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Cheap Eats: Shrewsbury Square's Sons of Sicily serves up fresh pizza dough, Italian sense of community


At Shrewsbury Square's Sons of Sicily, dough and a sense of community are on the rise.

Nick Falcone and Disma "Joe" Ferranti opened the Italian restaurant in 2011, and during the past few years, Ferranti said they've teamed with local schools, churches, Relay for Life teams – even a dog kennel -- to host fundraisers.

"We've helped so many organizations," Ferranti said. "They've helped us."

On a recent Saturday, patrons gathered for lunch. The eatery, located in a strip mall, felt more like home with a mix of tables, booths and a counter with stools. Dropped lights above the booths, two TVs and a flat-screen fireplace added a touch of warmth.

Those who were hungry ordered at the counter, where they could see employees pushing and pulling pizzas, calzones in and out of ovens.

I ordered the Tex Mex Chicken sub. I know – I went to an Italian restaurant and ordered Tex Mex – but Ferranti told me cheesesteaks are among their top sellers, along with pizza.

This warm sub started as a chicken cheesesteak -- chopped chicken, provolone cheese – topped with a heaping of chopped bacon, shredded lettuce, tomato and onion slices and a spicy ranch sauce that tasted more spicy than tangy. Clearly ordering a small fountain drink was my biggest mistake. Only a quarter of the way through the mouth-watering sub, I revisited the fountain.

Upon doing so, I stopped to peruse items hanging on the wall across from the kitchen. Collages of pictures, newspaper clippings, some in English, some in Italian, show Falcone and Ferranti's roots. Falcone's father's family emigrated from Sicily in the early 1900s. His family has been active in the Sons of Italy organization in Maryland for more than 40 years. Ferranti's family moved in the early 1980s. Both were familiar with the restaurant business and grew up near Delta.

Falcone and Ferranti bring the skills they've inherited from generations before them with the pizza dough they make fresh each day, the pasta they serve with a salad and bread, and the catering they offer to your family and friends. Lasagna party tray, anyone?