Car or Cab?

[vengroff]

As recent Manhattan transplants, our brains are wired to think of grabbing a cab when we head out for an evening of fine dining. Of course, now that we are in DC we have a car, so that's an option too, especially to get to places that are some distance out into the suburbs.

In general, I'm still inclined to go the cab route when it's feasible. After all, you get a lot more flexibility when it comes to deciding whether or not to have that extra bottle of wine, digestif, etc...

What do you guys generally do?

For what it's worth, we are going to Maestro later this week. Any idea what a cab from Capitol Hill out to Tysons Corner and back would cost?

[Varmint]

The designated driver is king here in Raleigh (or queen, as is usually the case, lucky me!). We don't have public transportation and cab service is ridiculously sketchy and more expensive than in NYC. Plus, nothing is close by. Thus, we drive and one of us doesn't drink (I stop at 2 glasses of wine if I'm driving). Many people I know just "chance" it. Yikes.

[Al_Dente]

I'd guess the cab would run you $60-$70 round trip depending on the traffic. You could wait 20 years for them to build Metro out that way.

I'm not familiar with Maestro. Perhaps there is a reasonable facsimile within the district, or at least close to a metro stop? Fill me in on the cuisine/atmosphere/etc, and maybe I could recommend?

[vengroff]

I'd guess the cab would run you $60-$70 round trip depending on the traffic. You could wait 20 years for them to build Metro out that way.

I'm not familiar with Maestro. Perhaps there is a reasonable facsimile within the district, or at least close to a metro stop? Fill me in on the cuisine/atmosphere/etc, and maybe I could recommend?

Thanks, Al.

That's a steep cab fare.

Maestro is high-end Italian. I suppose [Laboratorio] Galileo would be the in-town competition. There was a short thread here including a sample menu.

The Maestro web site is here.

[Al_Dente]

You might also try I Ricchi on, I believe, 18th near Dupont. I haven't been there in a while, but I remember pasta that made me stand on the table and sing sing like Pavarotti.

[Malawry]

Pavarotti was in Sing Sing?

Maestro is in Tyson's. What I've read and heard about it (one of my classmates is externing at the Ritz-Carlton property where Maestro is situated) is that I Ricchi is not a comparable restaurant, and Laboratorio is probably the closest comparison.

There is no Metro in Tyson's Corner. There is the stop on the Orange line at Dunn Loring, and there are probably buses and cabs from there to the Ritz-Carlton...and buses and cabs back as well. If you really don't want to drive and your company all wants to drink that may be the most economical route...but if you're dining at Maestro's price points perhaps this is silly. A cab from the city will indeed be quite expensive.

I don't dine out like I used to (and indeed, I am quite jealous of how quickly you've gotten around the hot spots in our fair city Vengroff...) but when I did I either took my partner with me or stuck to no more than two glasses of whatever. My partner doesn't drink but also is not a serious diner like I am, so he's not always along with me. I've not relied on cabs since I bought my house in Maryland a few years ago, as they're just too expensive if you don't start and end your trip in the District.

[sara]

Hi

The closest metro to Maestro is actually West Falls Church, not Dunn Loring. The cab from there will still run you at least $20 roundtrip.

I'm not sure how much it is, but I've heard people 'hire a car' to go to nice dinners like that-- sometimes they do it to go to Inn at Little Washington. You might check and see- it could be less than a cab.

This is a chronic problem w/ the VA burbs tho...it's depressing. And be careful, as the VA police were literally pulling people off of bar stools recently for being drunk 'in public.' It's a tough state.