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Our cave-dwelling ancestors got a few things right. Jenna Shannon tells us about the meat-centered paleo diet that got her to give up vegetarianism.A ready-to-eat paleo meal from Kettlebell Kitchen: grilled hanger steak, butternut-squash purée, and braised collard greens. Photo courtesy of Kettlebell Kitchen. Jenna Shannon spent 10 years as a vegetarian. Today, she’s an evangelist for a way of eating that’s all about meat.She says that while vegetarianism complemented her yoga practice, she knew she wasn’t feeling her best. So she did a dietary 180 and started eating paleo. Today, she swears by that meat-and-veggies approach: she’s written a book, and she also offers dietary coaching and writes about eating paleo on her website, Lean Machine NYC. For Jenna, the best part is seeing her clients get results. “It just makes my day,” she says.The paleo diet focuses on high-quality proteins, such as meat, fish, and eggs; vegetables; fruits; and healthy fats. It also eliminates grains, dairy, and legumes. Proponents argue that it’s the food humans evolved to eat. They’re “the foods we were eating before the Agricultural Revolution,” says Joe Lopez, president of Kettlebell Kitchen, which delivers ready-to-heat meals to CrossFit gyms across New York City.But it’s not all about cavemen. “The paleo diet, first and foremost, tries to eliminate processed foods and added sugars and things that shouldn’t be in your diet,” Joe says. While some people’s systems “may have evolved to be able to handle grains and dairy,” he says many people don’t realize these ingredients are causing “inflammation” in their systems.Both Jenna and Joe say they want others to discover the benefits of eating paleo—things like fewer hunger ups and downs, more steady insulin levels, and better workouts. New York City may not have caves, woolly mammoths, or lost time travelers blundering through the underbrush, but Jenna and Joe have plenty of tips for making the paleo lifestyle work here.Eating OutJenna says that the meat and vegetables nature of the paleo diet actually lends itself well to ordering at a restaurant. Paleo meals are “based on a protein, and that’s how chefs build their meals,” she says.She says that more upscale restaurants tend to use the kind of high-quality oils extolled by paleo proponents. But adherents still have to be careful. “There’s a lot of research that has shown that canola oils and vegetable oils are not good for you, especially when heated at high temperatures. They oxidize,” Joe says. “Some restaurants even reuse oils over and over.”Jenna and Joe both recommend Hu Kitchen, which focuses on unprocessed, natural foods. The chefs often cook with coconut oil, and they use grass-fed meat and other quality ingredients. Joe also enjoys ABC Kitchen, which brings in ingredients from local farms. Jenna’s family loves Monster Sushi for the “giant slabs of raw fish.” Paleo eaters should look for sashimi on sushi menus, she says.For people who want to go a little meat-crazy, Jenna says Brazilian churrascaria restaurants—renowned for their endless rounds of roasted meat—can be a fun choice.Grocery Shopping“New York has become a great place to be a home cook,” Jenna says. “That wasn’t always the case; it used to be all about the restaurants.” Today, you can find high-quality food at places such as Chelsea Market and Whole Foods, she says. Joe seconds the Whole Foods recommendation “because you can see exactly what you’re getting in your meals, and you can find paleo options.”But what you bring home is more important than where you shop. “It’s becoming possible for people to get very high-quality meat from very caring farmers and producers,” especially in New York State, Jenna says. “That’s important: to buy your products from people who really care about you (the consumer), the product they’re producing, and the environment.”“Keep your refrigerator stocked with [fruits and vegetables]—especially vegetables,” Joe says. That way, you’ll be a lot more likely to chow down on something healthy.Cooking at Home“The key to [eating paleo] is definitely learning to make some paleo recipes,” Jenna says. “If you can learn to make 5 to 10 really kick-ass recipes and they’re good,” the paleo diet will be a lot easier, she says.To build a paleo meal, Jenna says “you always want to start with your protein and build from there.” Next come vegetables and fats. Joe’s list of healthy fats includes coconut oil, macadamia oil, sesame oil, and olive oil.But don’t stop at a single meal when you’re cooking. One of the hardest components of eating paleo can be the need to cook more often—hence the niche market for Kettlebell Kitchen’s ready-to-eat paleo meals. When you can’t stop for fast food or microwave a frozen dinner, it’s more important to be prepared with your own healthy cooking. That’s why Joe recommends doubling up on ingredient prep. “If I steam a bunch of broccoli and carrots the night before, I’ll put it in a scramble with eggs for breakfast,” he says.Jenna says that a lot of recipes are actually pretty simple because they’re focused on high-quality ingredients that taste great all on their own. “You wouldn’t want to mess with a strawberry because it’s fantastic,” she says. You could say that’s the whole point of the paleo diet. It’s less about living like a caveman and more about regaining our ancestors’ simple appreciation for food.

