In Search of the Slice

Andres and I started our Saturday in our usual fashion - lazy, lazy, lazy. We slept in, made breakfast, lounged around. We decided to get some blood circulation by taking a walk through still snowy Prospect Park. It's gorgeously still in the winter. We walked past the frozen lake where we wondered the same eternal question once voiced by Holden Caulfield - where do the ducks go in the winter? There were actually several of them floating around in some unfrozen patches, along with a swan, much to our amazement. What they survive on, aside from the crumbs from little kids, is beyond me. It's quite serene and quiet in the park this time of year. I actually found myself wishing for the color and vigor of the Gates. Well, it's beautiful just as it is.

When we found ourselves at the south eastern tip of the Park and noticed a Q subway station, we decided it was time to venture to Midwood in search of the perfect slice. Andres has enjoyed many pizzerias around NY, but is still searching for the best pies in Town. He had read about a pizza joint on the Q line that was supposedly one of the best in the City, so it didn't take much time to decide today was our day. 6 stops later at Avenue J, we descended to the street and immediately came upon Di Fara. It was actually packed with people....and it's just your average looking old-school pizzeria! We decided to walk around the block to wait for the line to hopefully die down. Proceeding down Avenue J we realized we were in a VERY orthodox Jewish neighborhood...virtually every store was glatt kosher...and closed, since it's Shabbat. Israeli magazines were for sale on the local newstands. Ain't no main drag in any SF neighborhood like that!! Anyway, after a 20 minute detour around the 'hood, we came back to the same size crowd. About 30 minutes later we had our treasured booty.

Since we didn't have the camera, and since Di Fara's has been raved about in print for several years now (hence the crowd, much to the obvious annoyance of some locals), here's what the guy at sliceny.com has to say about it - along with some visuals. Enjoy...try not to salivate over this perfect NY comfort food, ye residents of California! It really was worth the wait.

http://www.sliceny.com/archives/000103.php