PrintDeMarco's
Eating For Two: Slice editor in chief Adam K. was originally going to grab a quick couple of slices at new Village pizzeria DeMarco's before heading home after work Tuesday night. But then the idea struck: Why not also visit Di Fara's, the inspiration for the Manhattan newcomer? And so we sampled plain slices from both pizzerias that night. The photos at left above are from DeMarco's; those at right are from Di Fara. Click the image below right for an enlarged view of the interior space of DeMarco's take-out operation. The photos above also
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADAM K. .::. Late last year, shortly before leaving town for the holidays, we said we'd report on DeMarco's Pizzeria & Restaurant, the new Di Fara–associated pizza spot on the corner of Houston and MacDougal in Manhattan. We meant to do it in 2004, but things were hectic. We've returned from holiday and are slowly revving back to speed, so here are some observations and comparisons, from Tuesday night visits to both shops and a return visit to DeMarco's for lunch yesterday.
Di Fara Pizza is, of course, the renown Brooklyn pizzeria run by Dominick DeMarco and family. When word of this impending Houston Street pizzeria first hit the Web (we read of it initially on eGullet and Chowhound), that location's management was calling the place "Di Fara's NYC" and no one was sure who owned it or what affiliation it might have with the DeMarco family, for whom it was finally named. We're still unsure how great a role the family is playing in the operation, but one thing's certain: Dom himself remains firmly ensconced in his usual spot in Brooklyn.
Location: 146 West Houston Street (corner of MacDougal)
Phone: 212-253-2290, 212-253-2291
Hours: Sun.–Thurs., 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., opens at 11:30 a.m.; closed Mondays
Payment: Cash only, for now.
Cost: Plain slice, $2.50. Consult menu below for full range of prices and offerings.
Quite well, actually.
It goes without saying that a DeMarco's slice will never be the same as a Di Fara slice. Dom's pies have been honed against forty years' hard work—seven days a week, with hardly any vacations or holidays. But the DeMarco's slices this weblog had Tuesday night for dinner and yesterday afternoon for lunch were very good approximations of the master's craft.
Present was the familiar three-cheese blend of grana padana, regular mozzarella, and fresh mozzarella (DeMarco's is using the same Grandé-brand fior di latté that Dom includes on his pies)—all evenly distributed. We witnessed the pizzaiolo dousing the pie with olive oil just before popping it into the oven, another Dom flourish. Lastly, the slices we sampled (all plain), featured a similar well-proportioned balance of crust, sauce, and cheese. Heck, even the take-out portion of the restaurant exhibits a no-frills practicality akin to Dom's shop in Midwood. (The Manhattan version is tidier, however.) Oh, and both establishments sell plain, regular slices for $2.50. We did not, however, see any of the DeMarco clan in there directing things.
The first thing you might notice about DeMarco's round pies (left) is that they're larger than Di Fara's. They're also more uniformly circular; Dom's pies exhibit an almost artisanal irregularity in their shape. Though the slices in the photos at top appear to be the same size, use the paper plates they rest on for reference. See how much bigger the DeMarco's piece is? When we visited last night, the pie on the counter had been sitting long enough that its gooey molten cheeses had congealed. (This was another difference—at Di Fara's a hot-from-the-oven pie doesn't last long.) Without the steaming-hot, oozey cheese (some would call is gloppy), it didn't quite look like a Di Fara pie. That didn't bother us, though; we still liked the looks of the slices on hand, what with their splotches of sauce clearly visible among the cheese. Our slices got the reheat, and while we waited, we watched the pizzaiolo build a pie, carefully studying a cheat sheet above the make table. Some people might scoff at this, but we took it as a good sign—the place is clearly concerned with adhering to Dom's recipes.
