Hot Spot

CAFE BRAZIL ON CenTRAL EXPRESSWAY FEUS A LITTLE LIKE AN IHOP IN RlO. Till PAINTED BRICK WALLS AND WORN CARPET betray the building’s antiquity, but everything else is exotic and hip. Techno music pumps through the room; paintings of rain forest creatures line the overhung paneling. Waiters adorned with earrings and spiked hair bob their heads to the music and carry trays filled with migas. fresh juice with ginseng, and cinnamon French toast. The crowd-?specially late night, after the bars close-is a mix of tipsy college kids, contemplative poet-types scribbling in notebooks, and intellectuals discussing politics over scrambled eggs and coffee.

There’s live music every weekend night, and a DJ on Thursdays. But the best time to go is as late as you can stay up, when this strip of Central is dark except for the restaurant, and the brightly lit windows and the line out the door remind you that being hip isn’t a matter of age, but of energy. 6420 N. Central Expwy.. 214-691-7791.