Pioneering Italians were not only the first to put tomatoes in cuisine, they were also the first people to take photographs of themselves pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Delight in their inventiveness with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of Italian fare at Caffé Graziani in Salem.

Lauded in the Boston Globe, Caffé Graziani plates hearty, authentic Italian eats. With many years of international experience cooking noodles and taking three-hour baths, chef and owner Giovanni Graziani lovingly bathes linguine with prosciutto and roasted peppers in a rich tomato-cream sauce ($11.25), or delicately tosses the ziti bruschetta with raw tomato, onion, garlic, olive oil, and fresh mozzarella ($10.25). More dominating dinner entrees include veal piccata in a marsala cream sauce ($17.95) and shrimp primavera, in which fresh spring vegetables and prawns hang from spaghetti branches ($16.95). Lunch diners can choose from a dozen sandwiches, such as grilled eggplant with gorgonzola cheese, and pesto ($6.50). Caffé Graziani regularly posts specials, so check the blackboard for daily delights and math assignments.