Entries tagged with 'U.S.'
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 25, 2007 at 2:00 PM
This just in from the Slice mailbag, with the subject line "pizza in CT."
Dear Slice,
So, I’m a devoted pizza addict and enjoy your website. I feel compelled to write because everyone loves an underdog and I keep seeing emails posted from people recommending Modern Apizza. Make no mistake, these are people who want to root for the underdog for the sake that they can one day say “I was a fan before they were famous”. There is no comparison to Sally’s (or Pepe’s Clam). Modern produces a nice, fresh, relatively non-distinctive wood-fired pizza. All you can say is it is good, fresh and in any other city would be fantastic. But not in New Haven.
I don’t think you’ve reached there yet and let me tell you, this is not the hidden gem that you’re being promised. It’s good, you’ll eat, but you’ll be left wanting. You’d be better hitting Luna or Harry’s in W. Hartford which is even further than NYC but at least somewhat distinctive.
You are forewarned! J
John
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 23, 2007 at 1:00 PM
I can has pitza?
Just called the joint and got word that it's open again after its health department–enforced hiatus.
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 22, 2007 at 4:45 PM
Di Fara Watch is to Pizza as iPhone is to Gadgets.
I know. You're getting sick of it. But many Slicesters want to know. The latest update, as of 20 minutes ago, thanks to Slice reader "Ropa Vieja," is that Dom & Co. are set for tomorrow.
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 21, 2007 at 2:54 PM
Dean's Pizzeria & Restaurant, a new Nick Angelis–affiliated joint is opening on the Upper West Side, as reported by the New York Times yesterday. Angelis is the man behind Nick's (locations in Forest Hills and on the Upper East Side) and Adrienne's Pizzabar (Financial District), and he's helping his sister, Mirene, with this venture.
Located in a former hotel ballroom with Greek columns and elaborate crown molding, Dean’s, along with its full Italian menu and full bar, is offering both an “old school round pizza” ($13 and $15, plus toppings) and an “old-fashioned square pizza,” ($16, plus toppings). The latter is especially thin, without the unappetizing gooey layer of dough above the crust that grandma pies usually have. The sauce on all the pies is uncooked, milled tomatoes; the squares have a garlic and oregano kick. The round pies use all fresh mozzarella, the grandmas half fresh and a high-quality chewier variety seen in some of the better slice joints.
I know you're all tired of hearing about Dom. Sorry I didn't blog this one for you homeslices yesterday.
Dean’s Pizzeria & Restaurant
Address: 215 West 85th Street
Phone: 212-875-1100
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 20, 2007 at 11:22 AM
In what has become an almost daily ritual, my call to Di Fara this morning yielded the response that the joint should be open tomorrow (Thursday, June 21).
See you tomorrow.
Signed,
Your Daily Di Fara Correspondent
Photograph from Gothamist.com
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 19, 2007 at 6:07 PM
Over on Serious Eats, Slice's parent site, one of our readers, Lou, asked:
By the way, Adam, you know so much about pizza; what's the best pizza place in the central mountains of Puerto Rico? All we have is the disgusting Pizza Hut. Que lastima.
While I've learned more than a little about pizza in the years I've been Slicing, I'm stumped. So I promised Lou I'd open this question up to all you Homeslices out there. Any tips for Lou?
Note to Lou: Apologies for taking so long to punt this query to the Slicesters!
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 15, 2007 at 5:08 PM
By "workingman's pizzerias," I think they mean "typical slice joints," the kind of places we Brooklynites all take for granted. Check out the list.
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 15, 2007 at 3:06 PM
A comment we just received on Slice:
stay outta our neighborhood you tourists! we want our pizza back! we were the first to give di fara its props before you ppl, now we can't even get a slice
di fara local anonymous | 06.15.07 - 1:31 pm
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 15, 2007 at 2:19 PM
I just got off the phone with Dom DeMarco, proprietor of Di Fara, looking for an update on the reopening.
The Dominator confirms that the joint is not open as of today—they're still waiting on an inspector to come out and give them the go-ahead. If that happens today, they'll reopen on Monday.
But Dom's take was that the city would be more likely to send someone out Monday, slating the pizzeria for a Tuesday reopening.
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 13, 2007 at 2:50 PM
But it might be as late as Monday. More at Eater
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 7, 2007 at 10:09 AM
Tune into WNYC NOW! In New York City: 93.9 FM
They're talking about Di Fara. Right now!
Outside Gotham (if you care): http://www.wnyc.org/
Update
It's over. Was only a short 10-minute segment at 10 a.m. EDT. New York State Senator Jeff Klein was a guest on the show, and he had some more info on the situation at Di Fara.
Klein: "The Department of Health right now may be overreacting. Because of the Taco Bell incident, they're going out and giving violation after violation."
Senator Klein said he had been studying California's system as an example, in which a grading system is used to identify cleanliness levels at restaurants.
Klein: "They have seen in California a substantial decline in food-borne illness. And business has increased. Restaurants that get an A or B have increased business by 15 to 20 percent."
So would a Cali-style DOH grading system help Di Fara?
No, Klein said. Di Fara is "somewhat of a special case" because of the multiple inspection failures (five of six failures in the past 18 months).
"If you fail two in a row," Klein said, "You go on an accelerated program—inspections every six months, every three months—and you have to pass two inspections in a row to get out of the [accelerated] program.
"They went on the program, and they didn't do it."
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 7, 2007 at 1:34 AM
Di Fara, taken in better days just a couple weeks ago.
The New York Times has its take on the most recent Di Fara DOH closing, with a bit more on possible duration of the shuttering:
Ms. DeMarco, 30, said her family was scheduled to appear at a city tribunal on June 14 to produce the paperwork and to determine any fines and the next steps. Until then, she said, “we sit around and wait; nothing we can do about it.”
And while we're talking about Di Fara, let me mention something that has made me almost as sad as this latest run-in with the DOH...
Burnt pies.
There, I said it. And I hate to say it, but with readers calling me out on this in the comments, I've gotta say something.
