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Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
That is not a little tasty char on the crust, that pizza is BURNT.
Di Fara Raising Slice Prices to $5; Will Close Tuesdays in Addition to Mondays
There's a sucker born every minute.
Dom DeMarco Undergoing Minor Oral Surgery; Di Fara Pizza Closed Indefinitely
Adam- I wasn't trying cause a scene. I come in peace. But to hear that people wait up to 3 hours for a pizza makes me wonder. Is it justified, or is it sentimentality/territoriality? For an outsider it seems like a HUGE amount of hype.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
'Sup, Homeslice: We Talk to Andy Sachs, the Artist Who Painted Dom DeMarco
Wow, another earth-shattering Di Fara story. Shocker.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
That is not a little tasty char on the crust, that pizza is BURNT.
Di Fara Raising Slice Prices to $5; Will Close Tuesdays in Addition to Mondays
There's a sucker born every minute.
Dom DeMarco Undergoing Minor Oral Surgery; Di Fara Pizza Closed Indefinitely
Adam- I wasn't trying cause a scene. I come in peace. But to hear that people wait up to 3 hours for a pizza makes me wonder. Is it justified, or is it sentimentality/territoriality? For an outsider it seems like a HUGE amount of hype.
Dom DeMarco Undergoing Minor Oral Surgery; Di Fara Pizza Closed Indefinitely
Re A.Ku: Good one. Am I wrong?
Dom DeMarco Undergoing Minor Oral Surgery; Di Fara Pizza Closed Indefinitely
Forgive me, I've never been there, but is the pizza really that good? From what I've read the wait is very long, plus all the locals get served ahead of everybody else. It also looks like he uses somewhat sysco-ish ingredients and he did get shut down by the health department right? Maybe I'm wrong. Again, I've never actually been there.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 74: Can My All-Pie Fourth of July Diet Work?
Week 74? Ok buddy, it's been almost a year and a half. Do you really need people telling you it's OK to eat whatever you want?
Deep-Fried Peeps
Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be another story about peeps.
'Sup, Homeslice: We Talk to Andy Sachs, the Artist Who Painted Dom DeMarco
I find it interesting that he uses food in teaching art. I teach linguistic theory, mostly to language students who have never written an essay in a scientific style. Inevitably, their first essays begin with something like 'Language is a fascinating topic.'
I use food to explain it to them. To write a 2000 word essay on 'Food' is impossible. But keep narrowing it down...an essay on foods from your area, an essay on foods you grew up with, an essay on your favourite dish your mother made--bingo. Easy. Small details are almost always more interesting than 'big pictures'.
'Sup, Homeslice: We Talk to Andy Sachs, the Artist Who Painted Dom DeMarco
Wow, another cranky comment from cliffyb. Shocker.
'Sup, Homeslice: We Talk to Andy Sachs, the Artist Who Painted Dom DeMarco
Yikes. Crankiness in the comments.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
I agree with cliffyb. That crust is burnt. Other than that, it looks unbelievably tasty.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
In 1964 slices were 15¢ where I lived in Queens. That was 15¢ for regular or Sicilian. I always got regular and it had thin crust and good char even back then. Some charred bubbles too
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
Extra light olive oil is just that, not EVOO. It get to be extra light when they do a second pressing and add heat or chemicals for extraction. It's about price point and not quality for a lot of restaurants using EVOO. Without adhering to International Olive Oil Council standards some producers add nut oils and color to their products and sell them as EVOO.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
Maybe at $6 a slice Dom will start drizzling Manni on the pizza.LOL
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
Check the many fickr photos showing the can on the shelf. Even extra virgin Bertolli/Berio is at bare minimum average olive oil at best.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
@PG: Enjoy seeing the Night Fly and the rest of the boys playing tonight...nice.
@RobertoRx: Dom uses the EVOO. But just like many things, there are huge quality variations within the Extra Virgin grade of olive oils available. I personally use the extra light EVOO from Bertolli to cook with, but their EVOO leaves a lot to be desired, IMO. --PB
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
There are different grades of Bertoli/Berio from Light to Extra Virgin.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
@Pblogger Lemme teach you a little something you may not know about down there in Oriole Country; As goes the slice so goes the subway fare. Or visa versa. In 1965 a slice in NYC was 15 cents. The subway fare went up to 20 cents in 1966 and lo and behold so did a slice in almost every pizza joint in the city. It kept up that way pretty much until present day.
Now I'm off to see Steely Dan perform The Royal Scam at the Beacon in a neighborhood devoid of destination pizza. It looks like it's gonna be a 'Shroom Burger at Shake Shack for me.
Ciao,
Paulie Gee
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
Pizzablogger, I was really surprised when I noticed it. And with all the high end ingredient talk in the press lately regarding the price increase it left me scratching my head. LOL
For example. Chris Bianco uses Queen Creek olive oil made specifically for him. Nick Lessins's of Great Lake uses a excellent one from California Olive Ranch.
