Hookah Bars NYC- Luxor Lounge

I went to the Luxor Lounge tonight in the west village of manhattan for some shisha and hookah smoke. it was a below average experience as the hookah that they gave us was very small and the hose was leaking. the shisha quality of this place is below par and the mixed tobacco hookahs are mediocre. My problem tonight was that the hookah and shisha combo made the taste way too sweet and the flavor degenerated very quickly. the first few pulls were definitely the best and the flavor turned to a sort of licorice taste within minutes. we had a lot of problems with this hookah tonight to say the least. the service was however better but the shisha and hookah experience was terrible. im not sire what it was about this hookah and shisha combo, but within fifteen minutes of smoking the hookah it seemed like it was dead. this should never be the case as a good hookah should ast for at least an hour. the leaking hose was very frustrating and it kept me desiring a better setup. we had to sort of hold the hose with a very tight fist in order to make it stop leaking and even that did not work too well. too often throughout the night i was pulling on the hose with my breath and nothing was happening. the water was not bubbling and there was no smoke coming out of the tube. the only good thing about this hookah was that the blow off valve was working properly and so any stale smoke that was left in the hookah was quicky ejected.

Hookah Bars NYC- Hookah Bar Number 10

Ok well i have to admit that i have been slacking in the shisha and hookah department. i have a great big list of hookah and shisha bars that need to be reviewed and i just have not had the time lately to go out and review one. i was supposed to go to a hookah bar in the east village tonight but yet again i got tired and fell asleep. well this is just going great for me. i have one job to do and that is to go out and review hookah bars and smoke shisha. what a hard life i have! i get paid for going out and smoking shisha out of hookahs at hookah bars and i cant even do that! this is kind of silly because my only responsibility is going out and basically having fun. i guess i am not really doing my job to its fullest potential. Well i am making a commitment to you and myself that i will have two more hookah bars reviewed by early next week and they are going to be of the hookah bar in williamsburg, brooklyn and another hookah bar on the lower east side. I am going to go to the hookah bar on the lower east side to smoke shisha tomorrow night and the night after i am going to williamsburg to smoke some shisha at the hookah bar off of bedford ave. Cheers!

Hookah Bars NYC- Williamsburg Part 2

Hey there! So i want to apologize for not coming through with the hookah and shisha review for today about the hookah bar in williamsburg. i have driven by it many times and i know that it is located on north 4th between bedford and driggs avenues and not usually occupied by anyone. this is a total bummer because i thought that a shisha and hookah bar in williamsburg would totally take off. i guess the problem is that the hipsters in williamsburg are too cool to do something actually hip like smoke shisha out of a hookah. i am very disappointed by this as i once thought that i could open up my own shisha and hookah bar in williamsburg that would be flooded with hipsters coming form the left and from the right. but mostly from the left... apparently hookah bars are too far right for a hipster to come and chill in. or maybe this bar is just bad. maybe their shisha is of low quality and the service is bad. then again maybe it is in a bad location. in any case, there needs to be a good hookah bar in the williamsburg area. there are many in astoria in queens and i always thought that astoria and williamsburg were very similar areas. in any case shisha and hookah smoking is something that needs to be done in every neighborhood in new york and i am committed to having a great hookah bar in every neighborhood.

Hookah Bars NYC- Review part 4

continuing on our concept of young people in hookah and shisha bars we have two more that come to mind...The Luxor Lounge in the west village and of course the giant Le Souk bar in the east village. now although these bars are well respected in the field of hookah and shisha smoking, there are always quite a lot of young people in these bars. when in arrived at le souk, the top forty music was heard from the street where we waited for the woman with the clipboard to ask if we were on the list. We told here no and proceeded to get our ids checked by the bouncer. When we entered the bar all that i could see was the ocean of young people, smoking shisha out of hookahs. i saw hundreds of twenty somehthings shoveling down middle eastern food and smoking shisha hookas furiously. as i proceeded through the bar i noticed the crowd had come to eat smoke and dance. the music was loud and the people were getting roudy. the bar had lines and it was very hard to get a drink. mind you this was a weekday when i went so these kids must have been in college because who else can get ridiculously wasted on an average tuesday night? we will have more on this idea of young people at hooka and shisha bars tomorrow when we review the sillyness that goes on at the luxor brand of hookah and shisha bars.

