Although fine diners promise common groceries a glamorous gourmet life, only a pub provides an environment where food can kick back and relax in a stew of its naturally laid-back flavors. Feast on cozy cuisine with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of pub fare at Wooden Nickel Pub & Eatery, with locations in Sublimity or Silverton.

Serving up fresh fodder, from bread and buns to french fries and sausage, Wooden Nickel takes comfort food to new levels of edibility by smoking, curing, and brining all its meats in-house. The menu showcases pit smoked St. Louis–style ribs ($10.95 for half rack) and slow-smoked barbecue beef brisket ($11.25), which triumph over hunger with help from coleslaw, jalapeño cornbread, and a choice of one side dish, including homemade mac 'n' cheese, garlic mashed potatoes, or sweet-potato fries. Teeth can prove their utility with a 12-ounce rib-eye steak ($14.95) or a 2/3-pound Rhino burger, whose ravenous rectangular bun is fed with thick strips of bacon, four swiss-cheese slices, and salty tears from a hexagon ($9.95).