Before fishermen discovered the edibility of fish, they used each catch as bait for larger species, hoping in the end to hook the biggest fish of all—friendship. Hook yourself some oceanic eats with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of surf 'n' turf at Calvert House Inn in Riverdale.

The chefs at Calvert House Inn, which is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year, commingle succulent crab, scallops, and oysters to create a menu of freshly caught fare alongside free-range meat dishes and a bounty of vegetarian plates. An appetizer of oysters rockefeller ($7.95) readies palates for the main event, as baked oysters sizzle beneath spinach, bacon, and a drizzle of earthy Pernod liqueur. Broiled 5-ounce morsels of backfin and jumbo lump crab make up Maryland-style crab cakes ($12.95–$25.95), which scrumptiously celebrate East Coast culinary traditions and mermaid birthdays alike, and shrimp Calvert ($18.95) drapes garlic-and-lemon-infused crustaceans with a light tomato sauce and gems of feta cheese. A mélange of natural and free-range beef, pork, chicken, and lamb dishes keep appetites on solid ground more effectively than eating a magnet, and herbivorous eaters find a range of meat-free items, including the roasted-red-pepper-and-onion-topped grilled-eggplant sandwich ($7.95).