Bite Of The Week: Cafe Europa

Pizza! Pizza! It is one of the most popular foods in America.

It is also incredibly popular in West Islip and residents have a choice between eight pizzerias in town. In your travels, stop by "Café Europa in Union Plaza, you will not be disappointed, particularly if you like options.

Round or square, pizza with pasta on top, pizza with salad on top, taco pizza, white pizza, deep dish pizza, chicken parmigiana pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, pizza with roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella on top, chicken ceasar salad pizza, eggplant rollatini pizza, and on and on and on, one thing Europa customers have is choice.

As customers wait to be served, their choice of pizza extends past the cashier line, enticing them to take their pick, but it is not always that easy.

One customer summed up the choices at Europa in one sentence: "The options seem endless, I love walking in here and not knowing what I am going to be eating until I order."

As owner Sal G. explained, the pizza at Café Europa is "quality and fresh, there is no one popular slice, customers like all of our pies," he said.

According to Sal, customers love the "pasta fritas" offered at the counter. Perhaps a relative of the zepoli, a pasta frita is a piece of fried dough, covered in sugar grains and a customer favorite since Sal took over the store in 2006.

Another customer described Europa as a "pizza paradise." Located in the heart of West Islip in  Union Plaza, it is not shocking that Café Europa acquired its popularity by offering every possible pizza imaginable, but what about taste?

Try a broccoli rabe and sausage slice, in my opinion, it's the best slice offered. Loaded beneath a bed of cheese on the crispy thin crust, the combination of sweet Italian sausage and slightly bitter broccoli rabe could have any taste buds craving seconds. Thumbs up on that one!

It is no secret that Americans are obsessed with pizza. An Italian creation long ago, Pizza has made its way into American culture and seems to grow in popularity each year. According to PizzaWare.com, pizza is a $30 billion-plus a year industry in the United States alone, and 94% of the population eats pizza.

Here are some other interesting facts about pizza:

-Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza EACH DAY, or about 350 slices per second

-Pizzerias represent 17% of all restaurants. (Source: Food Industry News.)

-Pizza accounts for more that 10% of all foodservice sales. (Source: Food Industry News.)

-93% of Americans eat AT LEAST one pizza per month. (Source: Bolla Wines.)

-66.66% of Americans order pizza for a casual evening with friends. (Source: Bolla Wines.)

-Each man, woman and child in America eats and average of 46 slices, (23 pounds), of pizza per year. (Source: Packaged Facts, New York.)

Craving pizza? The choices at Europa will make your head spin, but your mouth water, buon appetito!