In an earlier post, I complained about the wait at Di Fara, prompted by a recent thread on Chowhound. Slice's city editor, Seltzerboy, responded in the comments section of that post. But his words are too good to be buried there. Dig ... --Ed. WORDS BY SELTZERBOY .::. Di Fara is not the problem. It's the victim of a much larger problem. Too often, pizza is viewed as fast food. Di Fara is anything but fast food. In pretty much any restaurant, people are used to having their food delivered in less than 30 minutes. When someone says a restaurant... More

Dear Slice, I was reading your article on the coal-oven pizzerias in Florida. Surprisingly enough, there are a few more locations opening up throughout the area. There is a company called Coal Fired Pizza Co. opening in Wellington and a second location in Coral Springs. Both are due to open the first week of July. I know this because I am the designer/builder of these ovens. Now David Manero of Manero's Restaurant Group, Gotham City, and Shore is opening up a coal-oven pizza restaurant on PGA in Palm Beach Gardens. The myth of the coal ovens causing pollution has passed... More

Not to be a pizza weblog that complains about something without offering a solution, we propose to spearhead a collection to buy Dom DeMarco a Take-A-Number system. Who's in? $550 for: Two-Digit Indicator with bar-segmented numbers and black housing Wireless Receiver with mounting bracket Electrical Adapter plug-in Set 1P 2 Remotes with Velcro D900 Ticket Dispenser, red/gray Counter Stand for Dispenser Take-A-Number Sign for Dispenser (English) 6 Rolls T90 Tickets (4,000 tickets per roll) Four thousand tickets per roll? That should get Dom through half a day. Take A Number 2-Digit Wireless Ready Set Kit [Take a Number, Inc.]... More

A Slice reader alerted us to a looooong thread on Chowhound about the interminable wait and dropped orders at Di Fara. It was started by this post: There is no way I will get my husband to go back to try again, but I would like to know if anyone else has had this kind of experience, in case I make a visit with other friends. Were we wrong to order a whole pie? Were we wrong to order mushrooms? I hadn't gotten this from previous postings, but is this another case of a grumpy owner who decides that he... More

We mentioned Seattle chef Tom Douglas's soon-to-open pizzeria a couple weeks ago on Slice, but here's a very cool new twist -- especially for all you Seattleites eager to get in front of a pizza oven: Located just off the corner of Fourth Avenue and Virginia Street, in a storefront below the Dahlia Lounge and its adjacent bakery, Serious Pie will host 40 seats, a rotating lineup of cooks from Tom Douglas Restaurants and — here's the too-much-fun part — a weekly "open mike" night. That's when pizzaiola wannabes (yes, that means you, Gianni Q. Public), can strut their pizza-making... More

From a nice profile of Phoenix pizzaiolo Chris Bianco in the Arizona Republic today: The faithful and the curious, the foodies and the tourists, the hungry, the whiny and the just plain crazy come to Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix, and settle into the outdoor picnic tables insanely early, even in 113-degree heat, eyeing each other with a mix of glee and gloating. For sure, they're going to get tables tonight. They will shovel into their grateful mouths wood-roasted vegetables just barely picked, and fresh mozzarella cheese that Bianco coaxed from curd into milky wonder that morning. They'll dunk fire-tinged... More

Stunt magician David Blaine loves Di Fara Pizza. He must have gone there after his latest trick, in which he submerged himself in a water-filled bubble: While in the sphere, Blaine said, "I passed the time by pretending to be an astronaut, floating freely in space." He dreamed of his favorite restaurant, Di Fara's Pizzeria in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, where he goes after every stunt. And here's from a wonderful interview Jeff Vandam did with Di Fara proprietor Dom Demarco for the New York Times: "You want to know something? A lot of people, they pay more for... More

This site was mentioned in the New York Post today in a story about Google Maps mashups. Referring, of course, to our Slice Pizza Map. Nyslice.com lets hungry New Yorkers see the city with topographical pizza goggles on. In other words, the way it was intended. Unfortunately, the paper botched our URL. In other words, their hungry readers will remain pizzagraphically challenged and hungry. Off the Charts [New York Post]... More

Candler resident Lori Hancock, 29, said she bought three pepperoni Hot-n-Ready pizzas at the restaurant Saturday afternoon for her son’s outdoor birthday party at a friend’s home. A few hours later, the homeowner noticed something unusual on the last pizza, Hancock said. “They looked like tiny bits of rice clumped together,” she said. Hancock took the remainder of the pizza to her home, where later that evening she saw what she said were live maggots underneath the cheese. You know, I watch a lot of CSI, and I think I heard it mentioned on there that maggots are primarily found... More

In a strange turn of events, a Des Moines, Iowa, radio personality reportedly has invented no-dough pizzas, an idea spawned from a lawn-mowing accident. The Des Moines Register said WHO's Van Harden came up with the idea of making his pizza crusts from a cheese base after losing his desire for bread. Mmm, cheese. You could conceivably make it a trifecta if you used a cheese-based sauce. Way to go, Van! Lawn-mowing accident leads to new pizza [UPI] Van invents a 100% cheese crust pizza [VanHarden.com]... More