No longer aimed solely at early birds on the one hand and fat cats on the other, today's prix-fixe dining is for hurriers and lingerers, cheapskates and profligates, traditionalists and trendsters alike. Among our current faves: the Godere in Due at Prezza (24 Fleet Street, Boston, 617.227.1577), which translates roughly as Enjoyment For Two. Served nightly at the bar for $45 (or $75 with wine pairings), it plies the couples who perch there with three set courses (excluding dessert) - including, perhaps, corn raviolini with rock shrimp, pancetta, and parmesan, or homemade meatballs with polenta. Herbivores adore the four-course vegetarian tasting that Ten Tables (597 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, 617.524.8810) offers every night but Tuesday and Wednesday; only $25 per person, it's composed at the discretion of the chef, who may whip up something entirely different for you and your dining companion (though whoever gets the handmade pasta with Swiss chard, golden raisins, and pignoli probably wins hands down). Similarly, the daredevils who duck into Craigie Street Bistrot (5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, 617.497.5511) on Wednesday and Sunday nights after 9 p.m. for the longstanding Chef's Whim ready themselves for a total surprise in the form of four ($40) or six ($55) courses. And their pescatarian counterparts can give Neptune Oyster (63 Salem Street, Boston, 617.742.3474) a ring to hammer out in advance the details for the customized family-style feast that the good folks at the raw bar call Mercy.
