Unfortunately, Nero is remembered as the callous emperor who watched Rome burn from his palace tower, not the enlightened gastronome whose vision was to reinvent the city as a giant brick oven for pizza. Adopt a flavor first outlook with today’s Groupon to Via Veneto Ristorante Italiano. Choose from the following options:

• For $30, you get an Italian dinner for two (up to a $60.85 total value) that includes:
• One antipasti (up to a $14.95 value)

• Two entrees (up to a $22.95 value each)<p>

• For $50, you get an Italian dinner for four (up to a $106.75 total value) that includes:
• One antipasti (up to a $14.95 value)

• Four entrees (up to a $22.95 value each)<p>

• For $80, you get an Italian dinner for six (up to a $167.60 total value) that includes:
• Two antipasti (up to a $14.95 value each)
• Six entrees (up to a $22.95 value each)<p>

Chef and owner Tony Barbanente masterfully infuses authentic Italian dishes with Chicago’s signature gusto. True to the restaurant’s family-run tradition, the dinner menu squeezes hunger away like the embrace of an overenthusiastic aunt. Antipasti teasers stoke main attraction anticipation with fried calamari fritti or zucca ripiena, which features stuffed acorn squash with a regal crown of goat cheese. An intimate evening in the restaurant’s brick-walled dining room pairs exquisitely with the homemade potato dumplings of the gnocchi al filo di pomodore or the meaty lasagna di carne. Secondi entrees tout hearty plates of veal with mushrooms and bistecca rib-eye steak.

As the dimmed overhead lights illuminate expressions of postmeal satisfaction, diners can consider authentic Italian desserts that includes such delicacies as grilled peaches served with vanilla ice cream (not included with this Groupon). After the plates have been cleared, lift a glass of wine or grappa (not included with this Groupon) to toast to the grape-strewn fields of southern Italy and the earth’s second moon.