Archestratus, the first food critic, praised Italian cuisine's "top-quality and seasonal" ingredients and "fair-to-middling" ability to tranquilize out-of-control mayors. Today's Groupon similarly stuns, and rightfully so, with authentic Italian cuisine at Pasquale's Italian Restorante, located in Vista Lakes. Choose between the following dining options:

• For $19, you get $40 toward dinner fare.
• For $9, you get $20 toward lunch fare.

Pasquale's extensive menu of specialty pastas, pizzas, and traditional entrees invites taste buds on an exciting trek through the Apennine Peninsula. Like chainsaws, meals shouldn't be started without a little priming, so before you face your personal food forest, start with an appetizer of fried ravioli with marinara sauce ($5.99) or a caprese salad, made with fresh mozzarella, plum tomato slices, prosciutto, olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, and leafy mixed greens ($9.99). If you're in for lunch (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), move your mouth forth to a plate of hand-breaded chicken parmigiana, warmed with mozzarella in an aromatic, lovingly drawn bath of marinara sauce ($10.99). Dinner diners can finish filling up on savory dishes such as veal marsala ($18.99) and zuppa di pesce, which serves up shrimp, calamari, mussels, and clams in your choice of homemade marinara, fra diavola, or white-wine sauce ($22.99). Scrub down your fresh Italian sustenance with a spongy slice of tiramisu ($5.99).

Pasquale's New York–style pizza, which is hand-twirled with the grace of a pageant queen exhibiting her baton talents during an Independence Day parade, is a crowd favorite and is served both by the slice ($2+) and by the pie ($7.99+ for a 10" personal pizza). Order the eatery's namesake circle—the Pasquale's Special—with an 18" diameter if you are dining with friends, and lick your lips in unison as each bite reveals a slightly nuanced dappling of pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, onion, green pepper, black olives, and extra cheese ($25.99). Pasquale's also preps tasty stuffed pizzas to appeal to inner-beauty believers, such as the original Long Island variety, which is bursting with pepperoni, sausage, ham, meatballs, and cheese ($28.99).

Not valid with other offers. Valid for dine-in only.

Reviews

Although reviews for Pasquale's Italian Restorante are still growing, five Yahoo! Travelers awarded it an average of 4.5 stars, and 77% of Urbanspooners recommend it.

• This family owned resturant [sic] has the BEST pizza in Florida. The staff is friendly, helpful and they always have great specials. The staff gets to know you on a first name basis, you feel as if you are family. – Yahoo! Travel reviewer on 09/04/2009
• The wife and I had a really nice visit at Pasquale's. We arrived late in the evening and found the staff to be exceptionally friendly, funny, informative and very responsive to our needs. We look forward to a relaxing stop as we make our way home from work traveling just off the B-line. – Daryl Burke, Urbanspoon