I first noticed it about a month ago: a pie that Adam "The Amateur Gourmet" Roberts received looked a little too blackened:
April 26, 2007. Photograph from the Amateur Gourmet
I hoped it was just a fluke, but when I visited on May 20, here's what I got:
May 20, 2007
And then, on Memorial Day Weekend:
May 26, 2007
Maybe this break will give Di Fara some time to adjust the oven and fix whatever needs it.
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 6, 2007 at 7:00 PM
does anyone know Jenny Walsh - m4w - 21: She's a really cool pizza girl I meet her at Kings Canyon National park. I went back there and they told me she left. if anyone knows her please reply back.
Adorable Parsons student I met at Trader Joe's just now - 25 (Union Square): you - tired but beautiful Korean-Vietnamese from Maryland. I loved talking to you and would like to do that again! Let's go out to that pizza place on Spring, have a desert at Rice-to-Riches and see how it goes! What do you say?
Amber, you ate my pizza and walked away! - m4w - 26 (Lower East Side): It was nice you stopped to speak (and share a late nite snack)! Such beautiful eyes you had! Wish we could have had a halfway decent conversation. I had a few drinks and it was late! Maybe we can get together. I feel we had chemistry. I'm sure we will see each other again!
re: jen - m4w: re: jen - m4w
hi i told u that i like the show and u need to come back.u had a salad ur friend who didnt leave the car had something i made u wait for.call me u know the #. p.s. we had talk before wednesday i belive it was sunday night and someone at the house ask the drivier my name. this is nuts doing this but i liked you
call me or come in...... Location: pizza place
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 6, 2007 at 3:02 PM
Dear, DOH:
What if we sign a personal-injury waiver to eat at Di Fara? Would you let Dom open his place back up? Slice has taken the liberty of preparing one:
Download PDF: Liability-Waiver-DiFara-Pizza.pdf
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 5, 2007 at 4:27 PM
Holy crap, pizza freaks! Di Fara has been closed for an indeterminate period by the New York City Department of Health. Says Eater, which broke the story:
In a stunning and shocking turn of events, we're now able to confirm with 100% certainty that Di Fara has again been shut down by the Department of Health. Furthermore, with the pizzeria having failed five of their last six inspections, Dom DeMarco's pride and joy will remain closed until further notice. Here is the statement just issued to us by the Heath Department.
The statement says that the department came in to inspect and found evidence of rodent infestation and other violations that were in excess of standards. The DOH concluded that, having failed five of six inspections in the last 18 months, Dom DeMarco and crew showed an unwillingness to comply with code requirements.
Dom's closed until he can straighten the mess out with the scary sounding Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH.
Word is that if Dom loses his case before OATH, he will be sent to Guantanamo as an unlawful combatant.
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 5, 2007 at 10:42 AM
From the always-on-it Eater, which received a message from a tipster:
Was just waiting for my pie at ave. J's di fara and watched a doh official tape a yellow "closed" sign on the window. One reason was that the window was open. De Marco himself was so distracted he wasn't hand cutting basil and grating cheese atop the pies. Even without the added ingredients, pizza was still great.
First the problems in March, now this? And because he had the pass-through window open? That seems ridiculous. How many restaurants have whole façades that open up?
Posted by Adam Kuban, June 4, 2007 at 10:51 AM
Remember that rave review Village Voice food critic Robert Sietsema gave Il Brigante the other week?
New York Times food critic Frank Bruni says, "huh," slamming the new pizzeria and, by extension, Sietsema.
If his point is that Neapolitan pizza is unduly romanticized, and that your standard pizza pie in Naples is not necessarily some gastronomically wondrous epiphany, then O.K., there’s some merit to what he’s saying.
But his point seems to be that he loved this pie. My lunch companion and I found nothing lovable about it.
I haven't been yet, but now I'm even more curious...
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 22, 2007 at 6:27 PM
Beatles pizzas, from a series of celebrity tribute pies at Angelina's Pizzeria in Cambridge, Vermont. [via Friend of Slice Kristan K., via Urban Honking]
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 17, 2007 at 1:48 PM
The Village Voice's Robert Sietsema thinks he's found it at Il Brigante:
At its heart, Il Brigante is a pizzeria, and a damn good one. The rear wall is dominated by a flickering wood-burning hearth inside a limestone proscenium, where a sweating and grunting pizzaiolo is the star of his own small repertory theater. In the style of southern Italy, the 10-inch pies are intended for individual consumption. In fact, the margherita ($10) is the city's most perfect evocation of the true Naples style (even surpassing top spots like Una Pizza Napoletana and La Pizza Fresca). Starting with an irregular round of glove-soft dough with no yeasty taste, the margherita is dampened with plain tomato sauce and excellent cheese, bravely wearing a pair of fragrant basil leaves on its bosom. Eat it with a knife and fork—this is no New York pie.
Il Brigante
Address: 214 Front Street, New York NY 10038 [South Street Seaport area; map]
Phone: 212-285-0222
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 9, 2007 at 9:47 AM
The New York Times heads west and checks out the pizza at Mozza, the Mario Batali–Nancy Silverton upscale pizza joint in Los Angeles.
Ms. Silverton, who started her career as a pastry chef and is an accomplished baker, makes crusts with extraordinary character: softly chewy in spots, crisply charred in others, ever so faintly sweet, even more faintly sour. There’s some rye flour in her dough and some malt, and she lets it sit for 36 hours before she uses it....
Although not conventionally thick, her crusts are denser and weightier than the Neapolitan ideal, reflecting her stated love of the pizza bianca sold by several bakeries around Campo de’ Fiori in Rome. Instead of an actual topping, pizza bianca has perhaps a gloss of oil and maybe a dusting of herbs, forcing you to focus on what has become of the dough. It’s spongy, like focaccia, but with less air inside and more crunch outside....
Although Ms. Silverton is fixated on dough, she doesn’t ignore the balance of the pizza. The toppings for each of roughly 15 kinds of pies have well-chosen, well-balanced ingredients: meaty fennel sausage, creamy buffalo milk mozzarella, expertly cured meats....
It's an overwhelmingly positive review, and the only complaint Mr. Bruni had about the pizza was that the crusts of a few pies were too broad, as you can see in this photo.
