THE LOCAL HOOKAH STORE REVIEW THREAD!!

[wyteboy]

OK so I had this idea awhile back and I have internet access at the moment this evening and kept forgetting to write it to the forum..
We have people on here all the time post where they are from and ask about hookah stores in the area, etc.  Now this thread can be used now by everyone to post the good (or bad) stores near them in their local areas and hopefully help everyone out from time to time...
I'll start by the TWO stores I found that carry AF in ALL OF LOS ANGELES. That's right, TWO.
1) B&W, 6408 Hollywood Blvd.  (someone on here told me about this store but i forget who..whoever you were, thanks!)  HUGE selection of AF at $9.99 for 250, also a HUGE selection of alwaha, nahkla, splash and al-amir (i think...).  THere were out of a lot of flavors of AF and did sell me this mystery regular/GS box of AF (if you read my other thread) that I have yet to figure out what I bought exactly, but still a decent location (in the heart of hollywood) with very reasonable prices and when they have stuff in stock, a VERY SICK SELECTION OF AL FAKHER!  Definitely recommend this place, the guy there said they get shipments every 2 weeks.  Weird thing though, on Hwood blvd there are a TON, TON TON of smoke shops and NONE of them had AF and told me to tell them if I found any place that does...yet this once place had A TON of AF stuff...strange.
2) Mission Liquor, 1801 Washington Blvd in Pasadena. (thanks to cypress for posting this!!!).  It's about 30 minutes outside of LA, so depending on where you live it can be convenient or decidedly inconvenient.  (i made the drive anyway )NOT what I expected at all from their website.  THeir site advertises SO much ma'assel, I figured this place has to be as big as a warehouse, lol!  Notso, right next door and connected to a small liquor store (make sure you go in the RIGHT door, not the left if you want the tobacco store instead of alcohol).  Now they seeemed to have a smaller selection of AF in-store than I remember seeing on their site, sell for the same, $9.99 for a 250g box.  They had the AF Cherry I was looking for but DIDN'T have the AF Apple and then I had to go back to the B&W store to get it and ended up getting this mystery Golden Seal, but actually regular, but WHAT af apple? LOL!
So there you have it....there are far too many smoke shops in LA to review, however I have only found TWO that carry Al Fakher if that is what you're looking for.  Hopefully this helps anyone in the LA or SoCal area looking for AF.  I also hope people like this idea and use it to post about their own experiences with local smoke shops and then everyone can know where to get the best stuff near them

[wyteboy]

no one else has local stores to review? I guess this thread can die then, I had envisioned it being very popular and helpful, LOL!  I thought I'd bump it just once to see if some people missed chiming in, won't do it again!

[Sariél]

Well, the only shop I go to is B&W, its close to one of the studios
where I work. They carry Al Fakher for $9.99/250/g, but no GS (exceot I
guess for the mystery box!).

 They also carry Sultan for $6.99/250g and Splash for $5.99/250g. I don't recommend either.

They carry a full line of accessories, although no Golden or Nour
coals. And its a big place, with hundreds of hookahs. I bought a
handheld there for pretty cheap, It is a great little pipe if you are
careful and don't knock the coal off into your lap picking it up. My
boss got a Nour brand hookah there, it sucks. The metal collar in the
base broke off, and everytime I re-glue it, the glass just splinters
off more. But they do have a very large selection, so I will probably
get my next one there.

They have a small longe in the back, but its pretty creepy, Dark, with
some old couches and a bunch of hookahs sitting on a coffee table. It
fits the Downtown Hollywood vibe.

Someone also mentioned the shop in hollywood at Santa Monica and vine,
they're mostle cigarettes, cigars, crack pipes and Swords (?) They had
6 cheesey hookahs on the top shelf and the guy behind the counter said
they only sell Sultan brand hookah tobacco. Despite being of Middle
Eastern origin (I assume from appearance and thick accent) he did not
know what Ma' assell was. Or I might have mangled the pronunciation
beyond recognition. However, in the same little strip mall is Steak
Depot, which has the best Philly Cheesesteaks in town. So I had a
mushroom cheesesteak and went back to work.

There is a cigar shop closer to my home up in Stevenson Ranch (two
exits southof Six Flags Magic Mountain) that has a small but beautiful
selection of gold Mya Hookahs.  They have one small shelf in the
corner with some bricks of Al Waha ma'assell and 3king coals. I go
there sometimes just to scare the yuppies (I'm about 6 ft 260lbs, long
hair, long beard, think Rob Zombie as a Hell's Angel).

[jmexx]

We don't have tobacco shops around here, just a couple of grocery stores that sell ma'assel. I normally order on-line, but if you're asking for lounges I go to, the best in Montreal would have to be The Hookah Lounge. It really is the best place to go, it's run by some french students who did it as a school project and it seems to have worked great for them. They have all sorts of exotic flavours, beers from all around the world, a variety of teas and just about any other kind of drink you can think of. It's a cozy little place with nice large chairs and a platform for big groups to relax by and smoke a nice hookah. It's a wonderful place. Other then that there are a few Arabic places near my house that are a bit dirty but cheap. Just my 2 cents, happy smoking!Jon

[cypress]

[quote name='wyteboy']no one else has local stores to review? I guess this
thread can die then, I had envisioned it being very popular and
helpful, LOL!  I thought I'd bump it just once to see if some
people missed chiming in, won't do it again! [/quote]

I havent been buying as much. I have to cut back on my expenses because
I am starting grad school and it aint cheap. So instead of smoking 2
bowls a day I might have to do maybe 3 a week.