$800 will get you a good bike, but for around $1000 you can get the an Allez Elite with 105. It's well worth the $200 to get the better bike if you can scrape together the cash. Heck, thats just two months savings from not needing a metro card ;-)

Shop around... but if you can't find a LBS in the city that will give you a good deal, send me a PM and I can connect you an LBS who will get you a fair chunk off MSRP.