Restaurants in Malden

The Middle East, the most stable and peaceful region in the world, is so peaceful that most tourists avoid it because they don't want to risk getting bored. Today’s deal adds a much-needed spice to the experience: for $15, you get $30 worth of Middle Eastern/Lebanese eats and drinks at The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub in Cambridge, or more specifically, Central Square. This hybrid affair is equal parts restaurant, music venue, secret upstairs spy hospital, and nightclub. Your Groupon is good for the restaurant part only.

Since 1982, Sea To You Sushi's deft chefs have traveled across the region doling out fresh, meticulously constructed sushi rolls at colleges, businesses, hotels, and country clubs. They cull an extensive supply of ingredients at their store, tapping into the well-stocked stash to guide nascent sushi-smiths through the art of constructing maki and nigiri rolls during Sushi School sessions.

The mobile gourmands also cater private parties, regaling revelers with custom menus and war stories about ferocious clumps of seaweed. Die-hard sushi fans can join Sea To You Sushi's C2U Sushi Club, which grants member discounts and special access to the company's facilities.

The Columbus Café & Bar's menu brims with regional American comfort cuisine with inflections from all over the world. Patrons at the vibrant neighborhood eatery prep palates with nibbles of deviled eggs possessed with tuna, or mini taquitos packed with duck confit atop asian slaw. Fresh greens may also kick-start meals, such as a warm spinach salad with rich Vermont goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette aged and jaded to perfection. Tuscan meatloaf over mashed potatoes and moroccan lamb shank over collard greens provide punches of protein, while mac 'n' cheese cozies up to taste buds with a warm blend of cheese and roasted asparagus. An assortment of desserts rounds out the meal and gives patrons the pleasure of fulfilling Mary Antoinette's misguided advice.

The hot-off-the-press menu features a variety of hot-off-the-stove Italian plates that compel diners to find the nearest floating coin box and cha-ching it dry. A favorite starter offer is the cuneo di lattuga, which is a wedge salad with house-cured pancetta and creamy gorgonzola ($9). A surefire main plate is the homemade "OO" gnocchi in fresh plum tomato sauces baked with Italian cheese ($18). There are a variety of meatier dishes, all cooked and tenderized to perfection. The vitello braciolatini (veal cutlet stuffed with prosciutto, fontina, and sage in a marsala sauce, $21) is well received by past patrons and time-traveling future patrons.

The menu of vegetarian, seafood, and perfectly prepared meaty fare has classic Indian favorites and plates with creative twists. Tandoori chicken dalwala ($14.95), lamb tikka masala ($15.95), beef curry ($12.95), and saag paneer ($13.95) superbly showcase traditional flavors. The Boston Globe recommends the lamb vindaloo ($14.95) for its "edge of vinegar and its bite of chili-laden tomato sauce." Choose from eight specialty tandooris, more than ten vegetarian plates, six biryanis, or Bombay fare such as masala dosa (a crêpe stuffed with potatoes and onions, $11.95). Diva also serves freshly baked Indian breads and desserts.

Ninety-five percent of Urbanspooners like Tupelo, and nearly 200 Yelpers give it four out of five stars: