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Just as the original East Village Life Cafe was a haven for that neighborhood’s early gentrifiers, Brooklyn’s Life Cafe 983 caters to the new crop of young artists skulking about the otherwise industrial neighborhood of Bushwick. Part café, part local bar, Life is an oasis on dismal Flushing Avenue that offers hearty, healthful meals that fit the budgets of the local creative set. The menu has slight Mexican influences and the mega burrito packs enough punch to fuel an entire day at the easel. The weekly movie night and rotating display of Brooklyn artists on the deep red walls provide atmosphere without the straining self-consciousness of other hipster hangouts. — Lisa Selin Davis