Di Fara Pizza

Update: DiFara is now open Wed-Sun

As a pizza lover, the trip out to Di Fara in Midwood on the Q feels like a pilgrimage. Located deep in Brooklyn, just after the subway creeps above ground into a strangely suburban landscape, this unassuming corner pizza parlor churns out some of the most celebrated pizza in the city. Pizza zen-master Dom DeMarco, who’s over 70 and has operated Di Fara for 40 years, makes each one himself (all day, seven days a week), from shaping the dough and spreading the sauce, to snipping fresh basil and swirling olive oil over the finished pie. Considering all the hype, I didn’t doubt it would be good; but would it meet my ridiculously high expectations?

It exceeded them. This is one of the rare slices where there’s just the right amount of everything, and it all tastes incredibly fresh–crisp, chewy crust, bright, tangy sauce, and slightly salty cheese melted over it all. Di Fara uses a mixture of fresh mozzarella or mozzerella di bufala with processed mozzarella, and a generous sprinkling of grana padana parmesean, that layers over every inch of sauce and is never too much. I ate two slices transfixed on the quiet sidewalk and then I wanted more.

But the wait is daunting. The line at Di Fara defies logic and patience; your order is written down and promptly forgotten, you ask for four slices and you get three. Regulars sidle in front of you, shouting “another pie!” and meanwhile you watch Dom, calmly working away on another blob of dough, and wonder desparately, “is that mine?” You do this over and over again for maybe half and hour. The slices are expensive ($4) and if you’re looking to eat in, the interior is less from spotless.

Maybe I just really love pizza, but that’s all background noise to one of the best slices you can have. Granted, January may not be the ideal time to visit but one day soon the thermometer is bound to crack 50 degrees. Go early–wear a scarf, bring a book, and wander up the pretty rows of Victorian houses off Avenue J with a hot slice folded in your hands.

This just in from Slice: Di Fara is closed because Dom DeMarco broke his kneecap in a car accident and needs surgery. Word is he’ll recuperate at work, and reopen on or before February 1st. Here’s wishing Dom a speedy recovery.

DiFara on Slice
Dom DeMarco interview in the New York Times

Di Fara 1424 Ave. J at E. 15th St. Brooklyn
Daily 11am-10pm