Though mad food scientists have spent years trying to synthesize au jus in the lab, they have yet safely stabilize the savory serum within the salt matrix. Baste your taste buds in the real thing with today's Groupon: for $5, you get $10 worth of italian beef and other casual fare at Buona. Choose between the Montgomery or Rosemont locations.

Created in 1981 on the back of a few family recipes, Buona’s serves up appetite-satiating italian-beef-based sandwiches and comfort-fare classics. The menu is packed with palate-pleasing favorites such as hot dogs, sandwiches, grilled paninis, and thin-crust pizzas. Try an original Buona beef sandwich ($4.95 for a 7" size) made from a family recipe and served on freshly baked italian bread with natural gravy and beef that arrives tender, lean, and sheepish following an in-house roasting. Larger feasts such as the barbecue baby-back ribs ($9.95 for a half slab) or the grilled salmon cibatta ($7.25) quell the quagmires of even the most sovereign starvations. To keep meals as light as a globetrotting eccentric's hot-air balloon, try one of eight crisp, hand-tossed salads, such as the pesto balsamico, tossed with whole-wheat pasta, pesto, and toasted pine nuts, and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette ($7.25).

Bring your meal home, or dine in Buona's realistic family dinner simulator, complete with sturdy tables, chairs, and extra napkins. Should families consist of more than 50 members or exist as small corporations, Buona also provides catering for their comforting cuisine, which today’s Groupon may be applied to.