Although Italians originally invented pasta as a fastener to keep Sicily from floating away, they abandoned it for less-delicious moorings after locals on both sides kept snacking their way toward separation. Tether your taste buds to today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of Italian fare at Trocadero Restaurant in Hamilton.

Trocadero Restaurant links innovation to tradition by using classic Italian recipes executed with meticulous craft and making pastas from scratch. The latter, in such flavours as manicotti, lasagna, and gnocchi come bearing the Trocadero's house pomodoro sauce and tiny tidings of peace ($16 each). Other offerings from the dinner menu include the Pollo Tuscany, chicken-breast medallions served with havarti cheese, prosciutto, and baby spinach and drizzled with a creamy pesto sauce ($28). Open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday, the eatery serves lunch Wednesday through Friday, during which diners can sample a hearty midday menu. Three gourmet personal pizzas lead the lunch pack, including a cold-cut-covered version and a vegetarian variant ($13). The restaurant's warm, familial interior boasts quaint plaid tablecloths, cozy lace-curtain booths, and a complimentary cheek-pinching great aunt upon request.