Di Fara Pizza Closed By Health Inspectors

MIDWOOD, BROOKLYN — Health inspectors shuttered one of New York City’s most famous pizzerias on Tuesday, city records show.

Di Fara — the Midwood pizzeria that was named best in all of New York State last summer — was closed by inspectors who found evidence of mice and improperly stored food, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Inspectors reported evidence of mice near the food areas, cold foods being held at unsafe temperatures, other foods left unprotected from contamination and facilities that were not vermin-proof, city records show.

Restaurants are graded on a violation point system that determines their letter grades — scores between zero and 13 constitute an A, scores between 14 and 27 constitute a B, and scores above 28 earn eateries a C and close monitoring from the city's health department.

During its Tuesday inspection, the Midwood pizza joint on Avenue J and East 15th Street earned 46 points — 33 points higher than it scored during its last inspection in January.

Di Fara has been an institution in New York City since Domenico DeMarco opened the pizzeria in 1964.

“Dom cooks both New York and Sicilian-style pizza ... for hungry New Yorkers and tourists willing to wait in long lines, and brave the free-for-all that is the Di Fara counter experience,” the Daily Meal wrote in their 2017 homage.

“Di Fara can make a very strong case for being America's best pizza.”

Patch was not immediately able to reach a Di Fara representative for comment.

Photo by Kathleen Culliton