by Brad Gerber

Created on: May 04, 2009   Last Updated: May 05, 2009

I lived in Brooklyn, NY for the first forty-nine years of my fifty-one years on this earth. I have been in love with pizza longer than I can remember and it is one of only three things that I miss about New York.

The world of pizza in Brooklyn has evolved over and over during the years and the title for the best pizza has changed hands on more than one occasion it seems. Great pizzerias have come and gone, some have changed owners, and some have changed their ovens and lost some of that "built in taste" that got them to the top of the pizza food chain.

Back in the days of my youth, there were no chain pizzerias like Dominos and Pizza Hut and we would not have eaten there if there were. One of my greatest memories of pizza takes me back to junior high school. In those days my Dad would give me a dollar for lunch on that rare day that I did not brown bag it to school. Off I would run when the lunch bell rang, three blocks away to Connie's Pizza on Nostrand Avenue to beat the crowd. My kids still don't believe me when I tell them that I could get two slices and a small soda for eighty five cents. THAT'S RIGHT, EIGHTY FIVE CENTS! Of course the change would always be for a pack of baseball cards and five pieces of Bazooka Bubble Gum at a penny a piece.

The smell of the pizzeria was like heaven to every kid in those days. Of course that was the best pizza if you liked the round pie slices. If you wanted the best square (Sicilian) slices, you had two options. Walk to Sheepshead Bay Road to the Bay Pizzeria or get Dad to drive to L & B Spumoni Gardens on 86th ST in the Gravesend area of Brooklyn. Pizza was an event there and the lines were always long but well worth the wait. Cars were double parked and each picnic table was like a party.

As I stated before, the evolution of pizza in Brooklyn has turned almost as many times as the Earth itself over the years. There have been many great pizzas made in the best borough of New York City including those made in :

Del Mar Pizza- Sheepshead Bay- The best white slice for years and years

Totonno's- Coney Island- Amazing pies since 1924 from the coal burning oven

Grimaldi's- Brooklyn Bridge- Another coal burning oven with delicious Zagat rated pizza.

There are many others and of course the opinion I give is only my own. Everyone has different taste buds and our tongues are like snowflakes as each one is different.

With all of this said, I will now tell you which pizzeria, in my opinion, has the BEST pizza in Brooklyn, NY for the last thirty years. DiFara Pizzeria in the Midwood section of Brooklyn has the best pizza in Brooklyn and in THE WORLD! This small pizzeria has been owned and operated by Dominick DeMarco for over forty years and has been rated #1 by Zagat.com on many occasions. The lines are always long as Mr. DeMarco makes one pie at a time with ingredients including imported buffalo mozzarella, Marzano tomatoes, and basil that he grows in his store.

As you wait for your pie, feel free to walk around the store and read all of the rave reviews and articles posted on the walls. Eating this pizza is like a religious experience and the length of time that you have waited will soon be forgotten when you take the first bite.

I was recently in Brooklyn with my family and we made sure to go to DiFara for our last stop before we drove home. I devoured two slices, one round and one square, and I have not eaten any pizza since that day four weeks ago. I refuse to dilute the memory of that amazing flavor and as I now sit here typing this article I wonder...WHY DID I MOVE AWAY?

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