Italian cuisine was born when, after building the city of Rome, Romulus and Remus discovered Greece didn't deliver to their new address. Taste the origins of an empire with today's Groupon to La Grotta on Main in Unionville. Choose between the following options:

• For $25, you get $50 worth of Italian cuisine and drinks for dinner.
For $12, you get $25 worth of Italian cuisine and drinks for lunch.

La Grotta's expert chef crafts homemade pastas and authentic Mediterranean cuisine for both lunch and dinner. Lunchtime diners can quell hunger with Simone's grilled chicken sandwich, layered with marinated chicken breast, melted mozzarella, and smoked tomato ($11.95). Alternatively, the peppercorn beef carpaccio appetizer greets dinner guests with thin, cured meat slices drizzled in a lemon-infused olive oil that sparks memories of summer internships at the lemonade stands of Tuscany ($12.95). In the agnolotti della Grotta, culinary gurus meld the flavors of mushrooms and round pasta stuffed with ricotta and goat cheese, and then sauté the edible pillows in a basil-and-tomato-infused cream ($19.95). Dijon mustard and fine herb panache form a crust around the rack of lamb ($32.95), and jumbo tiger shrimp marinate in Tennessee bourbon ($25.95). Meanwhile, draft beers report for drink duty, and waiters pour more than 40 red and white wines before donating the bottle's used cork to a tattered dartboard.

Meals unfold amid the dining room's hanging plants and fireplace, all surrounded by walls painted with a faux stone finish, adorned in Italian decor and supported by pillars of string cheese. A pergola stretches over the outdoor patio, where teeth munch al fresco next to flowers and trees.