Get A Taste Of Italy In Today's Taste Of The Town

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- There's a good reason to go out to eat for dinner. In this week's edition of Taste of the Town, CBS4's Lisa Petrillo introduces you to an Italian spot which offers classic dishes at affordable prices.

Whether you're cooking up chicken spinach meatballs with Executive Chef Pietro or watching Chef Salvator prepare his pappardelle pasta with pancetta, or drooling over Chef Reno's ultimate Italian sandwich made with fresh bread dipped in eggs and flour and seared with creamy mozzarella inside, customers know they're getting the real deal at Caffe Europa on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.

"Our underlying philosophy is eat well, eat healthy, eat Italian. So everything that you have is pretty much very healthy for you." said Spokesperson and family friend Jimmy Facciola

Owner Tony Cupelli, who moved here from Italy a few decades ago, employs most of his family in this charming, casual, and affordable eatery.

"This is a family owned business. It's a family run business. Nobody really has any position to speak of. It's all in the family and everybody who walks through that door is a member of this family," explained Jimmy.

CBS4'S Lisa Petrillo began her feast with a classic Caprese Salad, which she described as fresh, light, and delightful.

Then it was time for Chef Pietro's famous appetizer; Chicken and Spinach Meatballs served with roasted peppers in a Pomodoro sauce.

"The roasted peppers are just bang with flavor," said Petrillo. It's an appetizer she would eat as a meal as well.

"A lot of people do that. They have it with a salad first, it's a heart healthy diet," said Jimmy.

Then came the papparadelle pasta which Lisa described as having a "beautiful sauce, very light."

She also tried the delicate Branzino fish which was light and moist.

"You could see it just falls off. It melts in your mouth. It is the lightest, most beautiful fish," gushed Petrillo.

Caffe Europa is located at 910 East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Click here for more information on their website.