Di Fara's what to order..

[rekha]

Hello we will be in New York this November and I hope to make it to Di Fara's . Yep I am a tourist, and I would greatly appreciate any advice you could give me..

I plan to go on my birthday during the week. It will be a Wednesday and I aimed to get there for when it opens as I think it will be a great way to start the day. When does it open? Is it 11am or 11.30am?

Next question, how big are the pies? I suppose I mean, how many slices do they equate to? I will be there with my partner and I thought two plain slices, two pepperoni would be enough. But would it make more sense to get a pie? And if so, can you can a pie plain on one half, with pepperoni on the other?

One last thing, is it byob? Can we bring along a couple of beers?

I have read alot about Di Fara's on this site, slice and serious eats and I am a bit worried about the whole ordering thing. Is it really that difficult? Any tips for a newbie? I am prepared to wait and will bring reading material!!

Thanks in advance.

[NYJewboy]

The square pie, even when it is 'off', is better than 75% of the $150+ dinners I have had this year.

[Virchis]

go to sbarro instead

[Tay]

In a word: EIWWWWWW!

[jen kalb]

Id say get a whole pie and make it a square - thats the best thing he does, and you will get better service and a better product if you order a whole pie to eat there. We always order other things to - a salad, a plate of pasta, a veg side - to cushion the wait, and bring along some wine or beer to drink. the veg toppings are sauteed, and great tho they make the pie a bit heavy - you can do half and half if you would like to try different toppings.

[Tay]

jen...
I've read about a gazillon posts RE: DaFara's and yours is the first mention of any other food items I've ever read.!. Do customers routinely order non pizza dishes?

[bigmackdaddy]

I ordered a meat ball parmigiana hero last night. I was keeping my neighbor company while he waited for a pie and was curious about the "other" menu. Mr. DeMarco knows his meat balls. In my opinion they're the best I've tasted in all five boroughs. They're chunky and fluffy, mixed with garlic and nutmeg and with or without the cheese, very delicious. Now I must bother him and/or his daughter for a veal dish.

[Tay]

bigmac
I'm so glad you posted. With all the posts being about the pizza, I've always been curious about their other offerings. Please let us know what else you try.:-}

[bigmackdaddy]

I'd love to try his veal. The young lady behind the counter told me they get it once in awhile but since it's not a topping they don't give any of the menu items (that aren't toppings) priority. I want to egg some folks on to ask the DeMarco's to get, veal, scungilli, shrimp and so on but the poor man is such a tireless machine with the pizza I'd almost feel guilty adding another burden. Still, when it comes to my culinary pleasure I feel nobody's sacrifice can be to small...

[stuartlafonda]

Sadly a couple of years ago I ordered the veal parm but was served shoe leather. I broke the plastic knife trying to cut it. Stick to the best pizza on earth and call it a day.

[jen kalb]

over the years we have had excellent meatball and sausage heros, salads with fresh mozz, chickpeas or white beans with greens, pastas with various toppings, spaghetti with white clam sauce .... none of it comes cheap but its good to have while you wait, and he give bread along with the dishes (as well as grating that nice cheese when appropriate) there should be a menu on the wall - is it gone - with some of the options

[gnosh]

Most of the time now they are too slammed to do anything but crank out pizzas. (I dropped by on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and they had actually locked the doors and were not letting any people in for an hour; they needed to catch up.) I have not successfully ordered a side dish in more than a year (or two or three). Sometimes there will be stuffed zucchini blossoms already prepared, which are amazing. But still there are relatively slow times. I got a square pie almost right away on Wednesday night....

[TheDescendedLefticleOfAramis]

Good day ... less than optimal month ...
Topped with artichoke or "cima di rapa" ... quite, quite good
... it's about "timing".

Hit at noon ... most chowbotniks will be ...

Given your schedule ... all factors considered ...
Totonnos does the best, straight-up blistered NY pie.
(and you get some "Cookie" in the mix ;-) )

[Geo8rge]

Can we bring along a couple of beers?

Some people think DiFara's Italian soft drinks are part of the experience.

[MMRuth]

I don't see why not - we brought a couple of bottles of wine when we went.