FURTHER READING
Slice's overlord, Ed Levine tried the pizza at Mozza ages ago. Here's his take.
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 25, 2007 at 4:32 PM
It's been awhile since Slice has waded into the plaintive muck of Craigslist's Missed Connections section. So come with me, my loves, to the swamp of love that spawns That's Amore. —The Mgmt.
At New Park Pizza on CrossBay Blvd today with your friend - m4w: If this work's I'll not only be really happy but amazed! At New Park Pizza on Cross Bay Blvd in Howard Beach Queens this afternoon. You are light skinned and you were sitting with your girlfriend who was darker. You were wearing what I think I remember was a pink Tee shirt with something written on it. You had a small white box in front of you on the table that you were sitting at and you were looking at the content and smiling. You are beautiful with an amazing smile and although I should have talked to you I was in kind of a rush and didn't want to embarrass you in front of your friend and I still regret it. Tell me what you had in the box and I'll know it's you. I hope this work's because I would hate to think I will never see you again.
pizza parlor- waverly place - m4w (West Village): you were sitting at the table adjacent to me. I commented to you about the oily pizza. You had an incredible smile. Please contact me.
To My Dream "ozzie"...The One of Three - m4w - 29 (East Village): As the bar was closing, we shared a simple kiss...I said "see you at the pizza place" yet you weren't there...If you're out there, I wouldn't mind a quick snog before you head back to Oz...And yes, there will be power ballad singing...
How was that Lombardi's pizza? Saturday night on the 6. - m4w (Murray Hill): Saturday night: you bought a pizza at Lombardi's, then headed back uptown on the IRT [that's the 6] from Spring to 33rd, clad in brown boots and other earth tones, and carrying a tote with three initials. 'bout 10:00 PM or so. My route was the same. Sans pizza and boots, tho -- white cords, cutoff linen shirt, black glasses, unshaven. Coulda shoulda. But didn't! So write me a note and we can correspond while I'm away in France for a week or two.
Bella Napoli Madison Ave - 30: Tall Asian women in Chloe jeans ordering pizza in front of me. Really hot. Would like to meet you.
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 25, 2007 at 1:16 PM
My Serious Eats colleague Lia just sent this via cellphone picture-messaging.
Russo's, new pizzeria on Ave B between 3rd and 4th, opening in two weeks-ish. Nice huge interior, brick oven. There's another place opening between 2nd and 3rd called Solo Pizza, regular oven.
Thanks, Lia! If you have a tip you want to send Slice, email me at adam@sliceny.com.
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 23, 2007 at 10:48 PM
Hey,
Just thought you should know: Went for dinner at Dom's place tonight. Looks like he finally caved in to the D.O.H. because he was actually wearing a hat. It was a little blue train conductor's cap. Pizza was better than ever. We had a regular and a pepperoni/onion pie. It doesn't get any better than that.
—Jon S.
Jon,
Thanks for the update. Next time: Pix, please! ;)
Hasta la pizza,
Adam
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 23, 2007 at 9:23 AM
The recent mention of Slice on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire prompted this email from a former New Yorker who did some time in my hometown of Olathe, Kansas, before moving to Minneapolis. This "rant" made my day after I opened it Saturday afternoon. Enjoy! —Adam
Dear Slice,
I just discovered your website courtesy of the fact that it was a question on Millionaire. My first search on your site was for Lento's because I went to elementary school one block away. (I am over 50 now.) Last year I was in New York for a reunion and saw that Lento's was gone and was saddened indeed.
I have not yet had time to explore your site but was interested to note that your father had tried opening a pizza place in Olathe, Kansas. We resided in Olathe from 1981 to 1988, and I can remember hunting for a place that had a brick oven. People who had grown up there didn't even like pizza from a brick oven because they had grown up on the chain stuff and that was their definition of what a pie should be. As I recall, there was a brick-oven pizza place at Oak Park Mall, one near Johnson County Community College, and one in a mall near Kansas City, Kansas. That one was run by a guy who had come from Brooklyn and was really good but a lengthy drive up from Olathe if you had a quick hankering for a slice. So my question to you is: When and where in Olathe did your father try this pizzeria? I certainly would have been one of his customers if I knew about it. We lived up the hill from the Nazarene college.
"New York pizza is 50 percent wax paper and 50 percent olive oil dripping down your arm."
Now, I did notice you lamenting the quality of pizza in Manhattan. That is because, with the exception of Little Italy, pizza is not from Manhattan. New York–style pizza is a misnomer. Pizza came from Brooklyn (and branched into Queens). Pizza was on every corner in the Italian and Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn. At that time, Catholics abided by the dietary restrictions, so pizza, calzones, and strombolis were standard Friday night fare. Some places in Manhattan that are now residential were not back then, so pizza places for carry-out were not needed. What has developed in Manhattan is the quick and dirty—customers may or may not come back but there will always be another—rather than the family-owned-and-operated places that counted on developing repeat business in the neighborhoods.
In fact, even as late as the early '80's I took my husband to New York with our kids. I parked him in Nathan's while I went to get tickets at TKTS. The man bought slices of pizza there, and when I got back he said he didn't understand why New York pizza was so special! Fool. You don't go to Nathan's to buy pizza! Even though he was from the Midwest, I thought he had listened to me rant often enough that he knew that.
Once, while living in Chicago, he asked one of my coworkers, who was from Rockaway, about New York pizza. My coworker gave the best definition, and I still remember it: "New York pizza is 50 percent wax paper and 50 percent olive oil dripping down your arm." I thought that truly summed it up.
When we moved to the armpit called Cleveland, I took the Yellow Pages and called every pizza place listed and asked if they had a brick oven. If the response was "a what?" I said, "Thank you, if you don't know what it is, you don't have one."
Now, if you are ever in the Twin Cities area, there is an interesting pizza place there called Punch. They have a special oven that runs at 800°F. You barely get it ordered and paid for and it's ready. While the aficionado looking for "New York pizza" will not be satisfied, it is a very good taste to try.
Thanks for letting an old lady rant. If I have repeated things that are elsewhere on your site, I apologize.
