Many will claim New York is the ultimate pizza town in America, and I will probably agree that many are right. And while local New Yorkers will religiously proclaim their personal favorite as the best pie in the city, many of the aforementioned many agree that Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn might very well be the king of pizzas.
Now, by all means, we have some nice pizza places in Spokane. Bennidito’s, David’s, and Ferrante’s all deliver great pies, but Di Fara is in its own league, and is a reason itself to make your way over to the east coast. Watching Domenico De Marco prepping pizzas in slow, zen-like motions should be as big of a part of a New York trip as seeing Times Square, riding the Staten Island ferry, or rubbing shoulders with Maggie Gyllenhaal at Gorilla Coffee.
And the pie? Thin crust, with porcinis soaked in… something heavenly…, and basil cut by Domenico in the same tai-chi movements he uses while making the dough. Yet what makes the pie the standout in a town that literally has ten million pizzerias (give or take) is the tomato sauce. Even if you usually scrape off the sauce of your pie, you will want to marry this sauce. It’s slightly sweet, slightly tangy, and absolutely out of this world.
The pizza might be expensive—around $30 for a large Costco-size pie—and the yoga style prep time means there’s quite a wait until you see the finished product. That’s all good though, as the pizza’s well worth it. Keep in mind that it’s kind of hard finding the hole in the wall too. On our trip we accidentally stopped at a different pizza place a block off, which also was closed. Thinking this was Di Fara, one of the members of our party almost broke down in tears (again, literally) thinking he might have to settle for NY-style tamales over a Di Fara pie. Luckily, we soon noticed we had made a mistake, and walked down the block to witness the pizza god in action.
And so should you.
Location: 1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn NY 11230 (Cash only and BYOB.) Map.