Unlike cinematic love scenes, cuisine can be enjoyed in the company of parents without embarrassment. Dodge future moments of uneasiness with today's Groupon to Scratch Restaurant & Lounge. Choose between the following options:

• For $20, you get $40 worth of dinner fare and drinks.
• For $10, you get $20 worth of lunch fare and drinks.

Head chef Jason Rex and business partner Connie Naccarato dish out high-end contemporary American fare made from fresh, seasonal ingredients. The weekday lunch menu begins graciously with appetizers such as fresh clams in white-wine butter sauce ($8). The crab chowder ($3/cup, $6/bowl) with fresh vegetables, cream, and Yukon gold potatoes provides more filling fare, and the hickory bacon, apples, candied cashews, and brie luxuriate in the signature salad ($8) with the efficiency of swimming in a vat of paraffin wax. Substantial entrees such as the half-pound kobe-beef mushroom burger ($12) or the fresh wild salmon with roasted yellow tomato ($15) round out midday feasts, like a tickle fight ends a duel.

The dinner menu, served on weekends until 2 a.m., is replete with rich dishes. A warm, life-giving discus of baked brie complete with Washington apples and bourbon caramel causes high-class salivation ($9), and a New Zealand rack of lamb invites incisors to exercise without making them sign a 12-month contract ($27). Wash down the richness with a selection from the bountiful wine list, such as a sweet, charming Saint M riesling ($7/glass), or a brooding, introspective Adelsheim pinot noir ($65/bottle).

Reviews

Scratch was reviewed in the Pacific Northwest Inlander. More than 10 Yelpers give the West First Avenue location a 3.5-star average, and 75% of Urbanspooners recommend it.

• My duck was truly medium-rare as requested, tender in the center with a crispy exterior, not too salty. Bliss. – Carrie Scozzaro, Pacific Northwest Inlander
• This place has some of the best food in Spokane. – Joe Stauffer, Urbanspoon