Sicilian Bella Festa - West Wyoming

From Pizza Truck to Ice Cream Shop: Sicilian Bella Festa Joins Pan Fried Elite

Pan Fried Pizza from Sicilian Bella Festa can now be found at Abraham's Ice Cream in West Wyoming.

About 1 year ago, out of nowhere I started hearing about this pizza trailer that was coming to Exeter, known as Sicilian Bella Festa.  Shortly thereafter, my inbox was filled with messages about how amazing the Pan Fried Sicilian Pizza (PFS) they were selling out of the mobile restaurant in the Exeter area - a hotbed for great PFS pizza!  If folks from the Exeter area were recommending this pizza with the heavyweights of the originator - Victory Pig and the NEPA Pizza Madness Champion - Pizza L'oven in the immediate area I knew it had to be good!

I spoke to Tommy, the owner about how all of this came to be and he was able to gave me a little background and context. At the young age of 12, he started working for a few of the local pan fried Sicilian greats. He gained valuable pizza experience and knowledge over the course of a decade until he started a tree service which he has operated ever since. However, he never stopped making pizza for himself and his family at home, until last year when he opened the mobile unit and started selling the crispy pan fried treats that the locals crave.

A look at the crispy crust of the Pan Fried Siclian Pizza at Sicilian Bella Festa.  Note the very limited amount of oil on the wax paper and cardboard box.

After nearly a year in operating out of the fully equipped mobile food trailer, things really started to take off and Sicilian Bella Festa announced that they had moved into a more permanent brick and mortar building - Abraham's Ice Cream at 835 Shoemaker Ave in West Wyoming. Since ice cream stands tend to close for the winter, it made so much sense to me for them to occupy the building and from my brief and unscientific analysis, there appeared to be space for both operations to coexist and hopefully thrive.
Check out my video review of Sicilian Bella Festa below!
I ordered my pizza like any other customer, and this was another totally unannounced visit, but it was very noteworthy how friendly and nice the lady on the phone was as well as the crew at the pick-up window was now. I was very much "undercover" for this review (as I have been with most of my pandemic reviews) until Tommy seemed to recognize me and we had a chance to chat very briefly as they were extremely busy and trays of pizza were flying out the window to hungry customers that gave me a vibe that they were repeat customers judging by the dialogue and familiarity with those working the window.

I paid for my pizza (cash only) and set up shop at one of the picnic tables to take some photos of the tray. Upon first look, I was greeted with an array of colors which is a trademark of PFS - from vibrant reds, to deep browns, to bright whites I was looking at a masterpiece.

The crust was on the thinner side of the PFS spectrum, closer to a Teberio's than to a Ricci's. Is was crisp on the bottom and crunchy around the edges while being super tender and easy to eat in the middle. The flavor of the oil was light and pleasant and didn't have an aftertaste nor did it sit heavily in my stomach afterward.

Digestion may not be the most fun to write about, but people always ask "if it's greasy" about this style of pizza so I must note the oil/grease level. On a grease scale of 1-10, with 1 being totally dry and 10 being grease is running everywhere, this pizza was about a 4. Not very much oil, but enough to bring the flavor and moisture that I was looking for. I prefer between a 4 and a 6 on my pan frieds so this one hit the spot.

The sauce was simple, vibrant, slightly acidic, slightly sweet, and mostly smooth with a few chunks of tomatoes here and there to add texture. I opted for onions as I always do, and they provided such a pleasant flavor and aroma. They were the proper sweet onions and were prepared in such a way that I barely knew they were there except for the incredible onion flavor they added.

The cheese seemed to be the same or similar to those used on the rest of the established pan fried pizzas that I'm used to. It was melted to perfection with some creaminess along with some leoparding that made for tremendous flavor variation and an adventure with every bite.

Renee's Famous Hot Dogs are found at Sicilian Bella Festa in West Wyoming!

Overall, I was very impressed with this pizza and its quality immediately vaults it into the conversation with the pan fried elites. I highly recommend Sicilian Bella Festa to the NEPA Nation. I also wanted to mention that I'll be going back again soon to try one of "Renee's Famous Hot Dogs" which appear to be a foot long chili dog. That is an absolute must try for me in the near future!

I am excited to see this style of pizza continue to grow and expand both inside the original Luzerne County footprint and beoyond. You can find the list of all of the Best Pan Fried Sicilian Pizzas here!

The Ratings

Restaurant:  Sicilian Bella Festa
Location: West Wyoming, PA (Abraham's Creek Ice Cream Building)
Date: October 2020
Eat In/Take Out: Take Out

Pizza Ordered: Pan Fried Sicilian with Onions
Price: $18.00
Crust: 8.9
Sauce: 8.8
Cheese: 8.9
Overall Taste: 9.2
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 8.7
Overall Value: 7.2
OVERALL RATING: 8.8

Similar to: Pizza L'Oven, Pizza Perfect, Victory Pig, Sizzle Pi, Teberio's