The Verdict
DI FARA PIZZA was operated by Domenico DeMarco from its 1965 opening through his death in 2022 — fifty-seven years during which DeMarco made every pizza himself, applying the olive oil by hand, finishing each pie with scissors-cut fresh basil, and grating the parmesan directly onto the surface as each pizza emerged from the oven. The specific ritual of DeMarco's preparation — the scissors, the hand, the olive oil bottle — became the most documented pizza-making act in the city's history.
The pizza at Di Fara reflects the tradition that DeMarco developed across five decades of daily practice: the dough made to his specific recipe, the tomatoes from the San Marzano region whose quality he specified throughout the supply chain disruptions and price pressures of sixty years of business operation, and the specific finishing ritual that communicated his personal care for each individual pie.
The Avenue J location in Midwood — a Brooklyn neighbourhood whose Jewish, Italian, and Pakistani communities give the street its specific multilingual character — provides the cultural context that makes Di Fara more than a pizzeria: a specific piece of the outer-borough New York that the food press celebrates but that tourists rarely reach. For visitors who make the B train journey, the pie communicates everything the journey promises.
Why It Works for Solo Dining
A solo slice at Di Fara — the 40-minute wait, the Avenue J neighbourhood's specific Midwood character, the slice finished with olive oil and basil in the DeMarco tradition — is the New York solo pizza experience that most directly communicates what a lifetime of dedication to a single preparation produces as its legacy.
Also in New York City
Explore the full New York City restaurant guide. See our Impress Clients, First Date, and Close a Deal occasion guides for curated picks across Asia.