We first thought DeMarco's crust was thinner than Di Fara's, but just less than an hour later, at Dom's shop, we observed that the thickness was pretty similar. As seen in the comparison shots at top, Di Fara's crust displays a bit more charring, but DeMarco's had an adequate amount. Both crusts were crisp; Di Fara's crust, however, was notably chewier. DeMarco's was a smidge crisper, attributable, we think, to the reheat. For our lunch visit to DeMarco's, we were lucky enough to get slices from a pie straight out of the oven. Without the reheat, the crust had a very good, honest crispness to it—not the hard-to-gauge steroidal increase that comes with a second stint in the cooker—but it still lacked the toothsome chewiness of Di Fara's.
Moving up from the crust, the sauce at DeMarco's was good and fresh, with a slightly sweeter-than-Dom's taste. We don't know if DeMarco's gets its tomatoes from the same source as Di Fara, but it was close. It didn't seem as savory or as complex as Dom's, but it worked and we were pleased with it nonetheless.
The third component of a slice's trio of elements, the cheese, well, we've discussed that earlier. One difference here was that DeMarco's had pre-grated the grana padana and regular mozz; Dom grates those as needed, for the greatest freshness. Still, we didn't notice a difference, and it's probably not practical for DeMarco's to grate on an as-needed basis. It was also interesting that when we sampled the dinnertime slices Tuesday, the cheese, even with a reheat, didn't go all melty and soupy like Di Fara's. However, on the following day's fresh slices, such a gloppiness was in evidence. It's a trait that we think makes it difficult—and definitely messy—to eat a hot slice at either place, but it was nice to see DeMarco's match this Dom signature. (We usually follow the lead of one of our friends, impatiently waiting five or 10 minutes while the soupy mixture settles down a bit.)
OK. We've gone on quite a bit here, so we'll wrap up. DeMarco's is very good. And it's only been open a short while. We suspect it'll only get better, and we think it already beats many of the other renown pizza spots in the neighborhood.
Some tips, though: Like Patsy's in East Harlem, there are two operations on corner of Houston and MacDougal. There's the "Pizza Express" component, where you can get take-out or eat in, standing at one of two narrow bars along the walls. The Pizza Express location, sadly, offers a limited range of soft drinks. Noticeably absent was Slice's favorite, Dr Pepper. Even the upper-right quarter of Dom's refrigerator has more of a selection than the entire unit at DeMarco's. (To be fair, the delivery menu, bottom, lists a greater variety than was on display. Maybe you just have to ask.) The Pizza Express part is where you should go for slices. The fancier, part, which features a bar, is pies-only serves slices along with whole pies and other menu items, but it's table service. (And you enter that section through a door that faces MacDougal Street.)
The menu is below (click to enlarge). Click through the jump to see more photos from the night's excursions.
FURTHER READING
All Slice posts on DeMarco's [The Slice Archives]
OUTTAKES FROM DEMARCO–DI FARA TRIP
(Click images for larger, pop-up versions.)
A close-up of a plain DeMarco's slice. Notice the olive oil pooling in spots.
The square pies (which we did not sample) are actually square at DeMarco's, as opposed to rectangular at Dom's.
The pans used to make the square pies at DeMarco's.
The pie our Tuesday-night slices came from. Enlarge the photo, and you can see that the cheese has congealed by this point. Compare this to the single-slice photo in the middle of the this entry.
The lights in the "Pizza Express" portion are made from pizza pans.
Yes. It really is called "Pizza Express."
The sit-down, whole-pie portion of the restaurant has a better ambiance than the take-out portion, as can sorta be seen in this photo.
The original master, Dominick DeMarco, in action, with daughter, Maggie, at Di Fara in Midwood, Brooklyn.
FURTHER READING
All Slice posts on DeMarco's [The Slice Archives]
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26 Comments:
Thanks for the report! One small correction.. you can also order slices in the restaurant/bar half. At least you could last Friday (1/7/05) at lunch.
Slice beth at 3:08PM on 01/13/05
You've been working hard. This valuable report was definitely worth the wait. Gotta get to the Village one of these days.
Slice Kay at 5:41PM on 01/13/05
Terrific post. The 1:1 direct comparison gives it the kind of hands-on play-by-play I always crave in a review.
