Though originally invented to preserve the modesty of naked plates, food has quickly become an edible and essential part of daily life for many Americans. With today's Groupon, join the food craze with some classy café edibles. For $5, you get $10 worth of sandwiches, soups, salads, coffee, and more at The Bean Bag in Rockville. Your Groupon is good for dine-in and carryout, but not carry-in.

Exercising high standards and the great restraint needed to not eat their own products, the family owners of The Bean Bag have been pleasing the palates of area eaters for the past two decades. The savory menu features mainly New York–style deli sandwiches ranging from the basic to the behemoth. Super sandwiches ($5.99 to $7.99) come filled with your choice of protein (roast beef, baked ham, tuna, turkey, veggies, and more) served atop bread selections like rye, wheat Kaiser, or a bagel. More-advanced creations (dubbed "colossal combinations," $6.99 to $10.99) include the hummos and tabouli sandwich (with cucumber, sprouts, and tomatoes) and the New Yorker (corned beef, pastrami, Swiss, and coleslaw on rye). Visit relatively greener pastures with a tasty salad ($4.99 to $8.49) or spoon-sip a variety of soups (four to six daily) or homemade chili.

The interior of the café is quaintly decorated with hints of quiet chaos—the perfect environment to sip a cup of joe or his rich uncle, Josephworth Killington III. Grab a basic but complexly flavored small coffee for less than a buck or go for a fancier cappuccino ($2.75 for a medium) or caramel latte ($3 for a medium). Add in some fresh-baked desserts like chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin to add some savory sweeteners to your java fix.

Reviews

Yelpers give The Bean Bag 3.5 stars, two Yahoo! Locals give it a perfect five stars, and a Chowhound user approves of the lunch options:

• The staff was very pleasant, attentive and efficient. They definitely surpassed my level of expectation. – Olivia, Yahoo! Local
• I didn't try the coffee, but it smelled really good and you can buy the beans straight from the barrel. It's really cute and there's even a few tables for which you can sit outside on a nice day. I tried the tuna sandwich and it was great, mixed with cranberries and nuts. – Kiki, Chowhound
• Both the veggie wrap and the hummus & tabbouleh sandwiches are excellent…Plus they have this mind-blowing formula: high quality, fresh ingredients and helpful service. – Lauren M., Yelp