Hookah Bars NYC- Review part 3

So the next part of our review of shisha and hookah bars we will be looking at yet another aspect of our criteria for our shisha and hookah bar reviews. this week we will look at the best hookah and shisha bar for the younger crowd. As far as young crowds go The Sahara East in the East Village was a stand out for me in terms of hooka and shisha bars with young people. The word young may even be an understatement in terms of describing the age of the people that go there. i would say "underage" may be a better word to describe the age of the hookah and shisha smokers that attend the Sahara East hookah bar. i like to smoke hooka and shisha with all types of people and actually hooka smoking is for me is my greatest opportunity to reach out and meet new people no matter what. so if you are a young person and you like to get away from the grip of your parents to do something rebellious, go to the Sahara East hookah and shisha bar for a crowd like yourself. i was a little thrown off when i saw the amount of young people at this bar. the quality of the products at this bar are sub par but there must be something compelling about this hooka and shisha bar for young people. i think the most compelling thing is that they probably do not card for alcohol or tobacco smoking so if you are fifteen, then this is the bar for you! haha. Well actually this bar is not the greatest shisha and hooka bar that i have ever been to. actually it is probably one of the worst for all around quality of a hookah bar. however like i said, if you are a young person this is probably the bar for you. next time we will shed more light on this subject of young people in hookah and shisha bars so until then, Happy Smoking!

Hookah Bars- Review Part 2

So obviously here we are again to keep the shisha and hookah bar review going hopefully not to a point of redundance. So we left you last time with the clearly stated sentiment that the Hookah Cafe on East 60th between first and second is most definitely the best bar in town and definitely the best bang for your buck. the best shisha flavors were also won by this hookah bar this week and the service again takes the cake. now we are going to change things up in our little hookah and shisha review by altering the terms of the ratings. for the most popular bar we vote on Le Souk in the east village. We choose this hookah and shisha bar to be the most popular because it obviously is. this shisha and hooka bar was blasting on a Tuesday night! there were so many people there and the music was so loud that i could not stay for very long...however, it wins this weeks hookah and shisha bar for popularity by sheer volumes. I could not get over how huge this place was and the amount of people in it. I now know why it is so large: it is here by popular demand. no other hookah or shisha business can produce the amount of volume that Le Souk puts out on a daily basis. And it is obviously the in the latest fashion too because stars like Colin Ferrel go there and hit on young beautiful women. So by the sheer popularity of this hookah bar we give it a thumbs up. as for a mellow atmosphere well you wil have to find that somewhere else, but if you like loud and in your face music and tons of people getting wasted, this is the bar for you! I love to smoke shisha out of a hookah any where pretty much so stay posted for future reviews!

Hookah Bars NYC- Cafe Khufu Part 2

Cafe Khufu is a shisha and hookah bar located in the east village on east 3rd street between first and second avenues. Honestly i was not impressed by the hookah or the shisha quality of this bar. They do not serve alcohol and the one drink minimum is kind of annoying. i really dont know how this place stays in business. The vibe is very mellow and the service is ok. There is an Egyptian vibe in this place with egyptian artwork that covers the walls. The walls have a makeshift cheesy feel as they are painted to look like they are large stones from a pyramid or something. The hookah s that they use are in ok condition but they certainly do not have specific flavors for certain hookas. they place was pretty much desolate so i gues that was pretty authentic like i was in the desert or something. The Shisha flavors were average although they did not carry too many of them... The brand they carry is soex shisha which is an herbal shisha with no nicotine? how could this be. im not sure i got the correct info on their brand of shisha. i think that i definitely got a buzz from the tobacco that i smoke this night and i find it hard to believe that the shisha that is used in the hookas in Cafe Khufu is herbal no nicotine alternative. They do have belly dancing at this hookah bar once a week and that sounds pretty cool! unfortunately i do not think that i will be going back to this bar. as i said in the last post, the hookah and the shisha became unbearably sweet within about 15 minutes of smoking their hooka. the upside to their operation is the lemon wood coals which provide an authenitc hookah smoking experience. Have Fun!

Hookah Bars- Cafe Khufu

This Hookah Bar is located in the east village on 3rd st between 1st and 2nd avenue.
Not much on the outside. bobmarley playing on the inside. very calm and quiet hookah bar and shisha vibe. interestingly painted walls. no alchohol. one drink minimum. the mix flavors add 2 dollars. sowax brand hookah tobacco. 13 dollar hookah. Three person maximum per hookah whether they are smoking or not. white grape hookah. the owner is very nice. we got a pot of ginger tea that was very good. the tea was 3 dollars a person. the hookah and shisha became to hot and too sweet to the point of harshness within about fifteen minutes. the lemon wood coals were a nice touch. we will bring you more about this east village shisha and hookah bar tomorrow afternoon! this hookah bar was fine for a cheap spot to bring some friends on a school night. it is not the kind of place you would want to go on the weeken. the vibe is very mellow and the shisha flavors are not that good. for this area however it is cheaper than the other hookah bars. there is an egyptian vibe inside of the place and like i said before the owner is a very sweet man. he will entertain you with shisha and hookah smoke bubble which he blows from soapy water into a bottle with a hole in it.