Slice missginsu at 6:42PM on 01/13/05
I'm amazed at all the publicity and praise DeFaras has been getting in the last few years. I grew up on that pizza. It was the first slice I've ever had when we came to the US and it has birthed my life long obsession with Pizza. I don't think I would be so passionate about Pizza if I was weaned on one of the millions of Original Ray's pizzarias. I'm glad that he's finally getting recognition for one of the finest slices you will ever have. I was there last week and his daughter was still working there. Anyway, the reason why I'm writing is because you said that the DeMarco's sit in restaurant only serves pizza by the pie. That's not true. I had a dinner the three of us ordered a slice of pizza each, as an appetizer ($2.50 @ slice). And you're right, it may not have been as great as De Fara's, but it was still a damn good slice, certainly one of the city's best.
Slice Gene at 6:47PM on 01/13/05
You guys have more power than you may think. For the first time I've been there, the place was packed tonight.
Slice Josh at 12:51AM on 01/14/05
Wow- I work a few blocks away, those yummy pics have determined for me that I am definately trying it for lunch.
Slice Heather at 10:29AM on 01/14/05
Last night was my fourth trip and the first time it was really crowded. In fact, I overheard a person in line ahead of me ask the counter guy (I think his name is Jack) "Did you see the write-up on Slice?" He had, and he mentioned that they had been really busy yesterday.
I finally tried a slice of the square pie. Not sure what I expected but it wasn't my cup of tea. The sauce had a commercial spaghetti sauce flavor to it and there was way too much. The mozzarella floated on top of the sauce. If I hadn't carefully managed the corner piece the sauce would have mostly run off.
That said, the square slice wasn't bad, just not something I would choose, especially given the outstanding round slice option.
Slice joe at 12:16PM on 01/14/05
Well, the other day I swerved from a lunchtime neighborhood pizza craving -- normally satisfied by Ben's of SoHo -- to check out DeMarco's Pizza Express, partly encouraged by your review and partly by the location, firmly on the "axis of Pizza" running from John's through Arturo's to Lombardi's.
Well, the upshot: DeMarco's has, well, atmosphere... but so does the air in the middle of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.
I entered and found myself third in line, not bad. The glum fellow behind the counter looked up and said, "four minutes, guy". I waited. Meanwhile, the ambience -- well, lights aside, it's a triumph of a sort when you consider that the space was built from scratch: how ugly can you possibly make a place? Piles of used plates and napkins didn't help.
After a few minutes a person waiting off to the side commented to her companion that the same man had told them four minutes... and that was twenty minutes ago.
While waiting I observed the man behind the counter and saw that he was quite ill, while chopping onions bare-handed and handling money at the same time. A separate man idled up to the counter and began hacking at a tray of square pizza with a cutter, looking for all purposes like someone who had never encountered a pizza before, much less cut it.
Steel yourself, I said. Finally a pizza emerged! -- and immediately vanished into the two people in front of me plus three slices to go for someone else. The ill fellow promised to start a new pie.
Pizza Express? It was plainly observable that these "artistes" had a production schedule that was not parallel but serial: start a pie, finish it, start another.
Anyway, I looked at the greasy little blobs as they passed me by. They appeared to have the thick cheese of Ben's without the wonderfully matched thick crust, and the artsy thin delicacy of Lombardi's without the wood oven and the realistic production schedule...
I took a pass. Simply not worth it... yet, I'll add, in a fit of generosity.
Slice Andrew at 6:16PM on 01/17/05
If you want a quick slice, mac, you should just go to ray's and be done with it. DeMarco's is emualating the master in making pies one at a time. Nothing could be easier than to turn out quick junk that sits for hours. That's not what they want to do. They could use polly-o mozzarella and frozen dough too. If you are willing to wait 30 minutes at DiFara's, you should be willing to wait 15 at DeMarcos.
Josh
Slice Mr. Cutlets at 3:39PM on 01/30/05
Andrew, posting above, paints a lurid portrait of lackadaisical work ethics, taking customers for granted, and questionable hygiene among the rank-and-file. It's a long way from Midwood, indeed. I can only hope this situation is remedied ASAP, whether the pizza is good or not.
