Piccolo's Pizza and Jazzeria, Wilton

Jazzeria Pizza & Pasta owner Matt Criscuolo Jr. has been hanging out at pizzerias since he was 6 years old. After emigrating from Italy, his father opened a pizzeria where the entire family worked, giving little Matt an up-close look at the business of turning his mom’s recipes into feasts fit for the old country. Inspired both by his family’s livelihood and his passion for jazz, Criscuolo began his own pizzeria, where he now puts his more than 30 years of pizza-slinging experience to work each day.

Inspired both by family recipes and lessons he learns on his yearly trips to Amalfi, Italy, Jazzeria Pizza & Pasta’s dishes derive their flavors from authentic Italian ingredients. Hand-tossed pizza dough transforms into pies including pesto pizza or the pescatore pizza topped with a trio of baby clams, roasted garlic, and bacon. Diners can enjoy dishes named after jazz greats—such as Lady Day’s Bolognese pasta—or grab a calzone to stuff in their pockets for later. In addition to housing tasty bites of the Mediterranean, Jazzeria locations live up to their name with live jazz performances three times a week.