Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Di Fara's Pizza: A Culinary Oddessy

This past weekend, DF and I went on a trip back to his roots. 4 days total, 2 travelling and 2 in New Jersey. Arrgghh!! Not that I didn't have fun in the Garden State but travelling out there is quite the slog.

DF had it in his brain that we should visit a pizza place he'd seen recently in the NY Times: Di Fara's. They'd recently raised their slice price to $5 for a plain one. Controversy! So OK, I think it's kind of a strange quest, but he's the one who's willing to drive from New Jersey through Manhattan and on to Brooklyn and I'm only the navigator. Why not?

Oy vey, what a drive!! I would have to be committed before I'd drive in NYC, but DF has no fear and we survived, arriving in Midwood, Brooklyn in the early afternoon. This place is a hole in the wall. We walk inside and a little elderly Italian gentleman is hard at work making the pies. Here he is, cutting basil onto a pizza he just took out of the oven:



We waited around 45 minutes for our slices and devoured them on the steps of a nearby school.


OMG!! Worth the wait! Umm, umm, delicious!! $5 is a lot to pay for a slice, but they were really good and you'd pay that much for a fancy coffee at Starbuck's. And of course, I have a story to tell.

We did not go back through Manhattan, deciding to take the Verrazano Bridge back to New Jersey, which was much more enjoyable albeit longer. On the way back to the house, we stopped at DF's alma mater, Stevens Institute of Technology. Lovely campus in a great urban setting (Hoboken) with killer views of NYC. This picture was taken at Castle Point:


I'm still looking forward to a New Jersey trip where I can actually spend more time visiting than travelling. I'd love it if I could meet up with some of the NY/NJ gals for shopping and lunch too. Lindsay and Carolyn, are you game?

6 comments:

Duchesse said...

$5 is the going rate in that neck of the woods for a handmade slice, but it looks like he's got a pizza in that box??? I have an agreement with DH: no more than 4 hours (total) driving on any given day and at lest 2 days off between major driving chunks. It is NOT a vacation for me to have my butt glued to a car seat for hours and hours.

NancyDaQ said...

There are 2 slices in the box. We asked for that since there was no room inside and hot as Hades besides. The steps were about a block away and we didn't want to risk our slices on mere paper plates.

We flew and it took approximately 11 hours each time, including the long layovers. Connections are not what they used to be!

materfamilias said...

I have to admit I love those kind of quirky travel goals and can often be the instigator -- I'll see something in an article and decide we have to track a place down. Besides discovering a potential new treasure, there's all the exploration enroute -- sounds as if your pizza made it almost worthwhile.

gwensews said...

Oh yumm. And here I am, going to Weight Watchers, with my taste buds stimulated!

Raesha D said...

HHmmm I love pizza! Hubby and I ate at Nico's today - they have awesome pizza. So yep - I'm downtown again - in the Bank of the West building:) What building are you in?? We should meet up for lunch sometime:)

judy aldridge said...

I love your blog--I desperately need to get my machine out! Thanks for the inspiration...