—ffrrggyy
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 16, 2007 at 3:27 PM
The pizza you'd get from this deal is probably about as appetizing as the check I threw down Uncle Sam's big-ass moneyhole last week, but you've gotta give Papa John's props for the $10.40 reference. [via Tien]
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 12, 2007 at 7:54 PM
Dear Slice,
This sign just went up on B btwn 2nd & 3rd. Any clue who's behind it?
—KW
Beats me! Readers?
Solo Pizza
Address: 27 Avenue B, New York NY 10009
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 12, 2007 at 4:30 PM
At one point, I had rolled my own mashup Google pizza map, but when the Big Goog released its My Maps feature, I gave up trying to wrassle with code that I didn't quite understand anyway. I realized it would be easier to use the new feature to serve up Slice's local psearch info in a graphical way.
I give thee the Slice Pizza Map (NYC Edition).
I'm hoping Google keeps refining its technology. I'd like to see custom uploadable icons for place markers and also an easy way to embed My Maps into websites. Only time will tell.
Until then, you can click on the image of Slice's NYC map below or the link at left in the navigation menu.
Huge props to Robyn (aka The Girl Who Ate Everything), who has been interning at Serious Eats HQ and helped tremendously with this map.
[Related FAQ topic: Why haven't you idiots reviewed XYZ pizzeria yet!? It's only the best ever!]
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 11, 2007 at 3:12 PM
When it rains, it pours, eh? On the heels of Subway's crazy venture into the pizza-making world, we get news out of Chicago that Dunkin' Donuts is making pizza. At least with Subway, you can imagine a connection—they deal with bread and cheese every day. But Dunkin'? Here's what Chicagoist's Louis Frascogna:
The deep dish-looking pizza has the exact same flavor as the frozen bagel bites we ate as kids, which isn't a bad thing. The crust isn't really crusty, but more like hot bread, and the sauce has that standard fake pizza sauce flavor with assorted bits of basil. The cheese was just as nondescript, but acceptable. We ordered pepperoni but didn't really see a lot of pepperoni.
It isn't that it is terrible, but it was a little overpriced for the size, at $3.99, and it was so hot it did burn our thumb a little bit. Also, now that we ordered that pizza we are still hungry and feel bad about ordering donuts too.
The pizza here looks and sounds like the kind I tried at Subway. I wouldn't be surprised if the "speed oven" used and distributor were the same.
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 10, 2007 at 6:53 PM
Subway Pizza, blogged to Slice from the Flickr photostream of Slice
Earlier today, Lia alerted me to the fact that Subway has started to roll out personal pizzas in a few test stores in Manhattan's East Village. The chain plans to serve the mini pies nationwide by June.
liacheesedip: http://yumsugar.com/204748
nycslice:: INSANE!
nycslice:: EVIL
nycslice:: GROSS
liacheesedip: you need to go to one of the East Village Subways that have it
liacheesedip: for science
nycslice: for weird science
nycslice: maybe for lunch
liacheesedip: ewwwww
nycslice: let's not rush to judgment!
Speaking of "rush," isn't the saying "fools rush in where angels fear to tread?" Yeah. I think it is.
Prebaked at a central facility and shipped to individual stores, the small, six-inch pies take 90 seconds to reheat in a "speed oven." These things cost $2.99 for plain, $1 more for pepperoni or sausage. Veggie toppings are free.
Would you be surprised to learn that these things blow? I didn't think so. Either mine missed the prebake step at central or they're supposed to be pale gummy messes with a slick layer of greasy cheese.
I think Consumerist said it best, and I'm not even going to try to out–bon mot them ...
According to Brandweek, "After you eat this you won't go back to Pizza Hut," the Subway employee in New York boasted. We haven't been back to PIzza Hut since they stopped giving us free pizza for reading books.
Touché!
Anyone interested in trying this pizza can head to the Subway at Fourth Avenue and 12th Street. But first I should remind you of another fool-filled adage: "A fool and his money are soon parted."
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 4, 2007 at 2:36 PM
From PRNewswire.com:
Denver area pizza lovers have a 'hole' lot [Groan —Ed.] to be excited about as Einstein Bros. Bagels cooks up new pizza bagels for its hometown customers.... Einstein Bros. is now offering five Pizza Bagel flavors in 28 Front Range restaurants.
When I was a kid, Sis Slice (who was around 7 at the time) came up with this idea—using
Lender's frozen bagels, some
Chef Boyardee pizza sauce, and whatever mozzarella we had on hand. She submitted the idea to a local TV station's "create an afterschool snack" contest.
And never heard from the station.
Hey, I thought it was a great idea at the time. These days, you couldn't get me near a hybrid pizza bagel. It just takes the best of two respected traditions and ruins them.
To this I say, Oy vey AND mamma mia!
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 4, 2007 at 2:11 PM
The New York Post files its story on Di Fara's reopening:
"It feels great to be back. I thought I'd be out of practice until I made that first pie," said Dom, who's been serving up pizzas there for 42 years.
Many of DiFara's faithful said the pizzeria got a raw deal from the city, which hit the eatery with nine violations.
"They're pinching this cat when all he does is make love for people to eat," said Matt Crane, a 37-year-old musician.
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 3, 2007 at 4:26 PM
This Serious Eats stuff I've gotten myself into is a weird business. Blogging about pizza, burgers, and other food is now part of my job, so it wasn't out of the realm of the ordinary to take part of the day to go out to Di Fara Pizza.
The joint had just reopened after having a nasty run-in with the New York City Department of Health. As many of you know, the DOH smackdown wasn't pretty. Along with minor violations like failure to wear a hat and gloves, references to mouse poop and unsanitary conditions peppered the report.
But, a couple weeks of forced closure, the pizzeria's proprietor, Dom DeMarco, was back behind the counter, looking and acting a little peppier for the involuntary rest—greeting regulars in his trademark laconic way and accepting well-wishes from customers with a quick nod.
I was slightly jarred by the new coat of green paint on the walls, which gave the dining room a cozier yet more vibrant feel (see above). In retrospect, the previous faded-yellow color wasn't so becoming, eh? The place looked cleaner, too, with new trash cans that, by all indications, were actually being put to use.
