April 2, 2008
Is Artichoke Pizzeria the Manhattan Answer to Di Fara?
East Village pizzeria Artichoke has been open a scant two weeks, but the blogosphere is already abubble. All it took was one avid pizza geek kvelling to Slice that it’s on a par with Brooklyn's acclaimed Di Fara Pizzeria. This initial report led many to assume that this standing-room spot models its pies after those turned out by Dom De Marco, the maestro of Midwood.
The only similarity between Di Fara’s and Artichoke is the presence of the namesake vegetable. (For starters, unlike Dom, these guys don’t grab hot pans out of the oven with their bare hands.) That said, Staten Island natives Francis and Sal turn out first rate pizza, and they’re all about the artichoke. They’re clearly proud of their signature artichoke and spinach pie and are quick to boast that it’s the only one of its kind in Manhattan. Loaded with spinach, thinly sliced artichokes and spiked with pecorino romano, a slice is almost a meal in itself. The regular slice is pretty terrific, too. Purists may fault the crust on both as too crispy, but that didn’t seem to faze the customers scarfing down slices in the small space last night.
Artichoke pays homage to its namesake veggie with a dish that evokes nostalgic memories of Sunday dinners for Italian-Americans. A gigantic stuffed artichoke crammed with so much golden breading that there’s barely any green visible is anointed with artichoke stock before being warmed in the oven. Dredge a leaf, breading and all, into the warm liquid, and scrape the edible portion off with your teeth just like Mama taught you.
If you intend to try several slices and get a ’choke you might want to fast beforehand or bring along a friend or two. Expect things to get hectic in the coming weeks once 32-ounce traveling beers (i.e, styrofoam cups of Bud) are introduced. Manhattan pizza fans should all say a collective prayer that Artichoke's not the equivalent of Di Fara's. It'd be a shame to if it were to be overrun by ravenous pizza geeks from Midwood.
Artichoke, 328 E. 14 St., 212-228-2004
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There is a sentiment on food blogs that the early reports comparing Artichoke to Di Fara were likely to be shills.
Here is eater.com's take on the situation:
http://eater.com/archives/2008/04/adventures_in_s_23.php#more
Expect sliceny.com to respond to the accusations of shilling. Slice head honcho Adam Kuban has hired a crack team of cybersleuths to trace the IP addresses of those contributors who made comparisons to Di Fara's.
In the meanwhile, can we assume that you, Joe, have visited Artichoke and give it good grades?
Regardless of the verdict on the shills, if this is good pizza, particularly in a neighborhood with Vinny Vicenz and Una Pizza Napolitana, let me at it.
I love the fresh mozzarella slice at Luigi's in Brooklyn. Mmm...
famdoc: I too felt those initial Slice reports were shills, but chose not to go there. In any case, I did actually eat at Artichoke. Like I said the one complaint might be too crispy a crust. Hopefully that's a kink that can be worked out.
Artichoke pizzeria is very good. Enjoy it now before it's overrun with herds ala Momofuku.
Skip the stuffed artichoke, the only thing I had there that was mediocre.
Is Artichoke Pizzeria the Manhattan Answer to Di Fara?
only if there are visible mouse feces on the kitchen floor
Shills or no, it looks pretty good. I'll give it a try sometime.
Pfah. Why ruin pizza by dumping vegetables on it?
Re DiFara: if that guy still isn't using gloves, I'm not there.
www.forgotten-ny.com
Di Fara is beyond overrated. You wait an hour for a terrible and burnt slice. I'd rather have Frank's on the corner of Flatbush and Quentin.
Those slices look fantastic. I wish there was more nyc style in chicago.
I think I'll stick with Viva Herbal, 2nd btwn 10th and 11th.
I'm not the biggest fan of Di Fara. Dom's crust is underwhelmingly limp. Artichoke's crust was overwhelmingly stiff. That said both are good pizzas--nay, excellent street pizzas.
I no longer have a reason to venture out to Midwood, god-forsaken place that it is. Artichoke will more than do for a quick bite. For a sitdown, there are other, if more classic, options. You know which ones.
No, if it was like DiFara's it would be filthy, overpriced, overcrowded and shut down by the Health Department two or three times. Plus, the owner's kids would try to cash in on the family reputation by opening their own place.
Everyone knows that BROOKLYN has the best pizza in the entire world. Period.
The artichoke slice is great (and massive). The crust is like fresh bread. After eating that first, the regular slice was boring, but by that time I wasn't hungry anyway. The people there are great too.
Loved the artichoke slice! Although the artichoke and spinach topping might have been a little bit too overgenerous and oozy (kind of verging into artichoke dip territory...), it was still tasty, and was saved by the crust, which was delicious and crisp. I'd like it better with less stuff on top, but still. Thanks very much for the recommendation!
Had the artichoke & spinach slice tonight. I liked it a lot, but thought it less like a pizza and more like a spinach soup served in a bread bowl (with the proportions reversed). I'm going to have to try the plain slice next time.
Artichoke was very good. And although I'm reluctantly to even pay $2 for a slice, much less $3, Artichoke has great value since the slices are the equivalent of almost 2.5 slices anywhere else. I should add though that the crust is unlike any New York slice I've ever had (and I'm a native) While it is delicious, not only is it extremely thick (I kept thinking Chicago style while eating) but it also is not like pizza crust at all. It is essentially a noticeably salty bread with cheese on it. Whereas with most NY slices, the crust, cheese, and sauce balance each other out and meld together into a "pizza" at Artichoke it's almost not even pizza. But it's still very good and well worth it.