Neither I nor my parents were disappointed by my selection. The restaurant is beautifully designed, with strong Asian influences in the decor: lots of rich reds, dark woods, and golden details. The front bar area is very zen and chill, and I would like to return for a casual night of drinks and selections from the bar menu at some point in the future. After enjoying a cocktail at the bar, we were led past the impressive wine collection, displayed in two large glass cabinets that line the wide corridor between the bar/lounge and the dining room. We were seated in the part of the dining room that affords a view of the gleaming, organized, and efficient open kitchen.
The first taste of Chef Hergatt's cuisine was a selection of canapes:
- Chicken bon-bons on top of candied apple
- Gravlax with caviar atop a potato croquette
- Goat cheese (which melted like butter on the tongue) sandwiched between two paper-thin wafers
- Savory ramp panna cotta
Next, we were treated to two amuse bouches, which arrived seperately:
- Some sort of savory green gel sphere served atop bacon creme
- Mushroom cappuccino with truffle foam and a tiny gougere on the side
There was also a selection of breads to choose from and both french and truffle butters for the table.
For my appetizer I had peekytoe crab with Santa Barbara uni and fresh cilantro (below). My entree was rabbit loin with carrot, cardamom, and pincholine olive sauce. The olive sauce was an extremely effective way to add some oils and fat to the lean rabbit while keeping the flavors balanced and not adding an overwhelming saltiness. I much preferred it to the bacon or other pork products that most other restaurants have been using lately. For dessert I had "Le Disque:" a round "cake" of araguani chocolate creme, topped with garden thyme ice cream, and a spiral of candied apricot.
My mother had hearts of palm with green asparagus and white asparagus ice cream to start. That was followed by poached lobster with saffron, baby fennel, and ginger creme. This was one of the best lobster dishes I have ever tasted. The meat was cooked perfectly and richness of the saffron was addictive. For dessert, my mother had a banana millefeuille with lime mousse and coconut milk ice cream - a very playful and inventively presented dish. While I was quite happy with the items I ordered, I think my mother had the winning selections of the evening.
My father started with Australian hiramasa with blue fin tuna carpaccio and wakame gel. That was followed by melt-in-your-mouth tender and perfectly cooked veal tenderloin served with veal tongue and double cream emulsion. And for dessert: chocolate jasmine inspiration with pomelo confit and milk chocolate sorbet.
To wrap up the evening, there was an assortment of bon-bons and truffles:
- Tiny macaroons
- Pistachio nougat
- Raspberry gele
- Hazelnut, salted caramel, and passion fruit truffles
I would strongly recommend SHO Shaun Hergatt and would go as far as to say that this was a better meal than the one we had at Jean Georges, in fact it is one of the best goumet meals I've had in New York, after Gordon Ramsay at The London of course. The staff is exemplary, competent, friendly, and not at all snobby or snooty. The environment is welcoming and relaxing, and the prices are extremely reasonable, as the three course prix fixe is a bargain at $69. I guess if this meal has to be my official birthday dinner, I have no complaints, as it was a very memorable meal indeed.
photo credits: http://www.shoshaunhergatt.com
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