This week’s list of things to do includes a hip-hop reunion tour, a 165-foot zipline, South Indian dancers, and Hamlet as performed by Gary Busey (not really). Enjoy, and, as always, check Groupon for more great things to do in New York City. Photo of Ragamala Dance by Alice Gerbura. Summer Streets Lower Manhattan | Saturday, August 2 Pedestrians and cyclists will rule Park Avenue for a few brief hours this Saturday, when the city shuts down a 7-mile stretch of asphalt for the first of three Summer Streets events this August. The car-free stroll from Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park would be pleasant in itself, but the city’s also provided a multitude of free amusements along the way. Inside the Park Avenue Tunnel, a seven-block-long immersive sound installation mimics the sonic effects of diving deep under the sea. At 34th Street, the Whole Foods City Picnic keeps crowds nourished with free food and drink samples. Further downtown, a 165-foot zipline sends harnessed participants zooming across Foley Square. Performances by African drummers and jugglers, parkour and cooking demonstrations, and a PAWS dog park round out the day. (Park Ave. from the Brooklyn Bridge to 77th St.; 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.; free) Jurassic 5 Midtown | Saturday, August 2 Fresh off a globe-trotting reunion tour, Jurassic 5 shows no signs that their energy’s slackening. The “Quality Control” group brings their nostalgic old-school hip-hop to Best Buy Theater this Saturday. The best part of J5 has always been the interaction between the rappers’ voices: anchored by Chali 2na’s deep baritone, they play off each other like a barbershop quartet that just happens to spit rhymes. Their first post-reunion single, the White Stripes–sampling “The Way We Do It,” is evidence that the years haven’t erased that playful vibe. (1515 Broadway; show at 8 p.m., doors at 7 p.m.; $42.50–$50; buy tickets here) The One I Love Sunset Park | Monday, August 4 The directorial debut of famed author and Twitterer Charlie McDowell, this indie romantic comedy made a splash when it premiered at Sundance this January. Some of the reasons were obvious, including moving performances from Mark Duplass (Safety Not Guaranteed) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, Top of the Lake). But some are more obscure, like the surreal, high-concept plot twist that most reviewers have refused to reveal. (Feel free to scrutinize the trailer for hints.) Come see what the fuss is about at Rooftop Films’ sneak-preview outdoor screening at Industry City, which will be followed by a Q&A with the director and stars, plus an after-party sponsored by New Amsterdam Spirits. (220 36th St., Brooklyn; doors at 8 p.m.; $13; get tickets here) Ragamala Dance in Song of the Jasmine Upper West Side | Thursday, August 7 Classical South Indian dance meets contemporary jazz in this Walker Art Center–commissioned show, whose Lincoln Center Out of Doors performance is also its New York premiere. Composer and saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa interweaves his meandering melodies with traditional Indian instruments to soundtrack the elegant, flowing movements of dance troupe Ragamala Dance. Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers and the Chinese-American Arts Council Dancers open. (Damrosch Park Bandshell, between Amsterdam Ave. & W. 62nd St.; 7:30 p.m.; free) Fringe Festival Multiple locations | Friday, August 8, through Sunday, August 24 Now in its 18th year, this sprawling multi-arts event will fill more than 20 theaters this month with off-the-wall indie performances from around the globe. Offerings range from Gary Busey’s One-Man Hamlet (which doesn’t actually feature Gary Busey) to Dust Can’t Kill Me, a folk musical about the 1930s Dust Bowl, to Njozi Ensemble Company’s Ain’t She Brave: an Ensemble of Poetry. ($18 per show, $85–$500 for a multi-show pass; buy tickets here)

