Sunday, February 27, 2011

DiFara's Pizza

This is not my entry. it is a repost from

I liked the entry and the photograph so much i decided to feature it on the blog.
My entry is right below the repost.



I was in New York over the weekend. For lunch on Saturday, my friend and I took the Q train out to Brooklyn (way out, almost at Coney Island) to get pizza at Di Fara. First things first, Di Fara is incredible pizza; the best I’ve had anywhere. What actually makes Di Fara particularly remarkable is the man (pictured above), Dom DeMarco. Dom’s been running the place since 1959. He’s 69. He’s been there since he was 19 making great pizzas by hand for 50 years and his, I believe, are the only hands to touch the pizza before they go in the oven.

Di Fara is a small, unassuming corner shop on Avenue J in Midwood. It’s crowded and there’s little seating. Most people are happy to stand and wait, watching while DeMarco works his deceptively simple craft with hands that must have rolled out tens of thousands of pies. I got there a little bit after they opened and still waited about an hour. Waits during rushes would be unbearable to non-enthusiasts, but people wait. I think that’s as much testament to the respect DeMarco’s earned as it is to the quality of the pie.

How much does a man have to love his work to do it, day in and day out, for 50 years? While wildly popular, he can’t be doing it for the money. He’s pushing 70, in and out of the hospital, and still at it. I’ll count myself lucky if I find something to love half as much as Dom loves his work.
Via http://brianoh.wordpress.com/

This short entry was very deep and expresses the passion that Domenico DeMarco puts into his pizza. Fact: Di Fara Pizza opened in 1964, 1959 was the year he emigrated from Italy.

Ive been going to DiFara's since 2003, the same year I started my food journeys, freshman year of high school. I went to Edward R. Murrow and it was a 5 minute walk away. I've spent countless hours, at one point everyday of the week, and at least once a month, hanging out with fellow locals, tourist and dozens of foodies, just talking about pizza, other food spots and Dom's work of art.

Over the past 8 years I've introduced many friends to this place. In 2008, this was the first food spot of my "food journey crew". Originally, before the crew formed, it was just me, Ray, Franklin and Ling visiting DiFara's after my constant testimonials. After making them believers, we decided to do it again a week later and check out another food spot. Then week after week, it became a weekly tradition. Soon after Jerome became an addition to the crew, as well as Pico when available. Aside from pizza, we would check out local burger spots, sandwiches and etc. Difara's pizza being so amazing, addicting and completely distinct from any other pizza, our main goal is to find the DiFara's version of all types of food. Personally, I am still looking for a burger that I can consider the "DiFara of Burgers" hahaha

Occasionally, as the Food Journey Crew, we would travel out of New York City to neighboring states, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

From fine dining to small taco trucks, New York has become one of the biggest and best food cities in the world, making the food journey everlasting as new restaurants open frequently.

Our next big food journey is most likely going to be in Chicago, a city just like NYC in its abundance of food spots. From Steakhouses, beef sandwiches, deep dish pizza and the chicago style hotdog, we will be looking forward to all the eateries the chi-town has to offer.

It all started with DiFara's...........................................

Laters,
-J.P.