Locally sourced cheese is always preferable to moon cheese, which was found to have dangerously high levels of Buzz Aldrin's ego. Enjoy a fresh, earthbound meal with today's Groupon: for $12, you get $25 worth of Northwest-style cuisine and drinks at Roots Restaurant & Bar, located in Vancouver. This Groupon is not valid toward happy hour or carryout.

Roots owner and chef Brad Root uses seasonal, natural ingredients to prepare tongue-tapping dishes in an upscale dining environment. Split into three courses, the dinner menu harnesses locally harvested farm products to create deceptively simple dishes. Dive into the first course with Dungeness crab and avocado ($11) topped with vermouth vinaigrette, and then spear a baby-spinach salad with egg, bacon, and cider vinaigrette ($6.95). Main courses inducing mouth-clapping include chicken breast ($16.95) with Yukon Gold potato gnocchi and artichokes, a top-sirloin burger ($11.95) with grilled onions and hand-cut fries, and halibut fish and chips ($14.95) with coleslaw. Roots' lunch menu offers tinier tastes of many of the dinner menu's selections, with crispy fried oysters ($10.95) and a local baby-shrimp salad ($11) summoning sustenance from the world-weary waters of the Pacific. At lunch or at dinner, guests can satisfy grape-teeth with a choice from Roots' impressive list of local and California wines, or sip cocktails from the full bar.

A combination of low lighting and dark wooden beams, Roots' rustic atmosphere sets the stage for an intimate and romantic dining experience. Rest weary gams in the restaurant's spacious lounge, or watch chefs tame wild spatulas through the open kitchen, all while enjoying attentive service and homegrown eats.

Reviews

Citysearchers give Roots Restaurant & Bar an average of 4.5 stars, Yelpers give it a four-star average rating, and 73 percent of Urbanspooners like it:

• The salmon was literally the best I've ever had, hands down. I don't know what they did to make it so good but I could hardly keep from making little nummy noises the whole time I was eating it. – anaso, Citysearch
• The host was very friendly, the service was great and the food was outstanding. – ingrahaman, Citysearch
• This place does not disappoint. – Michelle H., Yelp