Restaurants provide an experience unavailable in home kitchens, whose owners regularly sweep away the naturally occurring wait staff. Get swept away with today’s Groupon to Jim and Pete’s in Elmwood Park. Choose from the following options:

• For $15, you get $30 worth of classic Italian fare and pizza for a table of two or more.
• For $30, you get $60 worth of classic Italian fare and pizza for a table of four or more.
• For $50, you get $100 toward catering packages from the standard or premier menus.<p>

Since 1941, the family behind Jim & Pete’s has vanquished hunger with traditional and updated Italian dishes. In addition to following time-tested, 70-year-old recipes written by epicurean tortoises, the menu includes updates on classic favorites. Meals can commence with fried calamari ($9.50) or a half-dozen baked clams ($8.95), followed by a special delivery of lobster wrapped in a savory ravioli package sealed with a creamy pesto bow ($16.25). For $3.50, a choice of more than 10 sauces, including alfredo and pesto artichoke, can replace the standard marinara shield on pastas such as fettuccini and linguine ($8.95). Patrons design pizza from the dough up, choosing from thin-, double-dough-, pan-, and stuffed-crust options and decoupaging pies with 20 assorted toppings. Bacon and onions may adorn a medium thin-crust pie ($17.50), and the signature pizza features a John Hancock–curated combination of artichoke, spinach, peppers, garlic, and fontinella cheese ($17.95 for medium).

Industrial pipes lend a modern feel to the rustic, brick-walled dining room accented with wine racks and a wooden bar. Savor your meal at Jim and Pete’s, or cart their flavorful fare to your next work function or refrigerator-art-gallery opening by selecting dishes off the catering menu. The standard menu ($7.95/person; 25 person minimum) lets hosts pick two meats, such as veal parmigiana and meatballs, along with two sides, including rigatoni and roasted potatoes. Offering a similar combination, the premier menu ($10.95/person; 25-person minimum) ups the ante with entrees such as ham on bone and filet of sole along with sides such as eggplant parmesan and garlic mashed potatoes.