It's funny what passes for news these days. You can sure as hell bet that Slice would be on hand for this event, but two other publications were also present: the Courier Life (right, at top) and the New York Post (right, at bottom). Notebooks out and cameras clicking away, the reporters interviewed people: "Are you a regular? How often do you come?"
But most important: "Even after the Department of Health report, you've come back. Why?"
The answers were typical for Di Fara devotees. "He makes the best pizza," one of the patrons responded.
I got there around 1:30 p.m., ordered a half-artichoke pie, and began the ritual waiting. Many of you know I hate crowds and lines, but the place wasn't that packed. Either the report had scared off lightweights and weak stomachs or folks just didn't know that the Dominator was back. But I had my pie by 2:15 p.m. or so (not bad time these days), ate a couple slices at a table (more than a handful of seats were available), and made my way back home to pick up my laptop and head into the office.
While I waited, I asked Dom's daughter, Maggie, about the fate of DeMarco's Pizzeria, the site of a violent gun battle a few weeks ago. The Post had reported that DeMarco's was closing for good, which didn't quite jibe with what the New York Times had said in an earlier, more thorough piece. The Times had it that DeMarco's would close its sit-down restaurant portion but keep the take-out pizzeria portion open. Maggie confirmed this. Alas, the Old Gray Lady's not called the "paper of record" for nothing, kids.
What's that you ask? Oh. How was my pie? Well, Dom was using the top oven as well as the usual middle oven, and I don't know how hot that top oven gets, but my crust could have used a bit more time in the fire.
Oh, and, Dom was stubbornly refusing to wear gloves and a hat!
For photo outtakes, click through the jump!
Continue reading »
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 2, 2007 at 5:40 PM
I just got off the phone with Dom DeMarco, proprietor of Di Fara. He says the joint's reopening tomorrow. And that when it was reinspected, it received a "0," which actually is good—as in zero violations.
Posted by Adam Kuban, April 2, 2007 at 2:21 PM
Friend of Slice Lia just sent me the photo above. Says the tipster: "What a dumbass name. Their pizza better be damn good!"
My thoughts exactly.
CHICKIE PIG'S BRICK OVEN PIZZERIA & RESTAURANT
Address: On Ludlow Street, between Rivington and Delancey, Lower East Side.
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 30, 2007 at 4:30 PM
Heh. That college town being Lawrence, Kansas, according to a recent story in the University Daily Kansan, the college newspaper I once worked on for a few semesters:
Lawrence’s pizza market is crowded with restaurants vying for the affections of hungry students and other residents, making it difficult for some businesses to survive.
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 29, 2007 at 10:44 PM
I didn't know who this Joss Stone was until looking her up on Wikipedia, but I guess she's popular enough to have paparazzi take her picture while she visits from the UK. Blimey! She knows what to do while here, eh?
Posted by correspondent, March 27, 2007 at 4:15 PM
LA RUSTIQUE BAKERIA
Address: 84 1/2 Morris Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302 (near Exchange Place)
Phone: 201-860-4010
Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sat-Sun 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. (hours can be quirky; call ahead)
Payment: Cash and all major credit cards
The Skinny: Takeout and delivery only, with some outdoor seating
All photographs by Michael Parillo
BY MICHAEL PARILLO .:::. As both a lifelong New Jerseyan and a pizza obsessive, I've been known to get gloomy about the state of the slice in my area. Too many ten-gallon cans of industrial-grade tomatoes, too much sweet and spongy dough. So a couple of years ago when I was tipped off about a killer pie in Jersey City, I made a beeline to La Rustique Bakeria.
JC isn't exactly in my neck of the woods, but if you have pizza, I will travel. I loved the pie, and I vowed to return. But then, whether out of laziness or wanting to avoid faraway takeout—La Rustique has just one table inside but adds outdoor seating in the warmer months—or simply because I've been captivated by my wife's homemade pizza and the impressive recent offerings in New York City, I didn't make it back until now.
Not much has changed at the small, modest-looking storefront bakery and pizzeria. A blown-up 1938 mug shot of Frank Sinatra still watches over the pizzaioli as they stretch their dough ("Nice and thin, gumbah—attaboy," I imagine Blue Eyes saying), and a glass case by the register still holds a tempting array of enormous pies—larger than those on the menu—which are cut and sold as "oversized slices" (Margherita $3; with toppings, $3.50).
Since this wasn't a warmer month, I had to order my pies to go. I went with a large Margherita with half sausage (large Margherita, $14.30; small, $8.50), and a small white pie with spinach (large white, $16.95; small, $10.95). The owner seemed suspicious when he saw me snap a photo from the sidewalk, and I didn't want to blow my cover, so I faded into the woodwork for a few minutes while my pies cooked. (I would defend my right to photograph, sans flash, to the ends of the earth, but I prefer to avoid confrontation with people who are feeding me.) Luckily, the baking didn't take long, given the intensity of the inferno beneath the brick oven's high-heat tiles.
After paying and shrugging off a sarcastic comment about my "taking pictures for posterity"—did he think I was trying to steal his design secrets?—I threw my short stack of boxes in my car and drove away. This is the part that kept messing me up. I was staked with hot pizzas, but I had no nearby safe house at which to tuck into them—home was almost 20 miles away. Park bench? Hourly motel room? I pulled over and settled for a few quick bites of the white pie—you know, because it would be unfair not to eat some of the stuff while it was as hot as possible. This was a good move, for the moment.
But then, as I drove, with my windows fogging over and my taste buds teased into great expectation, I had to endure the tantalizing aroma of smoke, herbs, tomatoes, and hot cardboard (I love the scent of pizza-warmed cardboard, a perk of the takeout experience). I avoided looking at my speedometer, and I'm lucky I wasn't pulled over.
I made it home while the pizza was still warm, and I went to work in earnest. The Margherita looked similar to the one I had the last time, which I'd photographed, for posterity. Today's specimen was a gorgeous, colorful pie, with snow-white house-made mozzarella peeking out from under the bright red blush of San Marzano tomatoes. (The cheese is so delicate and low in moisture that it must be placed beneath the tomatoes or it will burn.) The vibrant red was blurred to a fuzzier hue where Parmesan cheese had been sprinkled. The end crust bore the precious burn marks that I've come to value so highly.
