie Monday: Sausage/roasted peppers & onions; "00"/san marzano's/fior di latte/reggiano. [Photographs: Mark Cohen] Salami/artichokes/roasted garlic; "00"/san marzano's/fior di latte/reggiano The pies look good, Mark! I really like the look of the puffy crust, and the topping combinations sound spot-on to me. Want to share your pie? Here are the details on submitting your photo to Slice.... More

The combination of good mushrooms and handmade pizza crust is pretty much unbeatable in the opinion of many pizza lovers. This group apparently includes Slice'r Casey's Pizza, who sent in this beautiful pic of a white pie with mushrooms: This has become my signature pie. Sauteed shitakes, garlic, fresh thyme, Italian parsley, aged mozzarella and fior di latte, EVO, celtic grey sea salt. Dough is 65% hydration, high protein bread flour with a touch of rye. Standard gas oven bake on a 600F pizza stone for 5 minutes. Photograph: [Casey's Pizza] Looks good, Casey! Keep on Slice'ing! Want to share... More

I got this MPM last Monday but was so swamped with submissions last week that I didn't get it up until this round. Since then, John Wozniak has been popping up regularly in the comments with great advice, etc. Here's what's going on above: Hi Adam,Attached is a pic of a pie I made that turned out pretty well.It is a white pie that was made with hand-kneaded and -stretched dough (utilizing my own custom recipe) and is topped with Jack, cheddar, and grana padano cheeses; red onion; thin-sliced baby bellas; and (separately cooked medium-rare and added when the... More

Good morning, Slice'rs. Here's a way to start Monday, with the memories of a "Saturday Night Special" pizza. dhorst says: For My Pie Monday, I thought I would give you my Saturday Night Special. My pizza was: dough brushed with garlic-infused olive oil, mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, roasted red pepper, marinated artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives. Out of the oven, it was finished with tiny globe basil leaves, red pepper flakes, and a shower of Parm. The guys got (clockwise from left, above): Taylor's Red Hot Extra cheese pizza; Jeff 's (aka Gomez and my husband) pepperoni, mushroom, and onion... More

I loved Donna Currie's recent column on tomato-cheese bread, and when my hunger peaked after my fourth rereading I began to wonder if a similar loaf could serve as yet another use for the tomato juice I keep accumulating by straining tomatoes for pizza sauce. Having seen Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery make carrot bread on Martha using fresh-squeezed carrot juice, I riffed on his standard no-knead dough recipe to create a crusty rustic loaf. More