Chicago - May 18, 2005

Night and Day

Ambrosia Cafe

Betsy Brownnose three cubicles over. Never misses a meeting or a deadline. Always has a smile for everyone. (She’s just so annoying.)

Then one night you caught her at Sonotheque, rocking her Bulga, playing tonsil hockey with some dude in a mesh tank. Oh, well. So much for judging a book by its cover.

Another case in point: Ambrosia Cafe. Sandwich/salad/smoothie joint by day, BYOB hookah bar by night.

Stop by midafternoon and you’ll find inviting couches and chairs occupied by webheads surfing for free, sports fans glued to plasma TVs, and gaggles of girls picking at build-your-own salads. Pop in after 7 p.m., and the cozy catchall turns into a chill hookah hangout, complete with pipes burning apple, grape, strawberry, and peach tobacco.

It’s the perfect place to kick back after a stressful day at the office.

And if you bump into boring Betsy from accounting, heck, send over some of your pinot.

Ambrosia Cafe, 1963 North Sheffield Avenue, between Willow Street and Armitage Avenue (773-404-4450).