Out & About: Eating Cheap, Surrounded by Luxury

Map It:  Archives-Navy Mem'l   Cleveland Park   King Street   Smithsonian 

MAYBE YOU MADE a New Year's resolution to save money. Or perhaps you're less than excited about dropping a couple hundred dollars on one meal. Whatever the reason, your wanting to save a few bucks doesn't mean resigning yourself to frugal dining when you're craving fancy food and service. It's all in the strategy.

START WITH AN END GOAL: Check out menupages.com or restaurant Web sites for prices and come up with a budget for the evening's meal. And be realistic: Set a drink minimum and plan for the cost of drinks and tip.

LEARN WHERE TO GO WHEN: You don't have to wait for Restaurant Week to score a deal. Head to Restaurant Eve (see map, No. 1) for the weekday Lickety Split lunch, meaning you can taste Cathal Armstrong's cuisine for less than $20. Plan on Sunday dinner at The Majestic (see map, No. 2) — $78 for a family-style dinner for four. Ask for the upstairs menu in the lounge at The Source (see map, No. 3). If you're dying to try lacquered Chinese duckling or anything else on the fancy menu, the entire thing is available in the downstairs casual environs. Sit at the bar of CityZen (pictured above; see map, No. 4), where a three-course tasting menu at one of the top restaurants in town is $45. Hit up Dino (see map, No. 5) on Sundays and Mondays, when wines over $50 are 33 percent off. There are deals like this all over the city; it's just a matter of keeping an ear to the ground.

EAT AT THE BAR: Take advantage of bar menus and access to the bartender, who likely knows as much as servers do about the restaurant. At the bar, you're likely not the only one sampling.

GO IT ALONE OR AS A PAIR: When sticking to a budget, avoid dining with a posse so you don't have to deal with the check when someone orders plates or drinks for the whole table. Who wants a low-key Tuesday dinner to become a $250 burger night?

GO WHEN IT'S SLOW: If you're debuting a restaurant, it's not a bad idea to go when it's quiet, be it Tuesday's dinner hour or 10 p.m. on a Saturday. You won't compete for attention with bigger tables, and you're more likely to have a leisurely meal, since there won't be hordes waiting for your seat.

ASK QUESTIONS: It's not a bad idea to ask whether the executive chef is in the house. Ideally, a high-end restaurant should be plating consistently, but if you're demo-ing a dining room, dishes will be at their best when they pass his or her scrutiny.

DON'T BE SHY ABOUT CONSCRIPTING THE HELP OF A SERVER: Is there an appetizer size for an entree or vice versa? Which dishes are crowd-pleasers? The wait staff watches the food as it's prepared, has likely tasted everything on the menu more than once, and sees what people like and why. And don't forget: Old-fashioned courtesy can go a long way.

» Restaurant Eve, 110 S. Pitt St., Alexandria; 703-706-0450. (King Street)
» The Majestic, 911 King St., Alexandria; 703-837-9117. (King Street)
» The Source, 575 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-637-6100. (Archives-Navy Mem'l)
» CityZen, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 1330 Maryland Ave. SW; 202-787-6868. (Smithsonian)
» Dino, 3435 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-686-2966. (Cleveland Park)

Photo courtesy Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Map by Michael Grass/Express