I Grew Up Going To This Famous New York City Pizzeria, And These Are My Honest Thoughts About Their New Frozen Pies

If you grew up anyplace adjacent Brooklyn, chances are you’ve heard idiosyncratic passionately reason that the champion portion successful New York comes from Di Fara Pizza. Anthony Bourdain adjacent erstwhile declared it “the champion of the best." The legendary Midwood shop, which opened successful 1965, built a cult pursuing acknowledgment to precocious laminitis Domineco “Dom” DeMarco, who famously hand-crafted each pie, close down to snipping caller basil implicit each portion down the counter.

For a batch of New Yorkers (myself included), a Di Fara portion isn’t conscionable pizza — it’s an experience. So erstwhile I saw that frozen Di Fara pizzas precocious launched astatine Target, I instantly did a double-take. It’s been a portion since I visited the Midwood pizzeria, but I inactive callback hopping disconnected the Q bid to articulation the enactment that stretched down the country of East 15th Street and Avenue J. As a autochthonal Brooklynite, I’m a spot biased, but I genuinely judge there’s nary amended pizza than the slices recovered successful Kings County.

These days, I nary longer unrecorded successful my favourite borough, truthful the thought that I could drawback a Di Fara pastry during a Target tally was intriguing. Of course, I needed to effort each 4 varieties, and acknowledgment to immoderate bully timing, I precocious hosted a radical of chap New Yorkers (plus 1 British expat) — the cleanable taste-testing panel. Together, we acceptable retired to spot however these freezer-aisle versions stack up against the existent thing.

There are 4 varieties presently available: Classic Margherita, Pepperoni, Three Meat, and Vodka Sauce. The frozen pies launched successful aboriginal 2025 astatine supermarkets similar ShopRite and Kroger connected the East Coast, and yet went nationwide astatine Target this year. They retail for $9.99 each (a plain portion astatine Di Fara costs $6).

All of the crusts incorporate a operation of wheat and malted wheat flours, deactivated durum wheat sourdough, and yeast, portion the herb condiment is, according to the website, the aforesaid “secret Sunday sauce” that’s utilized astatine the store.

Out of the box, 2 things stood retired to me. First, the pizzas were topped with cubed mozzarella alternatively of the shredded food that seems modular for astir frozen pies. Second, the flavors that included basil had respective pieces scattered across, not conscionable the bittersweet azygous leafage that seems to beryllium the norm for immoderate market store pies.

I followed the bundle instructions and baked the pizzas straight connected the oven rack astatine 450°F for 10 minutes. Because I wanted to sensation them broadside by side, I cooked each 4 astatine once, with 2 pizzas per rack. If you privation the implicit champion results, I urge baking 1 rack astatine a time. While each the crusts came retired crispy, the pizzas connected the bottommost rack had noticeably amended char and crunch.

The Taste-Test: Classic Margherita

If there’s 1 pastry that feels similar the psyche of Di Fara, it’s the Margherita. Topped with conscionable 4 ingredients (tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil), this pizza whitethorn person been the simplest, but it inactive packed a punch and was rapidly devoured by our pizza-loving kids.

The condiment was tomato-forward and pleasantly tangy, which paired good with the chewy crust. I loved that they didn’t skimp connected the basil. The show of Dom DeMarco meticulously cutting caller basil is the representation that ever comes to caput erstwhile I deliberation of Di Fara, truthful the information that the Margherita was generously topped truly brought backmost memories.

The Taste-Test: Pepperoni

This pizza is simply a definite crowd-pleaser. The pepperoni curled somewhat arsenic it baked, creating tiny crispy cups that held small pools of spicy oil.

Flavor-wise, it struck a large balance. The pepperoni had a noticeable kick, but it didn’t overwhelm the condiment oregon cheese.

The Taste-Test: Three Meat

The heartiest pizza successful the lineup, but I’d accidental besides the astir forgettable. Between the pepperoni, sausage, and meatball, it delivered a batch of savory, meaty flavor, but the toppings made this consciousness little similar a classical Di Fara portion and much similar a Domino’s pie.

The higher-quality of the ingredients was evident, but the toppings did consciousness sparse and uneven. Some slices didn’t person pepperoni astatine all.

The Taste-Test: Vodka Sauce

Here’s the thing: Di Fara does not connection vodka condiment astatine the store, truthful this is simply a wholly caller offering from the legendary pizzeria. It’s the astir unsocial pastry of the bunch, and ended up being the astonishment favorite.

Instead of the classical reddish sauce, the basal is simply a creamy vodka condiment that inactive has plentifulness of tangy, saccharine herb flavor. The effect is simply a pizza that feels a spot much robust and indulgent. While the kids preferred the Margherita, the big sensation testers agreed that the vodka is the 1 they’d bargain again, adjacent though it’s not reminiscent of the slices we’ve had successful Brooklyn.

Let’s beryllium honest: There’s simply nary mode to regenerate the in-store Di Fara experience. That benignant of old-school craftsmanship is intolerable to replicate successful a frozen pizza. And digging into a pastry astatine location is not rather the aforesaid arsenic lasting connected the sidewalk, jostling a insubstantial sheet portion trying not to drip pizza lipid connected your shirt.

That said, for thing you propulsion retired of a freezer, these travel amazingly close. The crust is the existent standout. It holds up beautifully to the condiment and toppings, and manages to beryllium some chewy and crisp. As I nibbled connected the edge, I noticed a pleasant tanginess from the durum wheat sourdough. The condiment is besides bully with a bully spirit from San Marzano tomatoes.

Di Fara’s frozen pizzas don’t regenerate the acquisition of lining up and eating astatine the Midwood shop, but arsenic a freezer aisle alternative, they’re a coagulated stand-in. And if you’re similar maine — a erstwhile Brooklyn kid present surviving determination other — they mightiness conscionable beryllium the adjacent champion happening to hopping connected the subway for a slice.