Archestratus, the first food critic, praised Italian cuisine's "top-quality and seasonal" ingredients and "fair-to-middling" ability to tranquilize out-of-control mayors. Today's Groupon similarly stuns, and rightfully so: for $20, you get $40 worth of Italian cuisine and drinks at Cassarino's Ristorante on historic Federal Hill.

Cassarino’s Ristorante blends Northern Italian flavors with new-world cuisine, using fresh ingredients to prepare lunch and dinner dishes. For daytime consumption, diners can snack on a portobella demi-burger, which piles a mushroom demi-glace and Gorgonzola cheese on a grilled black Angus beef patty ($8.95). For later meals, patrons can stoke their appetites’ furnaces with baked herbed goat cheese atop San Marzano tomato-roasted garlic spread ($9.95). Experience a side of double-blended pork, veal, and beef meatballs in marinara sauce ($5.95). Then introduce yourself to a house specialty, such as the Francaise—an egg-battered, pan-fried cut of chicken ($14.95) or veal ($16.95), served with lemon butter sauce and capers—or the prosciutto- and mozzarella-stuffed pork chop, a boneless mouth treat that features tomato basil cream sauce, pine nuts, and garlic smashed potatoes ($16.95).

Cassarino’s wine selection is as endless as a bag of nickels. The list features wines by the glass, such as an Echelon pinot noir from Monterey ($8.95), a Ruffino Chianti from Tuscany ($5.95), and a Californian Geyser Peak sauvignon blanc ($7.95). Call ahead for reservations, using a telephone or a shoe that has been rigged with an antenna.

Reviews

Cassarino's gets a 4.5-star average from more than 30 Citysearchers. Over 25 Yelpers giving it a 3.5-star average, and Gayot rated it a 14/20.

• Service is informal and friendly, providing a welcoming atmosphere to both old-school diners downing pasta and gravy (in Rhode Island, that means tomato sauce) with Chianti and the young sophisticates sipping Bellinis at the bar. – Gayot
• I found the chicken & escarole soup to be extra fresh and flavorful. I loved the clear broth and torn chicken pieces. The flavors complemented each other perfectly and made for an ideal, uncomplicated soup. – phlordsfo, Citysearch