Hookah Bars- Hookah Cafe Part 6

So once again here we are trying to finish up our extremely long winded review of the hooka and shisha bar The Hookah Cafe. In our last post we introduced you to the 3000 year old shisha recipe made from raw sugar cane called Saloum. now this is not on the menu at the Hookah Cafe and is available only by special request. Its is extremely strong and can knock you out with a few strong pulls. So here we are and i will now take you step by step into my experience of smoking the fine shisha called Saloum. Now as i said in the last post, the saloum needs to burn very hot so there is no tin foil on the top of the bowl and the Lemon Wood coals are placed directly on top of the saloum shisha hookah. The taste of the tobacco is pure and unflavored. the taste of the burning coal in direct contact with the saloum shisha, produces a very authentic and heavy tobacco with a very hot taste.
The Hookah Cafe is the kind of hookah bar in new york city where you can really make yourself at home and feel free to get comfortable. there are a few requests by the owner Ayman like, this is a place to bring people together but if you bring a girl please keep your hands off of each other. you can hold hands but to uphold the respect of the Hookah Cafe as a lounge for people to converse, please save anything more for afterwords. Believe it or not i still have more to say about this wonderful hooka palace, so tomorrow i will most likely blow the rest of the shisha smoke at you!

Hookah Bars- Hookah Cafe Part 5

Ok so here we are back at the Hookah Cafe, where you can smoke the finest shisha available in the NYC area. The Hookah Cafe is located on the upper east side on east 60th st between 1st and 2nd aves. By this time you know that i really cannot say enough about this place in terms of service, knowledge, taste, and atmosphere. now we are going to talk about some shisha that is not on the menu... This i mind you is strictly for professionals. the strength and potency of this shisha leaves me no room to wonder why they do not put it on the menu. it is called Saloum. it is a 3000 year old recipe for hookah shisha that is made with raw sugar cane. This tobacco is smoked primarily by the Hookah Cafe employees and is available by special request only, and is for advanced Hookah smokers only. The way that Ayman described the use of the Saloum was simple. to ride a motorcycle, first you must learn how to ride a moped. to ride a moped you first you must be able to ride a bike. to ride a bike you must first learn to ride a bike with training wheels. So the Saloum comes in four stages. For the beginner Saloum smoker you must first start with the most diluted form of the shisha. after you get used to it after smoking it several times you can move on to the next purest state. Now let me tell you this: the diluted form of the Saloum is so strong that it can literally knock you off of your feet. With one pull you could be set on the shisha for the rest of the night. for an amazing smoke try the Saloum if you dare. and i really mean if you dare...More on this tomorrow...

Hookah Bars- Hookah Cafe Part 4

Hey there! Ok so here is a little bit more on the details of the wonderful Hookah and Shisha spot The Hookah Cafe. The Hookah Cafe is located on the upper east side on 60th street between 1st and 2nd avenues. The owner, Ayman, is probably the most knowledgeable person on the subject of hookahs and shisha both historically and experientially that i have ever met. He explained a few things to us while we were there. First was that when mixing shisha flavors, it is best to look at the type of plant that you have rather than the preferred tastes in order to get the most full experience. He says that you flavors acoording to their plant type. for instance, you dont mix apple with melon because apple is a high tree fruit and melon is a low tree fruit. you would not mix mango and watermelon because again, watermelon is a fruit that comes from the low ground and mangoes grow high up in a mango tree. so when mixing flavors you want to keep like plants together. You can mix apple and mango or pomegranate because these are all high tree fruits. when we asked him about the process of making his special four apple blend, he had a very interesting answer. we asked what makes a four apple a four apple? he said that an apple does not taste the same when it is very small, as it does when it is more mature, as it does when you would pick it from the tree, or as it would taste when it would naturally fall from the tree. these are his choices for his very tasty four apple hookah. he uses the ground apple, the picked apple, the maturing apple, and of course the baby apple to give rise to his wondrously tasteful four apple blend. And let me tell you this: if you ever want an authentic hooka and great shisha taste, only possibly rivaled by other homemade shisha, look no further than The Hookah Cafe!