[TBird]

you'll have a great time and probably not much of a wait. the beer is perfect. all around a perfect plan! enjoy.

if you do order the whole square, get a slice or two of the regular, just for comparison & research. ;-)

you only live once... :-)

[MoxieBoy]

Remember the guy who ordered a Pizza Pie to be made for him...he was asked if he wanted it cut into 8 or 12 slices. He told the pizza maker, "Better make it eight. I don't think I could eat 12.

[rekha]

I have heard lots about the square pie. Is it a lot bigger that the round? I am worried I don't have the requisite tummy capacity! Maybe two plain, two pepperoni and two square slices would be the way.. Then if there is room we could join the queue again?

By the way, thanks for your advice!

[MMRuth]

I don't think the square is that much bigger than the round. I'd suggest getting a plain or artichoke round, and a pepperoni square. More than the two of you can eat, but you can either take the leftovers with you or ditch them (or sell them!). Well worth the money.

[NYJewboy]

rekha: The square is (in mass terms) about double the size and weight of the round. But I don't get your objection. Who cares if you can't eat it? Throw away what you don't eat. Live a little.

[rekha]

My eyes are well known to be bigger than my belly, so I suppose it's just it seems a waste, but you know, what the heck I will give the extra away. If people will take it..

Cheers!

[MMRuth]

I'm sure you can find takers on line for what you can't eat!

[Snapper52]

I was just there this past Thursday. Got there around noon - no wait at all. I ordered the plain - as that's what I used to eat when I hung out there as a high school kid many years ago. The price was eye opening - $4.00/slice - but I say order only what you're going to eat - even if it costs a bit more. Over ordering just to have it all is a huge waste. Start with a couple of slices - heck, you may not even like it.
Have fun. The nabe isn't what it was when I was a kid, but what is?

[NYJewboy]

Huge waste? I think not getting the integrity of a whole pie is a waste. So you throw out a few slices. Big deal. You traveled all the way there, waited on a line, and you are going to worry about a few dollars? Seriously, better not to go at all.

[Tay]

NYJ
I agree with you that if you're going for the experience of the pizza, getting a whole pie is the way to go, but, even if cost is not a consideration, encouraging people to toss good food is a terrible waste. Better to give it away than to throw it away.

[NYJewboy]

Tay
Thanks for helping me with this difficult ethical dilemma

[TBird]

sorry jewboy, but i'm with tay on this one<gasp!>. tossing it is not an option.

but then again, neither is giving it away... ;-)

[squid kun]

> even if cost is not a consideration, encouraging people to toss good food is a terrible waste.

Agreed. My grandparents remember the Depression. Some friends of mine are immigrants or kids of immigrants, with built-in frugality.

Pizza, including Dom's (maybe especially Dom's, given the quality of ingredients and the tendency toward goopiness), reheats well. On my visits I've either gotten slices or gone with others and knocked off a pie. But if I were going to buy a pie I couldn't finish, I'd take along some foil and bags and be ready for carryout.

[MMRuth]

When I was there, we had quite a few slices leftover, and Dom's daughter gave us small boxes and foil/wax paper to box up the pieces.

[howster]

Tay & NYJB why dont we meet them there and we can get a free meal from what they dont eat LOL

[Tay]

howster...
Funny, I was going to suggest rather than throw it away that they just give it away! I didn't think about giving it to ME, but now that you mention it.....:-}

[MMRuth]

Another posted posted about observing someone at DiFara selling a slice of his pie to another customer for $20, so that is always an option!

[rekha]

Hey I am sure we could work out a deal if you guys are willing to put in a bit of the work, queuing, ordering etc!!

Would a square pie, half pepperoni be sacrilegious? With a couple of plain slices whilst we wait..

[MMRuth]

The only time we went, one of the pies we had was a pepperoni square, and it was excellent.

[NYJewboy]

A whole square pie with no toppings (or maybe just garlic) for 2 people is great. Don't argue. Just get it. If you can't eat it all throw the rest away. Bring beer.

[quentin]

Definitely order a pie. The slices are $4 a piece, so you'd spend $16 for 4 slices and for $4 more you can get a pie, which is 8 slices. I prefer the square/sicilian pie to the regular. But both are good. I'm sure you'll have no problem getting half pepperoni. Yes, it's BYOB, so you can bring beer. Also, if you're going when it first opens on a Wednesday -- 11:30 is a safe bet -- you probably won't have to wait all that long.