Like a classic work of Victorian literature, a trip to the bar often begins with an introduction to colorful characters and ends with the revelation that everyone in the room is related to one another. Continue an age-old struggle with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of pub fare and drinks at O'Malley's West.

The Michigan State Spartans devotees at O'Malley's West balance their fan-fueling beverage selection with a menu of classic pub grub. Buffalo wings ($5.75 for 15) fly into pools of classic buffalo, honey-mustard, or barbecue sauce, crossing paths with other shareable appetizers including mac 'n' cheese bites ($5.75) and philly steak quesadillas ($8). In the kitchen, former disk-golf champions are hard at work hand-tossing dough to form 12-inch thin-crust pizzas ($6.50+) slathered in house-made sauce and toppings such as barbecue chicken, bacon, and banana peppers. Twenty-one sandwiches and burgers scrimmage for plate space, with the hefty Patti Melt burger ($7) making a strong case for dominance with its swiss cheese, grilled onions, and garlic sauce bulging between slices of rye.

Throngs of traditional and flavored Smirnoff bottles wait to star in a lineup of martinis, complementing a full bar of draft beer and other libations. Dark wood and exposed brick line O'Malley's capacious carousery, where servers jump nimbly across plentiful sightlines to plentiful TVs and the singers who take the stage on karaoke nights. Groupon customers planning parties can also receive one free hour of private-party-room use.