Horse Play
Po' Boys and Margaritas on the Seaport

Summer can lead you to strange and wondrous places—locals-only beaches, dockside lobster feasts, manic champagne-fueled brunch soirees.
 
And every now again, summer—or perhaps a post-Water Taxi Beach water taxi—leads you to the majesty of South Street Seaport.
 
Luckily, you understand that for every South Street Seaport, there's a place nearby to escape for, say, a margarita in a mason jar and an oyster po' boy…
 
Here to protect your sanity amongst the tourist throngs is the Cowgirl Sea Horse, a brand new seafood/comfort food/Tex-Mex hoedown of a restaurant from the vintage-minded crazies behind West Village standby Cowgirl, opening Monday.
 
The Sea Horse is the kind of easygoing, bright, breeze of a restaurant that just feels right for long brunches and early happy hours—the two-room space is loaded up with western trinkets (wagon wheel lights, old cowboy wallpaper), seafaring touches (outboard motors hanging from the ceiling, fish on the wall) and enough exposed brick to keep things feeling offbeat.
 
The long, wooden bar up front is the perfect spot to tuck in and pore over the diner-size menu of savory Bayou Boats of fried shrimp, White Fish Reubens, Chicken-Fried Chicken and the like.

Just don't expect any salad-fried salad.