Remember when you were dead-set on getting that perfect bikini bod in June?
If your summer plans took a different turn and your work-out plans got put on the back burner, you're not alone.
August calls for drinking to your liver's content and gorging on delicious food, because let's be honest, a bikini body is just a body with a bikini on it.
Delete your seamless app for the month, trust us.
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1. Avant Garden (130 East 7th Street)
Ever had really bangin vegan food? No? You're missing out, fam.
Avant Garden is an open-kitchen concept restaurant serving up amazing vegan dishes. One of their most popular dishes, "Cauliflower", consists of scorched cauliflower, toasted garlic, and fried capers, which sits on a bed of savory cauliflower puree. This spot is intimate, but welcoming. Perfect for date night.
2. Desnuda (122 East 7th St. & 221 South 1st Street)
This cevicheria is not just about ceviche. Desnuda interprets a Latin American culinary staple to New York's palate by using the highest quality seafood, innovative ingredients & unorthodox techniques.
Every dish is a tiny performance. BTW, their happy hour is pretty dope. Sundays and Monday nights are $1 oysters, in addition to the great drink specials. If you didn't already know, oysters are a natural aphrodisiac...you can connect the dots here.
3. Mother of Pearl (95 Avenue A)
This "tiki-bar" themed restaurant/bar serves up post-modern Polynesian classics.
As soon as you walk in, you're transported into a tropical oasis. While the tiki-themed cocktails and cold-pressed juice mocktails are fantastic, their food is really the shining star. MOP's Togarashi Fries are to die for. Sprinkled with kimchi dust and served with saffron, black garlic, and sriracha aioli dipping sauces, these aren't just your ol' regular fries.
4. Cienfuegos (95 Avenue A)
Take a walk upstairs from Mother of Pearl, and you'll find yourself in an intimate Cuban-themed restaurant.
Home to everything Cuban and all things rum, this spot boasts classic dishes with new twists. Guac is already pretty amazing, but have you ever had it fried? Yeah, fried guacamole is as amazing as you'd expect it to be. Make sure to not skip out on "con un amigo", a rum-punch bowl for two. And if you're really tryna get lit, order the "familia" or "royale" size.
5. Cote (16 West 22nd Street)
If you're not having barbecues in August, you should reconsider your summer priorities. But we get it, living in NYC usually means you won't have the space for an outdoor grill, let alone a backyard.
Cote serves up Korean barbecue with American steakhouse favorites like iceberg wedge salads, shrimp cocktails, and dry-aged rib eye. This much-anticipated eclectic restaurant also features an extensive wine list.
6. Miss Ada (184 Dekalb Ave– Brooklyn)
There's nothing like enjoying a good meal with friends on a nice patio outdoors.
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Miss Ada's lovely backyard garden adds to the charm of this welcoming Mediterranean restaurant in Fort Greene. Their hummus with warm chickpeas, chicken liver and caramelized onion; whipped ricotta with brown butter and honey; and za’atar-crusted salmon are out of this world. What else would you expect from an Israeli-born New Yorker who learned to cook from his grandmother?
7. Simply Hooked (47 Clinton Street)
Seafood is generally pretty awesome, but even better in these summer months.
Simply Hooked is a New York sustainable seafood restaurant serving fresh fish and chips. The 30-seat nook on the Lower East Side relies on catches from sustainable sources. Even the wine is organic and the takeout containers are compostable.
They feature a selection of underused species—Atlantic pollock and wild blue catfish, for instance—to be matched with one of six coatings (dill and lime panko is the most popular) and a sauce, ranging from smoked mayo to barbecue.
[Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]