Lombardi's and Totonno's and Di Fara...oh my

When hubby and I first met Scott Wiener of Scott's Pizza Tour we were stuck on a Brooklyn bound A train on our way to Brooklyn Fare. I was anxiously awaiting the greatest meal that was yet to come but we immediately noticed Scott who was wearing a pizza championship t-shirt, reading an 1000 page history of Italian cuisine and had a red pizza delivery bag rigged into a backpack. Suffice to say, we decided to engage Scott. "You must love pizza," hubby began, more of a statement than a question posed to a stranger on the subway. We didn't know the half of it. Scott has been treating tourists, pizza lovers and culinarily adventurous New Yorkers to an education about the art of pizza in all its forms for several years. And Scott's Pizza Tour is not only a fun activity for a hungry group of friends, it's also clearly a labor of love for its proprietor.

It took us several months but we finally signed up to join our friend Scott for one of his famous half day Sunday tours. Little did we know what a special day we were in for. Scott is the foremost expert of all things pizza; so ingratiated to the staffs who run these NY establishments that he's practically family and he's definitely famous among them. Afterall he is curating a history and celebrating their Italian food heritage. In fact, he's so welcomed into the inner sanctums of their coal, wood & brick ovens that when Lombardi's on Spring Street had to remove the floor tiles of their secret dinning room above the coal oven for maintenance, they called Scott so he could crawl in and take a look.

So it was fitting that we began our expedition at Lombardi's by touring the kitchen and tasting the first pie out of the oven. While Lombardi's famous pizza and restaurant was an excellent start, it would later pale in comparison to what was to come that afternoon. After a slice we hopped on our mini yellow school bus and we were off to Coney Island for another NY legend: Totonno's, where Scott and our group were invited to chat with the pie maker as he lovingly crafted our half margarita, half white pie -- the former consisting of crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and olive oil; the later comprised of mozzarella, fresh garlic and olive oil. Unbelievable. Cheesier than Lombardi's with slightly lighter crust; we ate and listened to Scott explain how the gas in the dough is distributed as it's kneaded which makes those crunchy yummy charred bubbles. We then got our own personal Bill Nye the Science Guy type explanation of why New York City water, with its low chlorine and PH levels, contributes to the clean fresh flavor and consistency of the dough which cannot be replicated outside the city.

After an exceptional slice or two at Totonno's we were back on the bus and towards the main event...Di Fara Pizza in Midwood. A rare treat for the tour, Scott has asked me to note the extenuating circumstances of our tour which allowed the group to go to the mythical Di Fara's; the stars were aligned, the sun was shining, the gods were smiling and we were an unusually small group. And thus Di Fara was fated to be. We arrived. We watched as the one, the only, the 75 year old Dom DeMarco gingerly kneaded the pie, placed hand crushed whole plump ripe tomatoes, heaped on two types of decadent cheese, poured copious amounts of Vanita Olive Oil, baked until bubbling and then cut fresh bright Israeli basil on top. This was. The. Best. Pizza. Ever. We simply had to have two slices of the nutty, buttery delicacy.

There were a few other stops and bites to follow but throughout them all we were treated to Scott's mini dissertations about any and all subjects you could possibly imagine related to pizza. And I got the impression that the knowledge Scott was imparting as we asked question after question was just the tip of the iceberg of what he knows. The man could and should teach a PhD course at Harvard on the nuances, history and love of this technique that came over from Naples and has branched into so many facets of our collective New York and American culture. I definitely learned something and found a new love for the humble slice. Thanks Scott!

Scott's Pizza Tour