Life Cafe
American / Vegetarian
983 Flushing Ave (btw Central and Evergreen)
(L Train: Morgan)
Phone: 718-386-1133
Cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express
Average Entree: $9
Hours: Mon through Fri 11am to 12am; Sat and Sun 10am to 12am
Drinks: Full bar
Menu: click
Website: www.lifecafenyc.com
Map: click

 

This place probably saved my life. And it's been a great selling point on new roommates. When they first opened the Flushing Ave location a couple of years ago (the original East Village spot is a crucial piece of the '80s avant-garde scene), they experimented with bar-theme gimmicks, from bingo for beer to the more abstract, so that each night you showed up there was a different indoor-recess-style activity. But since the Wreck Room opened up across the street they've reverted to simple and effective (and popular) drink specials, with a late happy hour of 11pm. My favorite (most dangerous) is the $5 Sauza/Corona night, which is Wednseday. It's probably the best deal in the northwest hemisphere. There are similar deals every weeknight. So now it's a finally a restaurant and a bar.

The menu changes now and again--old favorites disappear only to return a couple of months later. I'm still waiting for them to bring back the monte cristo, but in the meantime the catfish po'boy is in full effect, and dinner specials still include the wicked good seafood enchillada. They have a spicy calamari thing with rice, corn, and beans which is out of control good, and goes amazingly with the free-flowing Cholula sauce. Dessert is great too; I have a friend who comes all the way from Windsor Terrace just for the sorbet, and the dessert drinks culled from a full bar are worth the price ($6-7).

 

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