Unfortunately, the pizza wasn't thin enough in the middle, and some of the internal areas met my teeth with a somewhat gluey texture. It seemed the bottom had charred before the dough directly beneath the cheese had had a chance to set fully.
Still, this was one tasty pizza, albeit subtly so. La Rustique achieves a refined savoriness rather than favoring forceful flavors. In fact, it's a pizza that resists being adorned. I liked the sausage slices, but the fennel-rich links, though nice, threw the flavor out of balance a bit. There's no question in my mind that ordering a Margherita is the way to best appreciate this pie as a whole—the creamy and mild mozzarella, the tangy and not-too-sweet tomatoes, the salty Parm, the nicely charred crust, all in harmony.
Yes, the Margherita is the star, but the white pie might earn top billing elsewhere. Not surprisingly, it, too, had subtle charms, given all of its innocent white, so its generous dusting of oregano and its scattered slivers of basil really picked up the flavors. And it contained no mozzarella, only a thin layer of ricotta. My thoughts on ricotta-topped pizza can go both ways—as much as I love No. 28 in Manhattan, I've found the ricotta on its white pie to be too pillowy—and so I was glad that La Rustique got the ricotta-to-other-stuff ratio exactly right. My only complaint about this pizza was that I could not detect the presence of the roasted garlic that was noted on the menu as being blended with the ricotta, which sounded like a nice touch.
Overall, with both pies, the very best parts were the burnt bits. There's just nothing like an oven that's hot enough to literally put its mark on a pizza. La Rustique's dough itself is good, not quite baking up crisp-chewy at the end crust—the ultimate—but offering a satisfying crunch before the cornicione collapses. Where it's charred, though, and where the smokiness of the burn marks can mix with the flavor of the cheese and the tomatoes—now that's heaven on earth. Jersey, listen up: No more pale pizzas!
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 27, 2007 at 2:47 PM
It might be high in antioxidants, but this pizza crust, developed at the University of Maryland, seems like it would be low in deliciousness:
University of Maryland food chemists said on Monday they had found ways to enhance the antioxidant content of whole-grain wheat pizza dough by baking it longer at higher temperatures and giving the dough lots of time to rise.
It actually turns out that the "higher temperatures" cited were between 400 and 550°F, which isn't all that out of the ordinary for most pizza ovens. What's interesting here is whether this effect occurs in whole-wheat pies cooked in high-heat pizzeria ovens. [via Cyrus]
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 22, 2007 at 10:36 PM
It always becomes an issue when a highly regarded pizzeria opens a second location -- will the pies be as good at the new branch? Will production at the original branch suffer as a result of the new venture? The New York Times on the new Fairfield, Connecticut, branch of Frank Pepe's:
To the average aficionado of thin-crust pies, the chewy, somewhat salty dough dished up by Fairfield’s Frank Pepe is every bit as good as any coming out of New Haven. One reason for that is the use of a coal-fired oven, which generates far more heat than most gas or electric installations. Another, a waitress told me, is that the batter (and red sauce) is whipped up every day from scratch.
Spicing Up the Great Pizza Debate [New York Times]
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 20, 2007 at 10:03 PM
Oh, my.
If you haven't seen it elsewhere, Gawker has dug up the NYC Dept. of Health inspector's report that closed Di Fara temporarily.
If you know us, you know we don't like having to report this news.
Source
Di Fara Pizza: One Slice, Free Droppings! [Gawker]
Further Reading
All Slice entries on Di Fara [The Slice Archives]
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 16, 2007 at 12:19 PM
Looks like the gunman who killed a bartender at Greenwich Village pizzeria DeMarco's and then two auxiliary police officers was not a former employee of the pizzeria, as was previously postulated. The New York Times:
A neighborhood resident, Tina Lourenco, told reporters that she had seen the gunman and recognized him as a former employee of the pizzeria.
But Dominick De Marco Jr., whose sister, Margaret Mieles, is a part owner of the pizza parlor, said Mr. Garvin was probably not a former employee, but instead a former customer.
Also from the Times, speculation on the motive:
Mr. Garvin, who moved to the Village from the Bronx about two weeks ago, had patronized the pizzeria occasionally and had been ejected several times for unruly behavior, a manager told the police. Investigators said that Mr. Garvin was the friend of a cook who had been fired by the pizzeria last fall, and for reasons that were unclear may have blamed Mr. Romero for the dismissal.
SOURCES
Greenwich Village Gunfight Leaves Four Dead [New York Times]
In Heart of Village, 4 Lives Intersect in a Chain of Violence [New York Times]
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 15, 2007 at 11:53 AM
Some sad news today. Romero Morales, a bartender at DeMarco's Pizzeria (a kinda-sorta offshoot of legendary Di Fara) was shot and killed last night for unknown reasons by a gunman. The shooter ran from DeMarco's and was chased by two auxiliary policemen—Nicholas Pekearo and Yevgeniy Marshalik—, who were then shot and killed by the gunman. The shooter, in turn, was shot and killed by cops arriving on the scene moments later.
The New York Times says:
It was unclear last night what lay behind the first shooting at the pizzeria, DeMarco’s at 146 Macdougal Street. The police said the gunman, wearing a fake beard, walked into the restaurant and was given a menu by Mr. Romero. When Mr. Romero turned away, the authorities said, the gunman shot him 15 times in the back.
When asked at a news conference this morning at nearly 2:30 what had prompted the attack, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, “It’s just inexplicable.”
Our condolences to the family and friends of the bartender and the staff and owners of DeMarco's and to the family, friends, and colleagues of the two auxiliary police officers
Update: The Associated Press is reporting:
Authorities were investigating why David Gavin, 32, went into a pizzeria around 9 p.m. Wednesday, asked for a menu and then shot an employee 15 times in the back before fleeing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
A neighborhood resident, Tina Lourenco, said she saw the gunman and recognized him as a former employee of the pizzeria.
