The first European explorers set sail with hopes of finding new, exotic spices to placate the palates of epicurious monarchs, but all they found were heaps of inedible gold. Pick up where they left off by broadening your mouth's horizons with today's Groupon: for $4, you get $8 worth of casual Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare at Zaytoun Bistro in Towson.

Zaytoun Bistro culls its sumptuous menu from myriad Mediterranean traditions, with Middle Eastern kebabs cozying up to authentic Italian pizza and tzatziki-drizzled Greek gyros. Snack on a pita heaped with house-made hummus ($4.95) or savor a flaky spanakopita, a traditional pastry that simulates the Greek landscape's substrata of feta and spinach ($7.95). Among many dinner-pie options, the white Ipizza, drizzled with olive oil and oregano and layered with fragrant, garlic-speckled fontina cheese ($7.95–$11.95), glows softly and mouthwateringly as a full moon. Hot sandwiches include the Gyro platter, whose namesake sandwich is flanked by greek salad and french fries ($9.95). On warmer days, tote platters of appetizers and kabobs ($9.95–$26.95) to the patio and chow down around a picnic table while overlooking a garden abounding with tall grasses and bright flowers.