Slice Truthmeister at 5:35PM on 02/02/05
Had two slices at DeMarco's today. First slice, pepperoni, was drenched in oil. It was one of the few slices I've ever thrown away. The second plain slice was overdone. The crust broke like a cracker.
DeMarco's son has besmirched the family name!!!!
Slice budinado at 11:39PM on 02/12/05
Gotta agree 100% with budinado. We were there in January and it was one of the worst, greasiest (and that's with no meat!), soggiest pizzas we've ever had (ordered a whole pie).
The were also out of everything on the wine list under $60 and the service was just atrocious (and it wasn't like it was crazy busy or anything).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those pizza snobs who only likes one kind of pizza. I like 'em thin, thick, wood, coal, brick, etc., etc., but this pizza was really, profoundly bad.
Maybe this place has gone downhill fast, or perhaps they have a serious quality control problem, but I think Adam K needs to make a few more visits before declaring this place such a success.
Slice Mr Donutsu at 11:47AM on 02/15/05
I agree with Mr Donutsu. I went to De Marco's when it first opened for a slice and it was good but not out of this world. Then I went back for dinner with my girlfriend and a friend. We were told the kitchen was closed b/c they are not doing enough business yet and we could only order pizza. The place was freezing. We ordered a large cheese pie and it was horrible. It was soggy and greasy and terrible. None of us enjoyed it and would never go back.
If you want great pizza try No. 28. It just opened on Carmine and it is like no other pizza in the city.
Slice Jason at 10:43AM on 02/19/05
I was anxious to try Demarco. My wife and i went twice and both times the air conditioner was either not turned on or not working.It was so hot we did'nt go in.
I hope they correct the A/C situation. I think that will turn a lot of people off.
Slice Bob at 3:00PM on 07/27/05
Are you kidding me? I can't believe those reviews that I read saying they would never go back. When I went, people were happy, service was friendly, and the pizza was amazing.
Slice Maria at 2:12AM on 10/09/05
A huge fan of DiFara, I just had to try the new NYC branch when I heard about it upon reading that it was recently voted NYC's best! I went there at around 6:30PM last Tuesday, & was shockingly disappointed! Their pizza was far worse than the average slice you can pick up at any local pizzeria you happen to pass!!! There were 2 slices of regular & 2 of Sicilian lying there, all dried out & unappetizing-looking. I tried one of each, & both were absolutely LOUSY!!! I wanted my money back!!! How this place can be considered related to the sublime & incomparable DiFara is beyond me -- much less be ranked as #1 in Manhattan! Never again will I fork over even a penny for anything at Demarco in NYC!!! If they have a standard to maintain, it should apply at all times, & not relegate people who come there during "slow periods" to eating horrible or even just mediocre pizza! It reflects badly upon Dominic in Brooklyn & the reputation he has deservedly built up over the years for the highest possible quality. There is no doubt as to why DiFara has garnered so many awards & such great recognition, but there is only doubt, in my estimation, as to why Demarco in NYC ever got any kudos whatsoever! And the attitude I found there was equally unpleasant -- as if they knew I had legitimate complaints in light of how high they were rated but how low they came across in reality, & they didn't give a damn about a customer's justified dissatisfaction!
Slice Carole Pozner at 11:41AM on 12/06/05
Dissapointing....not good at all...I'm a loyal Difara fan but i like many types of pizza and was willing to be open minded.I didnt expect anything. I went yesterday and had a slice of plain....it was bad. the crust was ok but not any better then a random pizza place...the cheese was in no way the same quality that they use at difara and the sauce was outright bad. The balance of herbs was off and there was way too much salt and the tomatoes were much lower quality then difara(unless they were ruined during the making of the sauce) maybe they just have a quality control issue....because i trust the slice guys werent crazy when they said it was pretty good....i'll be willing to try it again....i hope it will be better
Slice brandon at 5:57PM on 01/05/06
Dissapointing....not good at all...I'm a loyal Difara fan but i like many types of pizza and was willing to be open minded.I didnt expect anything. I went yesterday and had a slice of plain....it was bad. the crust was ok but not any better then a random pizza place...the cheese was in no way the same quality that they use at difara and the sauce was outright bad. The balance of herbs was off and there was way too much salt and the tomatoes were much lower quality then difara(unless they were ruined during the making of the sauce) maybe they just have a quality control issue....because i trust the slice guys werent crazy when they said it was pretty good....i'll be willing to try it again....i hope it will be better
Slice brandon at 5:59PM on 01/05/06
I'll stick with the Brooklyn branch. The first time I found it "gloppy" also and lacking the taste of DiFara. I decided to give it a second chance a few weeks ago and found it the same. Not worth the price. The final straw was the roaches running around the pizzas.