FURTHER READING
All Slice posts on DeMarco's [The Slice Archives]
SOURCES
Village Shooting: 4 Dead, Including 2 Auxiliary Cops [Gothamist]
Greenwich Village Gunfight Leaves Four Dead [New York Times]
4 killed in NYC shootout; motive unknown [AP]
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 14, 2007 at 2:30 PM
The folks at Grub Street, New York magazine's foodblog, try a mighty expensive pizza: "Made of crème fraîche, six kinds of caviar (including a sac-load of intense black Russian Royal Sevruga, the same kind used in Norma’s omelette), and shaved slices of fresh lobster, the sample sowed confusion in our proletarian ranks."
Eh. You'd be an idiot to order one of these things. It's a waste of good pizza and good caviar. But, apparently, Bo Dietl purchased one. There's one born every minute.
If you feel like being a sucker, the pizza is available at Nino's Bellissima Pizza, 890 Second Avenue, New York NY 10017 (at 47th Street); 212-355-5540.
We Try a $1,000 Pizza [Grub Street]
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 13, 2007 at 1:20 PM
The following events took place last Tuesday, March 6, at the Javits Center in Manhattan, during the New York Pizza Show. I was on hand to judge in PMQ magazine's America's Plate pizza competition. Contestants came from Canada, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Italy, Australia, and the U.S. I had wanted to live-blog the proceedings, but I experienced technical difficulties early in the day. So, here is the tape-delayed version of last week's events.
9:31 a.m.: I enter the Javits Center. It's my first time here. Lots of tall glass and concrete. Doesn't seem very inspiring for a building that in many ways is New York City's face to visiting professionals.
9:53 a.m.:I check in, get my "floor pass," and head toward the PMQ New York Pizza Show corner of the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show.
9:54 a.m.: My cellie rings. It's Tom Boyles, editor of PMQ magazine, the trade publication that has organized the New York Pizza Show. "Where are you? I've got to brief the judges. We need you on the floor."
"I'm tryin'," I say. "The guards won't let me in till 10 a.m." Boyles pleads with the scanner-wielding guards to let me in a few minutes before the floor actually opens to attendees. I get in.
9:59 a.m.: I sit down at a table and meet "Pizza" Paul Nyland, who will serve as one of the judges. Soon after, Dino Ciccone, president of the World Pizza Organization and builder of the World Pizza Bike, sits down. Ciccone will be lead judge, and he wants to consult with us on ground rules. "There might be shrinkage on pies in the oven," he says. "How far plus or minus do we want to give contestants? An inch in either direction?" (Judging rules state that all pies must be round and 14 inches in diameter; deviant pies will be docked 1 point. Boyles notes that in past shows, contestants have been known to cut their pies into novel shapes—the outline of Italy, for instance—confident that their creation was so good that the 1-point deduction would have little effect on overall score.)
10:04 a.m.: John Brescio, owner of legendary Manhattan pizzeria Lombardi's, arrives. He's another of the judges. Ciccone continues to clarify scoring criteria. "In the event of a tie, which category should serve as tiebreaker?" he asks. "Overall appearance, taste, or creativity?"
"Taste," Brescio says, emphatically—spoken like a man who doesn't rely on frills and wacky toppings to sell his pies.
10:10 a.m.: With the judges' briefing done, Boyles dismisses us, telling us to meet him at 11 a.m. in the PMQ conference room. I wander the floor, looking at pizza ovens (that's a Roto-Flex multideck rotary oven at right), delivery vans, dough-shaping machines, sauce-dispensing machines. The sauce-dispensing machine catches my eye, all tubes and vats. What's the point? Here's a $3 piece of sauce-dispensing technology for you—it's called a ladle.
10:33 a.m.: It looks like the final judge has arrived: restaurateur and caterer Tony Modica (right), who's also the creator of the Pizza Dance. Mr. Modica has an entourage with him, consisting of at least one accordion player. I've never seen the Pizza Dance in person, so I secretly hope that Mr. Modica will break into it at some point during the day—I mean, otherwise why lug an accordion in? (A note on the Pizza Dance: Its moves correspond to the motions you go through while making pizza: "Bang it, shake it, spin it, put it in the oven.")
10:50 a.m.: I decide to see what kind of wifi connection the Javits Center has. Nothing free. I decide to pay the $29.99 daily rate. Hey, it's for the sake of pizza, right? I connect (woo hoo!), close the lid of my MacBook, and proceed to the judges chambers.
11:11 a.m.: I'm in the judge's chambers, waiting for the first slices to come in. The other judges are with me, chatting pizza and making restaurant shop talk. In Italian. Mamma Mia, how I regret having studied German in college at this moment. Wait! I understand something: va fanculo, I hear. I wish I knew what prompted that exchange!
With no pizzeria experience to chat about and no Italian beyond a curse or two and the phrase for "good luck," I slink to a corner to communicate in the best way I know how: blogging. I transfer some photos from my digicam to my laptop and then, connecting again successfully to Javits wifi, I upload a couple pix to my Flickr account. I'll kill the time spent waiting on slices by live-blogging this thing. Slice readers will get minute-by-minute updates on how the judging is going.
11:27 a.m.: Ugh. Yeah, right. Let's put that on hold. Friggin' Javits Center is ripping me. After having connected and uploaded a photo, the wireless is not working for some reason. It registers that I've paid and tells me to "click here to continue." I click. Animated ellipses blink: "One moment, please." I'm transferred back to step one: "Click here to continue." I can't get the damn thing to work. I guess this will be tape-delayed blogging of the America's Plate.
11: 35 a.m.: Boyles, serving as pizza runner, brings the first pie in. We don't know which team it's from. Neither does Boyles—it's double-blind judging. We do know it's from Contestant No. 2. "No. 1 is running a bit behind," Boyles says. "It'll be along shortly."
No. 2 looks good, and I remember lead judge Dino Ciccone's advice. He's a veteran of numerous serious pizza-judgings and has been on the other end of the stick himself, as a contestant. In the event that the first pie is terrific, Ciccone says, it's best to be conservative with the grading. In other words, even if it rates a 10 in your book, give it an 8 or so. That way, if another pie comes out later that's even better, you still have room to grade it higher.
