ongoing - Friday March 27 

It's winter Restaurant Week and you all know what that means. It means during a typical restaurant period of downtime - Restaurant week in the summer is an August thing - numerous Boston area restuarants offer special lunch and dinner prix fixe menus of $20.09 and $30.09, respectively. The $20.09 tag is, of course, derived from the Year of Our Lord we are now in; and the $30.09 is derived from the fac that, uh, dinner should cost at least 10 bucks more. When we last checked, 217 in and around Boston were doing this thing to entice you, the winter-and-recession battered consumer out for a day (or night) of good food at great prices. Upping the ante somewhat, is STIX (no connection to bombastic arena rock and Styx) which is handing out lunch and dinner as a two-for-one-deal. That's right. You pay: $10.04 1/2 cents and $15.04 1/2 cents each. Talk about cheap date. The Globe magazine gave 'em a "Best of Boston 2008" and the menu looks delicious. For lunch, for example: There's a choice of Pulled Pork Ropa Vieja, rice, black beans and queso fresco or Moroccan Spiced Fish Cakes cous cous and orange cilantro sauce. Dinner? Pistacchio-Crusted Ruby Trout fingerlings and vermouth creme or USDA Prime Short Rib Pot Roast, juniper and harvest vegetables. You'll want to check other restaurant week eateries and menus at www.restaurantweekboston.com. Restaurant Week began, um, its second week Sunday March 22.

36 Stanhope St., 617-456-7849 www.STIXBoston.com