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Hookah lounges: San Diego's newest nightlife trend?
By Kate Kowsh
October 10, 2005
San Diego--Don't know what a hookah is? It's that glass, genie bottle look-alike contraption with hoses sprouting out the side. The caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland was always thumbing his nose up and sucking on one. If that doesn't jar any mental images, liken it to a bloated bong.
Forget the coffee jitters, garnered from spending way too much time in any one of the dozens of San Diego coffee houses. More San Diegans are choosing to chill at these laid back, exotic hookah lounges. From Pacific Beach to downtown, people are smoking these days.
“A lot of people are surprised that we have live music,” Lupe Matthews, Owner of Caffiends Lounge 634, said.
| "Never light a cigarette from the coal on the hookah--it could get you beaten up in some countries" | Located on Broadway Ave., downtown, Caffiends serves coffee, beer, wine and a variety of deli sandwiches and croissants to go with their hookahs. They’re also open until 2 a.m. on weekends, making them prime real estate for after hours fraternizing. |
Typically soaked in Middle Eastern ambiance, hookah lounges are smoky, chill, hangouts with a clientele almost identical to any nightclub. For $12-$15 a pop, one could rent single or multiple hose hookahs, select from tobacco flavors like raspberry, banana, watermelon, peach, apple, chocolate, mixed fruit, double mint, or strawberry, and puff away.
According to San Diego's first hookah lounge, Fumari's Web site, www.fumari.com, “The hookah was born in India around the 15th century, when Indian Glass manufacturing began as a result of the exporting of glass to India.”
Similar in appearance to a bong, hookahs have a bowl-shaped base, a hose, connecting to a mouthpiece and a spot to place tobacco. They’re also referred to as shishas or narghiles.
Owner of Pacific Beach’s Sinbad Café, Rafid Haddad explained to the San Diego Union-Tribune, “If there’s such a thing as ‘good’ smoke, this would be the closest thing to it.” The tobacco base is dried fruit, not tar. It’s said that smoking tobacco from a hookah gives users a mild, relaxing buzz, but Haddad sets the record straight. “The only thing you get a ‘buzz’ off of is the oxygen…What you’re really smoking is sugar.”
Thinking about giving it a shot? If you go, bear in mind Fumari's common hookah lounge rules:
- Never add anything to the top of the hookah, it's disrespectful.
- Never light a cigarette from the coal on the hookah--it could get you beaten up in some countries.
- Always hand the hose to the next person with the mouthpiece pointed toward you, it is more polite.
- You should not place a hookah on top of a table, it may become a fire hazard if it tilts.
- Do not blow the smoke in anyone's face intentionally unless he or she is your significant other. You already know that one!
Caffiends Lounge 634
634 Broadway Ave.
(619) 544-1609
http://caffiendslounge634.tripod.com/sandiego/
Fumari
330 G Street
(619) 238-4949
www.fumari.com
Zodiak Hookah Lounge
6455 El Cajon Blvd.
(619) 326-6800
Sinbad Cafe
1050 Garnet Ave. Suite B (Pacific Beach)
www.torchdesign.com/sinbad/web/
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