I'd never thought of this before, and it's one of the things that put this pizza competition head and shoulders above some of the others I've judged in. The overall knowledge of the judges, their love of pizza, and their attention to detail are superb. In this room, I'm clearly the greenest of greenhorns, the tenderest of tenderfoots, the n00biest of n00bs.
No. 2 features a beef topping laid out upon a bed of neatly applied cheeses. Cheese and sauce are in balance. Sauce is bright and fresh tasting. There's a nice, puffy outer lip to the crust. Modica doesn't like that. I don't mind it. The bottom is charred nicely. Not bad for a team using an oven it's unfamiliar with. I give this one high marks.
11:44 a.m.: No. 1 finally appears. Straggler. "Look at that," Brescio moans. "That's a premade commericial crust. Lift it up, let's see the bottom." It's not surprising that professional pizza men also want to sneak a peek at an upskirt view of the crust.
This upskirt reveals a spongy, golden-brown crust. It reminds me of a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza crust or a Domino's Deep-Dish crust. I imagine the airy yet over-oily mouthfeel I'm about to experience. But I don't. The crust is actually not that bad, just not all that impressive to a bunch of diehard New York–pizza guys. Many remark that the toppings are incredible—"Great artichokes," Ciccone says—but wish that the crust would have been cooked a little more. I find the black olives too salty and dominant for my taste, obscuring the flavor of the 'chokes.
11: 52 a.m.: Hot on the heels of tardy Contestant No. 1 comes No. 3. Boyles brings in the pizza box, and opens the lid to reveal a spectacular sight. A pie topped with sheets of gold leaf. I recall the gold-topped 007-inspired pizza from Scotland. This one has everyone talking. "Can you eat that?" Modica asks.
"Yeah. I've seen this before," Ciccone says. "It's edible gold leaf."
"A guy in Park Slope does this," I say. "He calls it the 'L'Oro di Napoli' and it's inspired by a Sofia Loren film. It's supposed to just pass through the body harmlessly without being absorbed."
This one is great. The crust, the sauce, the cheese distro. Everything. Nice char on the thin, crisp-chewy crust (right). The only complaint I have is the gold leaf, which is more gimmick than anything. And since one of the judging categories is "Pizza Viability"—i.e., how practical is it to make for typical restaurant service—I score it low in that column. Seems like it would be expensive to reproduce this pie.*
I guess I'll have some valuable poop soon.
12:04 p.m.: Contestant No. 4 emerges. Boyles walks in, hoping aloud that he hasn't "ruined the chefs' creation." Opening the box lid reveals why he was worried. At the four corners of the pie are large gorgonzola-stuffed dough knots. It looks like a medieval castle of some sort. Is this one of the European pies, I wonder.
It's loaded with many, many toppings, all of which are top-notch and incredibly flavorful and fresh-tasting. There are simply too many, however—and too many "wet" toppings that sog down the crust. "There's a gum line on this thing," Ciccone says. "It's raw."
I can't even get an upskirt because not even with all the years of practice in pizza-upskirting could I get this slice to stand up for a shot from underneath. I have to down-blouse this one. :(
None of the judges tries the dough-knot things. We're just confused by them. The crust is stuffed with the same mild gorgonzola that tops the pie.
12:33 p.m.: Contestant No. 5 comes out swinging with a pie called the "Pacific Dream." I guess that this one might be the American pie and that the American team is from California. It's the most out-there pizza yet, with smoked salmon, onion, basil, and salmon roe dotted upon dollops of crème fraîche.
I never would have dreamed of putting crème fraîche on a pizza, but, well, it was kinda good—in that way that crème fraîche makes almost anything good. It was interesting. The smoked salmon almost tasted like bacon of the sea, since it was thin and smoky and had cooked to a baconlike texture in the heat of the oven.** High marks for creativity but still a weird pie overall.
12:49 p.m.: Uh oh. Another out-of-order snafu. Contestant No. 7 hits the judges chambers before No. 6. Oh well. Boy, does it hit us. We can SMELL this pizza the minute it floats in. This one is called the "Prince Henri," we're told. Hmmm. THAT definitely must be a European. France? Luxembourg? Probably not Spain. It features salame piccante paired with a very pungent gorgonzola. The gorgonzola is just too much and obscures the taste of the salame piccante and the sauce. The only time I taste anything other than gorgonzola is when I bite into the cherry tomato on my slice and it bursts its tomatoey flavor onto my tastebuds.
12:56 p.m.: The last of the pies comes out. Contestant No. 6. It's another odd one. It's called the "Lamb Paradise" and has lamb, feta, tzatziki sauce, chives, olives, grape leaves, and tomatoes. It's almost overkill, and we think the crust is going to suffer for it. But it's a hearty whole-wheat crust. Whole-what?!?!? Yes. That does not endear it to us. The judges must have followed the letter of the roundness law on this one -- it is perfectly, strangely, arrestingly circular. This is like a gyro on a pizza. Like the "Pacific Dream," it is creative and tasty but just not completely there.
1:22 p.m.: The scores are in, the judges are tallying everything. Ciccone and Boyles (right) reach a total and rank the contestants.
1:44 p.m.: We leave the judges chambers and head to the stage area. It's time to award the winners.
1st Place: Spain (The Gold Pizza)
2nd Place: France (The Beef Topped Pie)
3rd Place: USA (The Puffy Boboli-Like Pie)
4th Place: Australia (The Lamb Paradise)
5th Place: Luxembourg (The Prince Henri)
6th Place: Italy (The Dough-Knot Pizza)
7th Place: Canada (The Pacific Dream)
2:03 p.m.: The U.S. Pizza Team shows some off some of its moves. Here's a vid:
2:32 p.m.: I leave the Javits Center. $29.99 poorer, seven slices heavier, and content at having tried pizza from all over the world.
FOOTNOTES
* I later learn that edible gold leaf isn't that expensive but that it's a tricky substance to work with—it wants to stick to everything and you have to be patient with it to apply it to a pie.
** In describing this pie to Girl Slice, I am told, "Oh. They basically did a blini pizza." That sounds about right.