It’s just past 9 p.m. on a Thursday, long after most of Manhattan’s trendier donut shops have closed for the night. But The Donut Pub will be open all night long, neon sign a-blazing—just as it has been every evening since 1964. Inside the shop on 14th Street in Chelsea, “Magic Mike” stands behind the back counter with his magician’s supplies spread out before him, ready to perform tricks and illusions for the steady stream of customers who will come through the door. He’s been a regular at the Pub for 38 years—“Can’t you tell I love donuts?” he asked, pointing to his belly—and after he retired from the New York City Fire Department, he took up magic, bringing his act to his favorite neighborhood hangout. (He also performs private shows and sells magic supplies at the Pub and elsewhere.) But Magic Mike is only one of many regulars at the 24/7 shop. There are also the dozens of businessmen who appear every morning with their copies of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times to order the Sip & Dip special (coffee and a donut for $2.90) to accompany the day’s news. Operations manager and baker Gus Markatos started working at the Pub while in high school in the 1990s and has held his current role since 2002. He’s a regular sight behind the counter every morning and not an unusual one in the evenings, either. Most anyone who visits the Pub on the regular knows Gus, and the feeling is mutual—though “there are so many regulars [he] can’t even count,” he knows them all by sight and many by name. Gus isn’t the only familiar face behind the counter. There’s also Buzzy Geduld, the retired Wall Street multimillionaire who founded and still owns The Donut Pub. Patty, who works from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every weekend, has been at the Pub since it opened and has the stories to prove it. (More than a few late-late-late-night revelers come in asking for a beer with their donuts, not realizing that the “pub” name isn’t quite literal, she said.) Sammy, who works various afternoon and evening shifts during the week, has been at the Pub since 1980. Other counter staffers come and go regularly with the seasons. Though the Pub and its clientele seem unchanged through the decades, its neighborhood is not. Just a few blocks uptown, a much-changed Chelsea Hotel now houses the Doughnut Plant, a decidedly froufrou spot whose signature crème brûlée donuts cost upwards of $3 each. You’d think that with all this gentrification, The Donut Pub would have seen some hard financial times. But according to Gus, it’s been the exact opposite. “We’ve put two Dunkin’ Donuts out of business,” he said. “One on 14th Street a few blocks down and another around the corner.” And he doesn’t think that “artisanal” donut shops have anything on the Pub, either, no matter how trendy their flavors or presentation may be. “We are better than the competition: always fresh, and they are made with love.” There’s lots of love to go around here. The Village Voice named the Pub’s chocolate cake donut among the city’s best. CBS NY7 did the same for its honey dip donut, whereas both Gothamist and Tasting Table ranked its jelly-filled donut among the best. (My personal favorites are the boston creme and the sugar-raised, but I’d take any of them before walking out empty-handed.) Gus isn’t stingy with the love on the baking side of things, either. It’s not unusual to see him coming out of the back room with a rack of freshly baked croissants that he happily shares with regulars, sometimes on the house. (Yes, The Donut Pub has a full line of pastries, including muffins, cookies, biscuits, bagels, and bialys.) He has even developed his own version of the crazy-popular cronut, which some daresay is better than the one you-know-who makes (and people wait on line for hours for). Gus’s black-and-white cookie is among the best in the city—I can vouch personally for its ability to single-handedly soothe even the worst sort of New York heartbreak. That includes at least one romance that both began and ended at The Donut Pub, with Gus and company as witness. To their professional credit, they didn’t take sides, and the cookie was on the house. But the best part about working at The Donut Pub? Sammy and Gus agree: it’s the donuts. “I eat a donut every day,” Gus said. But as he stands there framed by racks and racks of tempting sweets, it’s hard to believe he stops at just one. No one else I know is able to. The Donut Pub is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and is located at 203 W. 14th St., just west of 7th Avenue. Photos by Amy L. Hayden. Check Groupon for deals on coffee and treats in New York City.