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I think that Ken's has a nice blend of the Neapolitan style with the bold American palate. Honestly, on pizzas like the margarita, I think the sauce tends to be too much and overpower the crust and cheese. It's when you put some spicy sausage and peppers on it that it works best (though then the crust begins to disappear). That's why it's my third favorite in Portland behind Scholls and Nostrana. I think those tend to be more balanced -- though all three have great ingredients and execution.

@LA Maven
You keep threatening to come up here and eat some 'za yet never do. Put our pizza where your mouth is. ;-) And email me if you do make your way.

/@Jen Maiser:

I stand so respectfully corrected on that; I'm truly embarassed that I said such.
What a liberating and uplifting family dynamic! *three cheers for Greg and Raquel*

I lived in Midwood for 30 years and started going to his shop in the 1980s. Back then he served up a mundane greasy slice to say the least and the interior was exactly the same minus the green paint, of course. If you grew up in the neighborhod like me you would never have imagined that he would become a pizza connoisseur's dream.

I had a Di Fara "experience" yesterday. I must admit his technique has evolved into an art form. I only wish I had the pizza when it was hot as I had to rush my wife and baby home as they had been sitting there for an eternity.

I am more in awe of the respect this man gets. Where else can you find a crowd of 30 people wait two hours for a pizza pie?

If you want great pizza, imho, go to Nino's pizza on 3rd Avenue ant 92nd Street in Bay Ridge. My favorite there is the Sofia Lauren which has whole slices of tomato with a sprinkling of garlic.

Hey, if you have gotten over your ginger beer shell shock and decide to do another review, please include Jamaca's Finest Ginger Beer from the Natrona Bottling Company. I think it's far better than those citrus-y, honey, pineapple-y, fruity, too-sweet, brew-y beverages you have tried.
Cheers!

"I like your crust." Hee hee!

Yum! These are some great suggestions too! I've made something similar before with butternut squash thrown in and some pepper jack cheese. I could just eat the filling by itself!

I made this for dinner tonight - based on the comments you made in the post, I added a diced tomato with the poblanos. SERIOUSLY good! And a great way to use up the squash in my fridge, too. Thanks!

loved all the comments, i am among the group that difara's is a miracle here on earth
dom is a master to be cherished
i am spending my summer on the pizza patrol for the newark star ledger
our conceit is that we will taste pizza in all 21 counties of the state.
let me tell you someone said it best 90 per cent of anything is crap, i am a little more generous i say 15%.
so far i say mr nino's in harrison nj, semolina in milburn and a mano same consultant as keste ,in ridgewood are to die for
if you don't like di fara's it's you.
usually i say to each her own, but not here
good pizza hunting all

"Think about it, dumbasses. How could he possibly grow that much basil in the window?" LOL, nice!

I just recommended the Old Friends Farm ginger on a BostonZest post. It is fantastic. It's hot and so full of flavor that I have to tell myself that it is another product that I can only get for a very short time. It makes you wish all ginger could be so fresh.

You can use the leaves and stems to make ginger tea or ginger broth. I like to use them when I make Asian chicken stock.

I do not know anything regarding the technical differences between "flatbread" and "neapolitan style" ... nor do I know anything about proper cooking temperatures of pizza ... what I do know is that I truly love DiFara's Pizza. I am not a pizza lemming -- maybe just crazy?

First time I went to DiFara's was approximately 1 year ago. Having long cemented my favorites as Joe and Pat's (Staten Island) and Patsy's (Harlem), each of which is extremely easy to get into, and each of which makes an amazing pie. With two places like that, I really didn't the trek to, or wait associated with, DiFara's.

One day, however, I decided to go. I picked a weekend day (foolishly). The line was worse than expected, although, I guess, not out of the ordinary. It took 2 hours in line to place an order + 1 hour to get the pie. Beyond the wait, the experience itself was infuriating: I kept getting passed over in line for other people. The whole experience really pissed me off and definitley had me questioning my sanity. Finally, we got the pie -- a square pie. While I really wanted to hate it, I didn't. I didn't love it either. Nonetheless, I left interested in returning to try the round pie that I had seen so many others get.

Two weeks later, a friend and I went again. This time it was a weekday. The place was near empty. The place was empty, so I could watch the rituals associated with getting a pie at DiFara's that have been well documented elsewhere (i.e. slowly and methodically stretching the dough, the application of the sauce and cheese, the scissors cutting the basil). It was captivating, and really added to the overall experience, and likely, the taste of the resultant pizza. Following a 30 minute wait, we received the pie. It was nothing short of astounding. Truly amazing. Yes, it was messy as hell, oil, but wow -- it was definitely one great pizza. I've been back twice since, and have had similar visits to the 2nd visit -- nothing short of amazing.

As a final side note, one weekend I went to Difara's the day before going to my all time favorite, Joe and Pat's. This time, however, when I went to Joe and Pat's, and to my unpleasant surprise, I no longer liked their pizza!!!! Mind you, nothing had changed. The crust was still superb, the sauce still had a sweet, fresh flavor, the cheese judiciously applied. It was just that .... the flavor couldn't compare to DiFara's. Oh well. (6 months later, I returned to Joe and Pat's, discovering, to my delight, that I still enjoyed it . . . I did learn, however, that I can't go to DiFara's before going there -- a comparison between the two simply isn't fair).

Yes, and the news is sad. More than 400 farms have been affected according to an article last week in the local paper.

Here's a link to that article:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/31/disease_that_spawned_irelands_potato_famine_hits_new_england/

@jeffsayyes - not to disagree with calling him an artist (anyone who has been making pizzas like that for so long is definitely an artist), but he was probably spinning the pizza around like that because it was half garlic. Once out of the oven, its tough to tell which half has garlic and which doesnt. He was probably looking for a mark he put on the crust before it went in. At least thats how we do it where I work. Just one of many pizza maker tricks!

@jerkfaceirl - I believe the response we're all looking for is "Anyways..."

Hope everyone had some good pizza this weekend!
Alberto