Serpico's pizza truck creates 8-pie wine-tasting menu in Hicksville

Jim Serpico has been on a journey of gastronomic discovery since he started making sourdough bread during the pandemic. Last year, he debuted the Serpico’s Bread Co. pizza truck, which roams the Island preaching the gospel of Neapolitan- and Roman-style pies. Lately, he’s found that even his custom-built truck can’t accommodate his ambition and creativity. He has teamed up with Vincenzo Saulle, owner of wineUdesign, for a yearlong "pizza residency" at the DIY winery in Hicksville.

Each tasting dinner pairs eight or so pizzas with wines. The next dinner, on March 19 at 7 p.m., features a third collaborator: Dario Carosi, of Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead, one of Long Island’s foremost pizzaioli and a specialist pizza alla Romana.

"I’ve always wanted to work with Dario," Serpico said. "I want to work with the greats and learn from them. A lot of people know him, but there are a lot of people who still need to discover him."

The menu is not finalized but will almost certainly feature a Roman-style pie topped with lemons, red onions and ricotta; an upside-down Sicilian with pepperoni and hot honey and a Japanese-style mushroom-truffle pie. Carosi, who trained as a pastry chef, will create a bombolino (Italian doughnut) just for the night — and possibly fill it with a Dubai chocolate tiramisu. The wines will include a sauvignon blanc, grenache rosé, syrah, malbec,Primitivo and Amarone.

Serpico’s relationship with wineUdesign started two years ago when Saulle suggested that the truck provide the food for his wine-blending class. "I would do six pizzas, buffet style," Serpico said. "And it gave me the chance to experiment with toppings that I didn’t think people would order from the truck — like the lemon and ricotta with red onion, which was inspired by Chris Bianco," an Arizona-based pizza guru.

Pizza took a supporting role during those first Serpico-Saulle collaborations — the evenings’ main event was wine-blending instruction. Last year, Serpico decided he not only wanted to expand his toppings, but also his dough repertoire, and he pitched an event that "showcased different regional styles, a pizza-focused meal with the wine somewhat in the background."

In December, he presented 11 courses, with pizzas hailing from Naples, Rome (one "alla pala," baked on the floor of the oven, one "in teglia," baked in a pan), Bensonhurst (an L&B Spumoni Gardens-inspired upside-down Sicilian), New Haven (thin and crisp), Chicago (the deep-dish variety that strains the definition of pizza) and even Japan (the dough is enriched with koji, the starter culture that helps produce fermented Japanese staples such as miso, soy sauce and sake).

If you can’t make March 19, the next two dates are April 24 and May 10. Tickets, including fees and taxes, are $110.48.

WineUdesign is at 156 Engineers Dr., Hicksville. For more information or to buy tickets, go to wineudesign.com.