Have you visited the Web site Restaurant.com? It lets you search for participating restaurants by Zip code or region, offers descriptions and menus of the restaurants you’re interested in, and then you can purchase gift certificates online and print them from your computer for immediate use.

The gift certificates can be purchased in different denominations, at a steep discount. Right now, they’re offering $10 gift certificates for $4, and $25 gift certificates for $10 apiece. This is a pretty good deal, but it’s about to get sweeter: I’ve found a secret promotional code that lets you buy a $25 gift certificate for TWO DOLLARS. And there doesn’t seem to be a limit to the number of certificates you purchase!

I searched in my area and found the fanciest restaurant around. They’re a restaurant.com participating member. I put one $25 gift certificate in my shopping cart and then entered the online promo code of NAPKIN, and viola! The promo code reduces the already-discounted $10 price to $2. Yes, two dollars.

The restaurant I chose requires that I must purchase $35 worth of food to use my gift certificate. Other restaurants have blackout days and Restaurant.com has a pretty stiff set of terms and conditions, too. Their well-hidden terms and conditions for “restaurant-specific certificates” warn “Limit one (1) redemption per party, per month, per restaurant,” so choose wisely and don’t get excited that you’ll be able to enjoy a hundred-dollar meal for eight bucks. But $2 for $25 worth of food is still a heck of a deal, no matter how you look at it.

I haven’t seen a deadline date for this promo code, so you’d be wise to act now. Oh, and gift certificates are replenished monthly, so if your favorite eatery is “out of stock,” bookmark the site and check again soon.