Dario's Pizza opens in West Hempstead

His partners didn’t like any of the names Dario Carosi came up with for their new West Hempstead pizzeria. He suggested Pala (for the wooden paddle used to transfer pies in and out of the oven) and Biga (the traditional pre-fermented dough starter). Finally, Sergio DeCiantis asked, “Why don’t we just call it Dario’s?”

Even though he is the chef and creator of the concept, that gave Carosi pause. And it strengthened his commitment to redefining the Long Island slice shop.

Dario’s, which opened in January  in the former digs of Sauly’s Pizza (now at 336 Hempstead Ave.), treads a path similar to those forged by other Long Island pizzerias — King Umberto, Taglio, Mozzafiato, Dough & Co. — that are upgrading the classic New York pie and serving it alongside other Italian traditions such as the Roman pizza al taglio (a pan pie sold by the slice). But Carosi comes at it from a singular direction: He is a trained pastry chef who emigrated from Italy in 2016 and has spent his short tenure in New York working at a series of bakeries and, most recently, at the cult Brooklyn pizzeria, L’Industrie.

“When people walk in here,” he said, “they don’t see what they are used to. No garlic knots, no calzone, no penne alla vodka on the pizza. I am explaining everything to everyone.”

What customers do see are round, crisp-crusted New York pies and lofty rectangular Roman pies, both of whose toppings might be as simple as the “Italiana” (tomatoes and stracciatella), as classic as the “Crostino” (mozzarella, potato, cooked ham and rosemary oil) or as inventive as the “Rossa & Verde" (stripes of roasted-pepper cream and cilantro cream with mozzarella and pickled onion). Pies range from $20 to $29; slices start at $3.50.

Carosi makes his own little focaccia rolls and fills them with chicken cutlets, vodka sauce and stracciatella or, inspired by what else is trending on Long Island, braised “birria” beef with pickled onions, arugula and white sauce.

More important than any topping is the dough. Carosi has a stash of flours and is endlessly tinkering with ratios and hydration.. Right now, the Roman pies are made with the aforementioned biga, two “tipo 0” flours, plus a little semolina. The round pies are made with another blend, the focaccia with another and the sesame-seeded rolls he just came up with for big sandwiches, yet another blend — and instead of a biga, a poolish (same idea but wetter).

And the guy likes to fry. He makes a mean supplì, the Roman rice ball, and other dishes have a way of wandering over to his fryer — such as little blocks of eggplant Parmesan or, a recent special, deep-fried orbs of rigatoni alla carbonara.

Bomboloni (doughnuts) might be filled with jelly or custards of hazelnut, pistachio or Biscoff cookie cream, or lemon-scented mascarpone.

For all that’s going on in the kitchen (and in the mind of its chef), Dario’s is a modest-looking shop. It was spruced up, but not much changed when it was taken over last year by Carosi’s partners, Sergio DeCiantis (owner of Cara Mia in Seaford, plus five Guac Shops around Nassau) and his cousin, Francesco Maola (of Phil’s Pizzeria in North Massapequa).

Actually, Carosi believes that his concept is fundamentally modest as well. “It is all about the process of making bread,” he said. “No shortcuts, I’m just trying to respect what bakers have been doing for thousands of years.”

Dario’s is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. 239 Nassau Blvd., West Hempstead, 516-279-4390, dariospizzali.com