••• Todays’ Groupon is $12 for $25 worth of food and drinks at Merchants NY Café (at Washington and Rector). How Groupon works: A certain number of people have to buy it for it to be valid, and you prepay, taking a piece of paper to the restaurant. This one expires in a year and can also be used for delivery, and you have until midnight to buy it.

••• Trattoria Cinque, which just introduced its new spring menu, is going deal-crazy. Every 100th fan on Facebook gets a free meal; the 55th guest at dinner (presumably each night) wins free dinner for the table, and the fifth table at lunch scores a free lunch; and refer a party of 20 or more guests and you’re rewarded with a dinner for four. I like a discount as much as anybody, but I’ve never understood giving deals to your fans on Facebook; that’s preaching to the choir.

••• Benvenuto Café looks closer to opening (at the corner of Greenwich and Franklin, where Greenwich Steak & Burger came and went). The windows are uncovered and the signs are up.

••• Yesterday’s KGB Deal was for a 70-minute body scrub at Tribeca Spa of Tranquility for $55, regularly $110 (valid through Mar. 25, 2011, except April 5–23). But a few days ago, the spa’s “private deal” was for a 60-minute body scrub (also “regularly $110”?) for $50 if you book for Mar. 22–25. I guess if you really like body scrubs then you should snap them both up. I think the KGB Deals offer is still available, but I can’t be bothered to log in.

••• I ran a photo of Beekman Tower as seen from the east the other day, because you get a much clearer sense of what the Frank Gehry building will look like when it’d done. But then I went for a jog over the Brooklyn Bridge, and the views of the building from the bridge and from Brooklyn are awesome. If we get another nice day—and I remember—I’ll go take a photo.

••• A while back I mentioned the TV at RBC NYC café showing video of dogs splashing in Water 4 Dogs‘s pool. Here’s a photo. Transfixing! No doubt it’ll soon available 24 hours a day on channel 648.