Mediterranean cuisine, like a parental interrogation, couples fervent grilling with saucy responses. Keep questioning to a minimum with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of Mediterranean fare at Rumi Restaurant in San Carlos.

The culinary artisans at Rumi Restaurant infuse a seasonal selection of locally culled meats and produce with authentic Mediterranean and Persian spices in a warm, rustic décor. Savor midday menu ameliorations such as swashbuckling skewers of tender filet mignon ($13) or a grilled veggie sandwich, which buffers Bellwether carmody cheese with roasted tomato, eggplant, and crisp lettuce ($9). Rumi's dinner menu teems with piquant entrees such as grilled lamb loin bathed with Tunisian baharat marinade ($24) or free-range chicken scallopini, massaged with za'atar spices and nestled with braised leeks and broccolini ($22) atop a therapeutic pillow of rice pilaf.

Playful spices tickle taste buds in the restaurant's spacious interior, which trickles sunlight onto marbled countertops from an overhead skylight. Beneath a canvas awning and strings of lights, the outdoor patio invites guests eat accompanied by open skies, warm breezes, and motivationally-speaking greenery.