Though somewhat less renowned than Parisian cafes, American cafés offer little danger of being imprisoned in a puff pastry by an overzealous chef. Enjoy a relaxing, safe café experience with today's Groupon: for $5, you get $10 worth of sandwiches, salads, and drinks at Fresh Art Café in Hoover.

Fresh Art Café serves up a seasonally changing menu of fresh, organic fare and fair-trade products to hungry Hoover patrons. Lunch offerings center around a handful of artistically named sandwiches such as the Michelangelo, a sub-wich manned by a team of ham, salami, bologna, and provolone, expertly painted with spices, oil, and red-wine vinegar, then colored with fresh lettuce, tomato, and onion (about $5.75). The O'Keeffe trades in erotic flowers and calf skulls for the tastier combination of turkey breast and cranberry-ginger apple chutney (about $5.75), and the DaVinci is a delicious caprese salad confined within an Italian roll, topped with a secret code of olives and mozzarella that elicits a faint smile from even the most pensive diners (about $5.65). A create-your-own-masterpiece allows persnickety snackers to custom-build their organic repast. Compliment the plentiful hand-food with a cup of coffee ($1.65–$1.95), a sweeter mocha ($3.55–$4.05), or a soothing chai latte ($2.95–$3.55).

The friendly staff at Fresh Art, which is located in Riverchase Center near the Blue Cross/Blue Shield corporate offices, allows diners to grab their lunch to-go or linger in either the relaxing dining room or outside patio. Unlike the artwork that adorns the walls, the cafe strives to keep its cuisine free of additives and preservatives, so diners wishing to safeguard the beauty of their morning sausage biscuit will want to bring their own shellac.