Hookah Bars- Hookah Cafe Part 3

So i want to explain a little but more about my hookah and shisha smoking experience while I was at the Hookah Cafe on east 60th between 1st and 2nd avenue. Everything about this place is the most authentic that it could be. These guys are the professional hookah people. They have so much information about the products they are selling and the deeply embedded culture of smoking hookas and shisha production. You know why they know so much about all of this cool hookah and shisha stuff? because they do it all themselves! i cannot stress the amzing dynamic that this hookah bar has. this place is a real hooka bar! THEY MAKE ALL OF THEIR OWN SHISHA! You cannot find quality and genuine hospitality like this anywhere. The owner, Ayman, is the most down to earth real deal hookah connoisseur that may exist on the planet. he loves the experience of smoking hookahs so much that he started making his own shisha...and it is fabulous! the way you fell when you walk into the door of this marvelous hookah bar is scintillating. Ayman, the owner of the Hookah Cafe has everything in his shop down to a science. He uses different hookahs for different flavors. he explained that if you smoke a certain flavor out a certain hooka, then that flavor or the smell or the taste ultimately gets trapped in the hookah and the flavor cannot leave no matter how hard you clean it. So in order to provide the customer with the most pure shisha flavor and experience, he uses only certain hookahs for certain flavors. The apple flavor goes in the apple hookah as to not conflate any of the flavors. in all honesty i have never seen such a tight operation of a hookah bar. The Hookah Cafe is the place to go. i have several more posts to write about this wonderful place so be ready!

Hookah Bars- Hookah Cafe part 2

So let me tell you a bit more about this bright little gem of a shisha and hookah bar on the upper east side in manhattan. The staff of the Hookah Cafe are wonderful people looking out for the well being and comfort of their customers and themselves. you can see the employees realxing and having a good time as well. this for me in terms of a relaxing atmosphere was great because even the employees are relaxing and having a good time. there were five employees and the Hookah Cafe. There were three older men and two younger men. The older men were each smoking their respective hookahs and personal favortie shisha flavors in between assisting customers and chatting with visitors. The two younger boys were in charge of most of the maintenance work with the hookahs and the customers.
So let me try to explain the situation to you. I know that this is extremely rare to find in new york city, but all of their products are homemade. Yes their shisha, tea, food and coals are all made in house and coordinated by a very special man named Ayman.
So now let me tell you a little about the hospitality that these guys provide. The tea is on the house, and it is wondeful! Their tea is a homemade blend of sage and other spices that is unrivaled anywhere else in Manhattan. They provide you with a pot of tea and a sugar pourer, to match the taste of the tea to your desires. I must have had 7 cups of tea while i was there! it was so good that i could not stop drinking it! The sweet taste of the sage tea went marvelously with our green forest hookah which was a homemade shisha blend of a few of their finest flavors. Although i would love to got into great detail about this now, i will save more for a Hookah Cafe post for tomorrow!

Hookah Bars- Review So Far

ok so here is the deal. of the hookah bars that i have reviewed thus far my favorites for smoking shisha are Karma, then Luxor Lounge, then Luxor Cafe. Karma is my favorite because of the general vibe and atmosphere. it is dark, with good music and plenty of couches that are sectioned off for privacy. the shisha is good quality and the hookah smokes for a while without getting harsh or too hot. Karma is pretty large so there is enough room to engage in conversation with a number of people and the music is not so loud that it overtakes the conversation. Then comes Luxor Lounge because it is very small and if you bring some people you can feel like you own the place. although the wait staff is not the best and the quality of the shisha and hookah smoke is not prime, the atmosphere is very private and the place is not packed very often. if it is a slow night you can even plug your own ipod in to listen to whatever tunes you want. that is very prime if you want to bring your friends out for a night of chill shisha smoking. the Luxor Cafe is nice as well because it is very similar to the Lounge, it is great for a monday night hooka session. it is not usually packed although it is very small. you can always play your own music and the quality of the shisha is ok. the hookahs do not leak and they have a variety of shisha flavors including their deluxe hooka in which the bowl head is packed into a hallowed out piece of fruit. so far my least favorite hookah bar is le souk because of its ridiculously loud music and no available seating. also the crowd there is terrible for me but maybe you like a hyped up thrashed out atmosphere to smoke your shisha. happy smoking!