{Dining Out} SHO Shaun Hergatt $33 Lunch Deal

Have you ever wanted to dine like a Wall Street executive but wished you had their expense account? After hearing about SHO Shaun Hergatt's lunch prix fixe meal special (appetizer and entree $27, 3-course including dessert $33), we were excited to dine in style at only a fraction of the cost.  The interior and atmosphere is sleek and austere, but the food and service is warm and decadent.

The formative wine cellar fortress was the apple of my husband's eye while I loved the design of the double espresso shot glass.

In addition to the prix fixe meal, you can also order the "Endless" wines by the glass deal.  For an extra $10, you can choose between a refillable glass of red or white wine. The white wine option was a Muscadet (a French white wine) Guindon '08, Coteaux de la Loire sur Lie. My husband opted for the red wine option - a Saumur-Champigny, '05, Thierry Germain, Loire Valley. Over the course of the lunch, he was able to have 3-4 glasses of the pretty, food-friendly Cabernet Franc (13% ABV) - a steal at only $10. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the multi-grain bread with hummus.

Appetizer course:  Shavings of Iberico Ham with young mache and quail eggs. The usually pricey and formerly illegal Iberico ham was why we ordered this dish.  (Iberico ham was also illegal in the U.S. until July 2007 when a Spanish slaughterhouse had won USDA approval).  This delicate, salty, melt-in-your mouth was so good it should be illegal (but we're glad it's not!).

Appetizer course: Green Asparagus Spears with crushed hazelnuts and green asparagus sorbet. We loved this fresh dish with tons of crunchy hazelnuts, cool asparagus sorbet, salty shaved Parmesan cheese discs, and thick but tender asparagus.

Entree: Char Siu Pork with pickled apple, scallion soubise, micro cilantro. This dish is an elegant take on a traditional Chinese dish. It brought back memories of the tasty and fatty pork dish that my grandmother would make for family get-togethers.  The pork belly is slow-cooked with a variety of spices and seasonings making it tender and flavorful. I loved how this dish came served with crispy rice (our favorite part of cooking rice in a rice cooker or hot stone pot).

Entree: Crispy Skin Salmon with fiddleheads, favas, arugula puree. We ordered this dish because fiddleheads (those pretty curled vegetables), though rich in nutrients, need to be properly prepared and cooked in order to remove bitterness and toxins.  Overall, this dish is light and very appropriate for Spring.

Petit Fours:  The round Pink champagne truffle was milky and the apricot fruit jelly was sweet and fruity.

Dessert: Caramello Chocolate biscuit, crunchy toffee ice cream.  Decadent, sweet, and sinfully good - this dessert is perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth!

Dessert: Australian Pavlova passion fruit, jackfruit sorbet. The meringue Pavlova was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. I especially loved the beautiful fruit flavors from the thinly sliced strawberries, passion fruit, and jackfruit sorbet.  It tasted like Summer.

If you find yourself in the Financial District - perhaps after taking out-of-towners to Wall Street or the Statue of Liberty - treat yourself to an elegant lunch at SHO Shaun Hergatt.