Slice dennis at 10:38PM on 01/15/06
Have been to both places. Enjoyed slices that I had in both places. Well worth not having to travel from NY to Brooklyn. His children have done a great job bringing Dad's recipe to the city.
Slice John at 9:47PM on 03/17/06
Slices or sub for lunch, really good, pie for dinner if you are nice and they aren't too busy (how else would you be and when else would you go?) (ok, drunk and with a big crowd of hungry friends most of whom haven't seen you or NYC in years could answer both) - excellent.
Slice Skank at 7:31PM on 05/03/06
I'm very much the fan of DiFara's in B'klym & when I heard of a DiFara's spin-off on Houston St., Manhattan called DeMarco s, I was quite intrigues. I went with a friend & ordered a large round plain pie. The pizza looked pretty but at meal's end, I thought it fell significantly short of the DiFara's gold standard. The potential is there in terms of the quality of ingredients but the crust lacks the chew & elasticity that marks great pizza. DiFara's has it. DeMarco's is more like a brittle cracker. Why don't I take those same prime ingredients & put them on a sheet of Matza? OK that might be an extreme analogy but that should give you an idea of what I'm getting at. Another criticism I have is the lack of charring on the crust. It takes real artisan skill to get the right amount on the crust to give it a slight smokeyness & if you take the charring too far you get blackened, burnt pizza. The people at DeMarco's don't even try to go there. Dom at DiFara's pushes that envelope with every pizza he makes & you have to admire that. When you supposedly claim yourself to be the "DiFara's of Manhattan" that's a lot to live up to & likely a bad marketing mistake. It's clear that the DeMarco's is still the padawan learner who needs more training from the Jedi Master at DiFara's. But to be fair, I did go back to DeMarco s the next day to try a Sicilian slice and I was surprised to find it was similar to what Dom makes at DiFara s; same quality ingredients, a crust that s crisp, not too think or heavy, & has some nice charring on the edges. Since elasticity doesn t really factor in for a Sicilian crust I guess it s easier for them to make. So, at DeMarco s, forget to round & go for the square.
Slice Will at 5:22AM on 06/27/06
Good news. They've added more sodas and even some flavored waters to their selection. I am related to the DeMarcos. I saw this page and when my father called from up there I told him about your advice. They thought it was a good idea. :]
Slice Michelle at 10:23PM on 11/07/06
Why did DeMarc's close? Quality control? I never ate there.
Steven Green
peppertree5706 at 11:39AM on 11/23/07
Peppertree: I think it was a number of factors. First, I think the business was slow in the sit-down part of the restaurant. They were reportedly going to close it but kept it going, but then there was a shooting there in which an employee was killed, sadly. After that, they closed the sit-down part and kept the takeout portion. But then that closed.
Adam Kuban at 9:54PM on 11/26/07
Little late on this post, but I thought I'd chime in. I went over there last summer and the place was doing there sauce the way you'd find it at Pizzeria Uno- chunks of tomatos. It was like they rushed to make the sauce, it wasn't really sauce. The cheese was very reminiscent of DiFara's, though, with some sharp taste to it. It was also a pain in the ass to get there, like DiFara's, haha.
That shooting that took place was insane. The guy who was gunned down was shot something like 2 dozen times and then this crazy shooter kills two cops who arrive at the scene before being gunned down by police himself. It was just disgusting to read about it.
gmarceau at 10:25AM on 08/24/08