Without a mixing truck, the sand, limestone, water, and crushed eggs that compose concrete would never whirl together enough for sidewalks and cement shoes. Today's Groupon amalgamates a more marvelous mixture: for $25, you'll get $50 worth of French-American cuisine with Japanese influences at Takashi. Helmed by a James Beard–awarded chef, the Bucktown fine-dining establishment culls ingredients from around the globe for its contemporary cuisine.

After cutting his teeth at acclaimed eateries including Tribute in Detroit and Okada in the Wynn Las Vegas, Chef Takashi Yagihashi opened his namesake restaurant in 2007. The restaurant's menu changes with the seasons; dishes vary weekly and even daily. Start a spring meal on a cool note with a cold small plate such as the salad of asparagus ($9) with marinated golden beets and pickled rhubarb. Main courses currently include Amish chicken cooked in a clay pot with shimeji mushrooms, eggplant, haricot vert, and yuzu juice ($23); gnocchi with scallops and celery root–parmesan foam ($13); and wasabi-crusted New York strip steak ($28). For dessert, roasted rhubarb ($8) plated with vanilla rice pudding, candied ginger, and strawberry sorbet or the chocolate macadamia nut cake ($8) leave taste buds humming a sweet note. This Groupon can also be applied to the chef's tasting menu (all members of your party must participate in the tasting).

Toast special occasions with selections from the well-curated wine list, or pause from pancakes with the special Sunday noodle lunch (featuring ramen, soba, and udon dishes) from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Takashi's smoky steel walls, soft candlelight, and elegantly minimalistic tables make the dining room an intimate alcove for marriage proposals, divorce proposals, or admissions of twinning. Call ahead to schedule a reservation.

Reviews

Takashi has received praise from Chicago magazine, Time Out Chicago, and Gayot. More than 150 Yelpers like Takashi too, giving it 4.5 stars:

• Takashi Yagihashi, an immensely focused chef who returned to Chicago after triumphant stands in Detroit and Las Vegas, has gotten pretty much everything right in this Bucktown brownstone. – J.R., Chicago
• Vetted chef Takashi Yagihashi has transformed the former Scylla space into a Zen den showcasing food that deftly combines his Japanese heritage with French training and American ingredients. Flavors are subtle and balanced; presentations are delicate and often beautiful. – Time Out Chicago
• There’s a well-thought-out international wine list as well as a selection of sakés from Yagihashi’s hometown. Desserts feel the love, too, with sheep’s milk panna cotta and tropical fruit brunoise. – Gayot