Ambassador Caffe/Smoke Country House

I tried to go my favorite Cuban BYOB last night - Ambassador Caffe - and Horrors! the door was locked and there was mail piled up in front. Anyone know what might have happened? I'm hoping it's just a temporary interruption.

So there I was, on the North side, bottle of pinot noir firmly in hand, and no place to enjoy it. But I do keep a fairly recent list of area BYOBs in the car at all times, and not too far away was Smoke Country House. I'm surprised that I don't recall seeing it discussed here, given all the true BBQ mavens that post on LTH. My uninformed opinion was that it was pretty good - excellent sauce, perfect texture - just enough bite. And, it did't come with the traditional slice of Wonder Bread, and I was grateful for that. The cottage fries rated a B, maybe B+. Apparently, the location was formerly NN Smokehouse.

Only regret - a Zin or Syrah might have stood up to the BBQ better.

Ambassador Caffe
3605 N. Ashland Ave.
773-404-8770

Smoke Country House
1465 W. Irving Park Rd.
(773) 327-0600

I live nearby also, and I'm troubled by the darkness at Ambassador. Frankly, after the old owners (Afro-Cuban couple who used to cook for the mean old guero that ruled in the 90's) left and took some of the best dishes with them (the soups, esp.) things seemed to be slowing down.

As for Smoke Country House, it was well-loved for good reason back when it was NN Smokehouse. It has been absolutely abysmal for years, however. Look at CH for some posts. My last meal there involved a kid taking frozen ribs out of foil and boiling them in a saucepan full of industrial BBQ sauce. A few recent, positive posts on CH from new posters led me to stop by to see if things had changed just last week. The absence of smoke and customers made me keep walking.

But is sounds as if things might be turning around for whatever reason. I'm hesitant to take one for the team, but I probably will.