Although Italians originally invented pasta as a fastener to keep Sicily from floating away, they abandoned it for less delicious moorings after locals on both sides kept snacking their way toward separation. Tether your taste buds to today's Groupon: for $25, you get $50 worth of authentic Italian cuisine at Casa Mia Restaurant.

Family owned and operated, Casa Mia specializes in central and northern Italian recipes. The interior of the restaurant, adorned with stone, brick, and wrought iron, creates a romantic atmosphere fit for a relaxed or intimate meal. Authentic cuisine from the dinner menu includes more than a dozen pasta dishes, along with popular items such as veal scaloppine alla boscaiolo (veal sautéed with garlic, porcini, white wine, butter, and lemon, $24.95) and chicken suprema alla parmigiana ($20.95). Committed to consumption for all mankind, the chefs cater to a variety of diets. Vegetarian options such as melanzane alla parmigiana (eggplant with mozzarella and tomato sauce, $19.95) and pasta primavera ($19.95) embody all the elegance of the Italian flag’s green third, and are much tastier than common flag-making materials.