But Bertolli and Berio are simply considered a cooking oil. They serve the purpose for what they are but certainly not a finishing oil.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
@Robert 40: I agree with you wholeheartedly about the Bertolli. It ain't super quality olive oil.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
@Toby: An acidic sour tang on Dom's crust would be ridiculous....now I'd buy that for $5!
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
I raised the question because in the article Dom expressed in his own words as much that better ingredients justified the price increase.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
I went two weeks ago. Paid 60 something for a round and square pie and it was worth it. Yes pizza is generally an inexpensive food but you can easily drop that much on a dinner anywhere in Brooklyn or Manhattan and not have as good a meal. That said I will agree that the pies are inconsistent.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
You can only take the value-for-money analysis so far with regards to ingredients. Di Fara or any pizzeria for that matter is a business that sells pizza. It's not a re-seller of imported cheese.
@PB Interesting parallel between lambic beers and DiFara. Now, if Dom started making sourdough crusts!
FP
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
Dom actually has two types of olive oil on the top of his workstation against the wall. Bertolli is one and the other has a more white label and it begins with a "V". I have pictures of it, but I'm not at home right now.
I'm still surprised that no one has mentioned how much of a "rip off" a place like Pizza Box is banging an 550 PERCENT rake on every slice of pizza compared to Dom's 250% markup.
Why do I care, I'm 200 miles away? Guess I'm just a jerk. --PB
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
@ZoetMD: Careful with the inflaton calculator, especially making generalizations with regards to prices when using it.
That inflation calculator illustrates the loss in the purchasing power of the $USD due to inflation over a chosen time period, but does not take into account that certain sectors/areas of the economy, like the food industry (impacted by agricultural commodities), may in fact experience inflation which is more or less than the purchasing power of a dollar as measured across the entire economy.
In addition, whose slice of pizza was $0.15 in 1965? Is that a national average, in New York, in Brooklyn? What was the price for a slice from a high quality pizzeria in 1965?
What about for pizzeria's that use pre-packaged, domestically sourced ingredients versus ones that obtain ingredients from outside of the country? DiFara, as well as many of the newer Neapolitan inspired pizzerias, source many of their ingredients from overseas. Oil and dollar exchange rates become huge potential carrying costs for these pizzerias. The PPB cost of crude is very volatile and can experience a much different inflationary path than the purchasing power of a $USD, causing potential very rapid spikes in prices.
BTW, most mozzarella, whether aged, fresh fior-di-latte, and especially bufala, is comprised primarilly of water and fat and I, like you, am shocked DiFara can pass a health inspection as well. DiFara's space is to the pizza world what the purposfully neglected, cobweb, spider and dust ridden eves which house the fermentation tanks of Belgian Lambic brewhouses in the Senne Valley are to the beer world. --PB
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
I stand corrected not Bertolli but Berio.
Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand'
@Adam
Hey the title you chose "Dom DeMarco and the 'Heavy Hand' " sounds like a real cool name for a mob movie....ha ha
i actually read it thinking something sinister happened
Gianluca
http://www.pizzaandcoffee.com/
Di Fara Raising Slice Prices to $5; Will Close Tuesdays in Addition to Mondays
I have absolutely no problem with these prices. I couldn't afford to eat there or have the time to wait every day, but this isn't about that. This pizza is special, something to set aside time for, not some crap to shove in your mouth when you want something fast. Everytime I come home to NYC I head straight to DiFara. I almost had a heart attack when I read the headline of another blog that the restaurant was closing. Thank God it is back open and I hope Dom is feeling okay after his surgery.
1. You are getting quality ingredients and food made by someone who actually cares about what he's making you, without pretensions
2. Dom works his rear off and has done so for years, he deserves to get paid for it and take another day off!
3. You should be going to DiFara to get a whole pie anyway!
This weekend I will be at DiFara and the time can't go by fast enough until then...
Di Fara Raising Slice Prices to $5; Will Close Tuesdays in Addition to Mondays
first of all, I live in California, which is great for surf, but mostly a pizza wasteland. there are some terrible places charging way too much for their awful product out here. one place, unfortunately across the street from where I work, is a chain called Pizzeria Venti ("America's Only Authentic Sliceria") -- more like authentic garbageria, and they charge $4 a slice for their pathetic soggy version of Ellio's.
so to me, $5 a slice for the greatest pizza in the universe is no big deal. it's more than twice as good as an average slice.
for all the people who feel it is too expensive... please go ahead and eat elsewhere... i don't think those of us who think Di Fara is worth it at any price will mind less people there.
Dom is Love!
Di Fara Raising Slice Prices to $5; Will Close Tuesdays in Addition to Mondays
@Anthony A: Ah, yeah. Those special Margherita slices that places serve. I generally avoid them because they're usually more expensive than a regular slice and the uptick in quality is generally not worth it—particularly if it's a slice pie that has been sitting around on the counter for who knows how long.
Speaking of increases, it's always fascinating/maddening to see a new place open (and here I'm talking about Neapolitan-style places), charge a relatively inexpensive price for a pie, and then jack up the prices as soon as a steady crowd of diners forms around the place.
Pizza has unfortunately become divorced from its peasant roots.
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Wow, another earth-shattering Di Fara story. Shocker.