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DJ Bubbles.

Before you go calling people "nimwits," let us first examine your reasoning behind doing so.

These "nimwits" made "outrageous claims" by saying "Manhattan has it's Di Fara." However you then go to say "for Manhattan sliceterias, Artichoke is the one slice joint that is most similar to Di Fara."

Therefore you have made the EXACT comparison made in the first review, only with more nouns and made-up words like sliceteria.

Congratulations on being the true nitwit.

I didn't like Artichoke and am very disappointed in all who wait on line for access to so inelegant a slice of pizza. The artichoke slice is not pizza; it is a gratin. And though the toppings on the regular slice are good and the color of the crust is nicely blackened, the texture of the crust is awful: thick, heavy, charred plaster board.

To be brief, this pizza lacks both the elegance of a New York masterpizza and the thrill of a oozy, on-the-brink of a great NYC slice.

Hungry, I would imagine that you or one of yours wrote the first review, so me calling you or whatever trouser trout that said that a 'nitwit' hurt your feelings. But, you're wrong with your faux logical bs conclusion. Pronouncing to the slice world that Manhattan has 'it's DiFara' suggests that Artichoke and DiFara are of equal quality. That isn't true and I certainly never said that - you d/bags did. Artichoke is good and some of their methods and choices of ingredients are similar to DiFara, but Manhattan doesn't have it's DiFara. No place is ever going to have it's DiFara. There's only one. DeMarco's didn't do it and Artichoke hasn't either. So don't hold your breath, don't be conclusory, and don't read my f'ing articles if you don't like words like 'sliceteria' cause you don't get it - this is about discussing pies were passionate about, not negligently proclaiming pizzerias the new king in town when the crown doesn't fit yet.

You've been Bubbled!

hungry - I have not seen your Slice reviews, but give DJ Bubbles (and DJ Doggles) some credit for referencing previous hyperbole and taking the time to visit three times and talking to the staff before authoring an opinion. The Bubbster is typically very objective, critical and calls em like he sees em. He clearly stated that Artichoke has worked very hard in a short period of time to improve crust and quality in response to early critics. Bubbles also made it clear that The Choke is creating their own legacy by improving on Staten Island roots rather than clone Difara's Avenue J product. I still think Patsy's East Harlem is number one, but I assure you that DJ Bubbles objective take on Artichoke will encourage many to discover this new and rapidly improving pie merchant !

We were truly disappointed by the regular slice and the spinach/artichoke, both bad for different reasons though the crust is a universal negative - dry, thick, tasteless and cardboardy. The toppings are equally bad. Slices are huge. No place to sit. Not sure how anyone raved about this place.

NYCviaRachel - yes, I have been to DiFara, and yes, Dom uses way too much oil on his pies too. That's the one thing that prevents DiFara from being my favorite pizza in New York. It's a specialty pie, not an everyday eater. Yet, somehow the oil at DiFara *works*, but at Artichoke it fails, imho.

ACoby - I've worked in restaurants, and I know how hectic it can be, but a little bit of organization goes a long way. Not for nothing, but encouraging them to get organized is the point. "how do you know someone didn't call up and order the artichoke/spinach pies for pick up?" - it was pretty obvious, the pies were going directly onto the counter behind glass, while delivery pies/pickup pies were going into boxes.