Restaurants in Lents

Today’s Groupon cuts out dinner indecision with $70 worth of prepared gourmet food from What’s For Dinner for $35. Take the cuisine of a ritzy restaurant and enjoy it on the table you know and love with the trustworthy silverware that’s never let you down.Follow @Groupon_Says on Twitter.

Our world has given rise to countless pairings, both inspired (buttered peanuts and jam) and unfortunate (construction sites and Optional Helmet Day). Today’s Groupon offers one of the better ones: $35 worth of local, organic bistro fare and beverages at Thirst Wine Bar and Bistro for $15. Thirst was Citysearch's Best of 2009 pick for wine bars.But it turns out there is actually a science to smelling wine, and a corresponding aroma wheel with a full spectrum of scents in categories both familiar (fruity, floral, spicy) and odd (microbiological, oxidized, pungent). A few smart people actually aren’t making it up when they talk smart about wine. They understand the aroma wheel. They’re tasting those amazing things they’re talking about. And that’s because a few smarter chefs know how to pair wines perfectly with food to make you taste undertones you’re embarrassed to admit vocally. Those mahogany cinnamon hues are real my friend. They taste exactly like the time you put cinnamon on your mahogany bannister and went to town. That great moment can be relived, and even topped, by the food and wine available at Thirst. Thirst understands the Aroma Wheel, Occam’s Razor, and the Pythagorean Theorem. That background has enabled it to create a simple, isosceles triangle of wine, food, and thirst-reduction.

Family owned for a little more than two decades, El Palenque treats guests to a range of regional fare, all handmade in accordance with time-tested generational recipes. Fresh ingredients populate a dinner menu crammed with savory Central American fare, such as the traditional chicharron pupusa (spiced pork, $10) and the hearty tamal (a corn dish with olives, potato, bell peppers, carrots, garbanzos, and feta cheese, $10), as well as Mexican mandible pleasures such as the palenque salad (meat, rice, beans, lettuce, avocado, and pico de gallo, $10). Many dinner items make guest appearances on El Palenque's lunch menu, mingling with creative co-stars such as the cheese and loroco pupusa (corn tortilla stuffed heartily with cheese and Loroco, El Salvador's most beloved and devoured tropical flower, $7) and the crispy chimichanga (accented with ranchera salsa, avocado, and sour cream, $10). Pair any plate with a cold glass of horchata ($3), a crisp glass of chardonnay ($7), or a well-fermented mug of imported cerveza ($4), the Spanish word for fiesta.

Though the world has been completely explored, globed, and Google-mapped, the human tongue can still discover new continents. Today's deal takes yours to places the rest of your body can't visit with $35 worth of Northeast African fare and drinks at Horn of Africa for $15. Because exploring a new continent can be dangerous, bring along three friends and combine two Groupons for $70 worth of food and drink.

Today’s Groupon invites you to eat with the dignified paradise style of a floating landmass. Enjoy the fresh flavors of $22 worth of authentic Hawaiian cooking for $10 at Aiea Grill. No longer do you have to maroon yourself on the set of Lost to enjoy the sweet and savory dishes of Hawaiian kings, island enchantresses, and digester men.

Seeking a home for her one-of-a-kind mixed drinks—including lollipop-rimmed martinis—nationally recognized mixologist Lucy opened Mint restaurant in the spring of 2001. Her acclaimed cocktails’ popularity grew so quickly that in 2003, she opened an adjacent lounge where patrons could focus on drinks such as avocado daiquiris and jalapeño-and-pineapple margaritas. Along with its selection of 40 signature cocktails, the bistro has been luring patrons in with chef Brian McElmeel’s Pan-American-style dishes, which are composed predominantly of local and organic ingredients and influences from the Pacific Northwest, Mediterranean, and Latin America.