Our big pizza adventure in Brooklyn

Gray Newman and I and a couple of other people made an epic circuit of outer Brooklyn yesterday for the hell of it, beginning in Bushwick and going as far as Canarsie. (How many Manhattanites have taken the L to the end of the line, or have taken the J anywhere, or the B6 bus?)

Someplace along the line, I suggested that we might consider getting pizza at the legendary hole-in-the-wall Di Fara (where none of us had been) or the hipster Frannie’s (where I have been many times). In the end, we hit both.

It was back to back pizzas in alternate universes.

Di Fara has its own Wikipedia entry. But sampling the pizza is not a simple matter. When we arrived at 5:30, we were told the wait for a slice would be an hour. For a whole pie, it would be more like 90 minutes. That equated to an hour for one slice per person or an hour and a half for two slices each. For the slices, there are no topping options. It’s all margarita.

The problem is not lines out the door. The problem is a bottleneck in the open kitchen: The 82-year-old Signor Di Fara, who doesn’t move to fast, and insists on doing all the work. Well, he does let his counter man get the dough from the backroom and perform the first flop or two on the counter, and he lets him pull the pies from the oven and slice them and cut the basil onto them. Otherwise, it’s a one-man show, and this man takes his pies seriously.

Since we’d come this far (Avenue J), we figured we had to stay, so we ordered slices and walked around the neighborhood. It was dead because the area is largely Orthodox Jewish now and most shops were closed for the sabbath. (Even the Walgreens had window signs in Hebrew!)

We came back in half an hour, hopeful that they’d overestimated the time, or that others had given up and we’d get their slices. But, no, it was a full hour before ours came out.

Was it worth it? Yes! The pizza was outstanding. Great crust, super-flavorful tomato sauce and cheese. Another time I’d order a whole pie and come with a plan to entertain ourselves for 90 minutes (best not to come on a Saturday). The restaurant is a half block from the Avenue J stop on the Q train, so it’s easy to get to.The clientele was mostly 20-somethings who seemed to be arriving in cars. So the legend has spread to another generation.

Having had just one slice, several in the group were still hungry, so it was suggested that we also go to Frannie’s, on Flatbush Avenue, a short ride on the Q train to yuppiedom central in Park Slope.

(Reader thought: What? A second pizza stop?)

At Frannie’s we faced another hour’s wait for a table (it was 7:45 on a Saturday night). But the food was great. The pizzas were excellent, in a style similar to Di Fara, actually. (Gray, a master pizza maker himself, might draw finer distinctions than me.) I decided to forego pizza and had an outstanding bucantini with ramps and walnuts. A 2011 Roagna Langhe Rosso (100% nebbiolo from younger vines in Barolo and Barbaresco) was satisfying and a good match for the food.

But the noise! Sheeesh! I seriously would think about bringing ear plugs if I return. I remembered why my wife and I haven’t been back since our one visit to Frannie’s after they moved three years or so ago. Tile walls, unupholstered wooden chairs and benches, wood floors – everything designed to amplify sound. Not a shred of fabric or soundproofing material in the place.

Why do restaurant owners and architects do this to us?! It was a relief to walk out the door after the meal, even though the food was excellent. I’m unlikely to rush back – at least not without hunter’s ear plugs.

Yeah, that’s Dom, for sure.

To get you in and out as soon as possible so that they can turn the table and make more $. A pretty simple equation.

Also, Di Fara

Spelling corrected!

John.

I could have given you the secret phone number (I’m not kidding) that would have reduced your wait time to 20 minutes.

Please please tell me that you had a Sicilian slice. If you did, you would have written about ‘the crunch’.

That sounds like a lot of fun. I’m a huge fan of Frannie’s. I’ve only been to DiFara twice and thought, while good, it didn’t live up to its exalted status; that said I admit the pizza there is not my preferred style.

Thanks! I’ll drop you a note for that phone number the next time I’m heading out there.

They told us when we arrived that they weren’t making squares that day, so we ordered conventional wedge slices. However, when we returned from our time-killing stroll, there was a square pie being readied for the oven. I guess old man Di Fara does what he feels like.

Have you had your hearing tested recently?

Love Di Fara’s. John—just one other correction: Sal’s last name is DeMarco, not Di Fara. On the origins of the name, here’s Sal quoted in a 2004 NY Times piece, as found on Wikipedia:

“I’m 69 years old. I’ve been in Brooklyn since 1959. I’m from Provincia di Caserta in Italy, near Napoli. When I got here, I spent three months in Long Island, in Huntington, working on a farm… then somebody put a bug in my head and said there’s a good spot on Avenue J. I didn’t even know Avenue J existed. So I come over here with my accountant on a Saturday night, and this corner was for rent. It was so crowded, the street. So I take the phone number, I call the landlord, and he says to come see me Sunday, make sure you bring a deposit. When I opened the store, my partner’s name was Farina. My name is DeMarco. So when the lawyer made the paper, he put the two names together. Di Fara. Di for me, and Fara for him. I bought my partner out in 1978, I think. I kept the same name; I didn’t bother changing it.”

Was just going to post the same thing.

Had dinner at Lucali in Carroll Gardens Sat eve. Really excellent pizza and an even better calzone. Charming little place and I could hear after dinner (couldn’t move but that was because 2 of us finished a large pie and the calzone). The wait can be significant but turn up at 5, get on the list and you’ll get a call… no need to wait in front

And free corkage. (bring glasses if you care about that)

When you call, just tell Margaret (his daughter) what you want, and the day/time. Their regular pie is good; but it’s all about the Sicilian, and the crunch. Take a look at the Offline forum. Berserkers have been to Di Fara’s five times on our yearly pilgrimage. I grew up on Avenue I and East 52nd steet. While this may seem close, in Brooklyn terms, it’s like NY to LA.

Now where did I put her phone number.

I get a failing grade for name accuracy this week. First I misspell it, then I learn it’s not even his name. Sheesh.

Thanks for the correction.

No wonder they made you wait! Ha.

Come to think of it, they first told us it was a 45 minute wait, but then when John got the name wrong they said they had meant an hour and a half all along.

Yep, I’ve been told that by a couple of owners and a couple of designers. Also, the belief is that the millennial so actually like the buzz of a loud establishment.

What?

There is no question that Di Fara is in the upper strata of NYC pizza and has been so for years. The issue is simple supply and demand. Through folklore and the Internet, the place has been exalted over the years, and with one older person making everything, at a very slow rate, and with many, many people wanting to get even a slice, this all translates into an incredibly long wait time. I once waited three and a half hours for an entire pie; no exaggeration. Granted, it was New Years Eve (this was part of a multi-borough NYC NYE pizza crawl; that’s how I roll), so the wait was not surprising. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Now that wait is part of the folklore.

As for Franny’s: this place rocks. Yes, it’s loud. But it’s also complete, and homey. And Franny’s is wine-friendly, both in the interesting wine list and the fact that it is BYO friendly (corkage is reasonable). Franny’s menu changes nightly or almost nightly, depending on what is fresh and in season. Pastas are solid. I wish we had Franny’s in (on) Manhattan.

Be warned on the Sicilian that the crunch comes from the crust essentially frying. The pizza is also doused with a lot of oil. Some people, obviously, love it. I found it inedible. A matter of taste for sure, just think people should know what they are getting into.

I should have stressed the excellent wine list, and knowledgeable somm. That is a real plus. But the noise level was really unpleasant.