Definition
Brooklyn style pizza is a variety of pizza characterized by a thin, foldable crust, a large diameter (typically 18 inches), and a crispy exterior with a slight chew. It occupies a middle ground between the thin, crispy New York style and the thick, bready Sicilian style. The Brooklyn style was popularized by national pizza chains, particularly Domino’s, which introduced a “Brooklyn Style” pizza in 2006 as a response to customer demand for larger, thinner pizzas. However, the term is also used more loosely to describe the pizza served in Brooklyn pizzerias, which tends to be characterized by a longer fermentation, high-quality mozzarella, and a balance of sauce and cheese that prioritizes flavor over volume. The Brooklyn style is therefore both a commercial product and a regional identity, a term that means different things depending on whether you are ordering from a chain or standing in line at a decades-old pizzeria on Bedford Avenue.
Why It Matters
Brooklyn style pizza matters because it is a case study in how regional food identities are commercialized, diluted, and contested. The “Brooklyn style” pizza sold by Domino’s is not the same as the pizza made in Brooklyn: the chain version is a marketing concept, designed to evoke associations with urban authenticity, large slices, and working-class tradition. The actual pizza of Brooklyn is diverse and historically rooted: Di Fara Pizza in Midwood, founded in 1965 by Domenico DeMarco, is widely regarded as one of the best pizzerias in the world, with DeMarco making each pie by hand until his death in 2022; Grimaldi’s, under the Brooklyn Bridge, is famous for its coal-fired oven and long lines; Roberta’s in Bushwick helped pioneer the artisanal, wood-fired pizza movement of the 2010s. The “Brooklyn style” label matters because it flattens this diversity into a single, marketable concept. It also matters because pizza is one of America’s most democratic foods: it crosses class, race, and geography, and the debate about what constitutes “real” Brooklyn pizza is a debate about who owns cultural identity. Is a Domino’s Brooklyn Style pizza “authentic”? No. But it is accessible, affordable, and familiar to millions of Americans who will never visit Brooklyn. The tension between authenticity and accessibility, between the artisanal and the mass-produced, defines contemporary American food culture, and Brooklyn style pizza sits at the center of that tension.
Example
Domino’s Brooklyn Style pizza, introduced in 2006, is the most widely distributed version of the style. It features a thin, hand-stretched crust that is cut into six large slices (rather than the standard eight), designed to be folded in half for eating on the go. The marketing emphasized “big, foldable slices” and “the real taste of Brooklyn,” despite the fact that Domino’s is a Michigan-based corporation with no historical connection to Brooklyn. The product was a commercial success and remains on the menu. In contrast, Di Fara Pizza on Avenue J represents the artisanal extreme: Domenico DeMarco made each pizza by hand, grating his own mozzarella, crushing his own tomatoes, and drizzling olive oil with a precision that made the process slow but the result transcendent. A pie could take 45 minutes, and the wait was part of the experience. DeMarco’s death in 2022 was mourned as the end of an era, and the pizzeria remains open under his family’s management. Roberta’s in Bushwick represents the third pole: opened in 2008 in a gritty, industrial neighborhood, it became famous for its wood-fired pies with unconventional toppings (speck, honey, chili), its DIY aesthetic, and its role in making Bushwick a destination. Roberta’s was “Brooklyn” in the cultural sense before it was a pizza style: it was young, creative, slightly pretentious, and undeniably good.
Internet Angle
Brooklyn style pizza is a major subject of internet food culture. On Reddit, r/pizza is one of the largest food subreddits, and “Brooklyn style” is a recurring topic of debate. Users post photos of their Domino’s orders with titles like “Is this really Brooklyn style?” and are met with responses ranging from “that’s not Brooklyn style, that’s just thin crust” to “let people enjoy things.” The subreddit also features pilgrimage posts: users who have traveled to Di Fara, Grimaldi’s, or Lucali share detailed reviews and photos of their slices. On TikTok, #brooklynstylepizza has millions of views, featuring everything from Domino’s unboxing videos to artisanal pizza-making tutorials to “pizza tours of Brooklyn” in which creators visit multiple pizzerias in a single day. On YouTube, food critics and channels like First We Feast and Bon Appétit have produced documentaries about Brooklyn’s pizza culture, often framing it as a story of immigration, craftsmanship, and neighborhood transformation. The “best pizza in Brooklyn” debate is a permanent feature of New York food media, with publications like Eater, The Infatuation, and Grub Street updating their rankings annually. The internet has also enabled the home pizza-making movement: subreddits like r/pizza and r/Breadit feature elaborate posts about sourdough starters, home ovens modified with steel plates or baking stones, and attempts to reverse-engineer Di Fara’s recipe. The Brooklyn style pizza is therefore both a commercial product and a DIY aspiration, a food that is simultaneously everywhere and impossible to perfectly replicate.
Related Terms
- New York style pizza — The thin-crust, large-diameter pizza that is the broader category to which Brooklyn style belongs
- Neapolitan pizza — The Italian original, with a soft, chewy crust and simple toppings, increasingly popular in Brooklyn’s artisanal pizzerias
- Coal-fired oven — The traditional oven type used by legendary Brooklyn pizzerias like Grimaldi’s, producing a charred, crispy crust
- Di Fara Pizza — The Midwood pizzeria widely regarded as the best in Brooklyn, founded by Domenico DeMarco in 1965
- Roberta’s — The Bushwick pizzeria that helped define the artisanal, wood-fired Brooklyn pizza movement of the 2000s and 2010s
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