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 $17, you get $35 worth of authentic Italian cuisine at Vallozzi's Restaurant in Greensburg.
The flavor aficionados at Vallozzi's craft sophisticated Italian dishes and distribute them throughout several elegant dining spaces. Patrons on the breezy stone-paved patio can quiet growling stomachs with one of 11 appetizers, such as the spicy-sausage-stuffed cubanella pepper ($9.95) and a diner-dictated cheese-and-charcuterie plate ($10.95–$16.95). Underneath the dining room's gazebo-like canopy, crab-and-asparagus pizza with sundried tomatoes performs gastronomic alchemy to the delight of guests and the bafflement of gastronomic scientists ($24.95). A sage cream sauce ensconces chicken sausage and chestnut gnocchi ($16.95), and lobster ravioli reclines in a pool of tomato-and-ginger sauce without the assistance of swimmies ($22.95). Hand-painted murals stare on with envy when filet and crab, Vazzolli's signature dish, makes an entrance, longing for their own depictions of the filleted tenderloin in béarnaise sauce ($42.95).
Vallozzi's
Not many people get the chance to dine in a restaurant's wine cellar, but at Vallozzi's, diners can book the underground space for a private dinner or dine in one of four other elegant areas. While enjoying award-winning wines, guests can feast on upscale Italian cuisine in Vallozzi's Classic dining room, which awards the eyes with hand-painted murals and romantic lighting. Alfresco dining options include Casa Elena and the patio, where guests can bask in the breeze without picnicking on an airport runway. Rounding out the quintet of rooms and boasting a handmade maple and olive wood bar, Rosso Bianco blends casual and chic with light-strewn tables, wine racks, and flat-screen TVs.