Hooka_bears Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Maybe it is just me, and the hookah lounges sense I'm coming in and purposely give me bad hookahs, but every hookah bar I go to really have no idea what they are doing. I don't know how some of these places even get people to come smoke there hookah.I get the hookah, no name with a small ass egyptian bowl with 2 coals barely even staying on the bowl its so small. Take the first pull, almost die choking, so I wait for like 10 minutes hoping the server comes by (might i add theres 2 ppl in the hookah bar, and the server is nowhere to be found. When he comes i ask him to take one off (tongs arent given to us) and he says if only 1 is on it won't smoke well. I tell him its harsh and he says to wait and it will eventually get better. I threw my money on the table and left...This was the worse I've had, but how do these places stay in business. And the prices, WTF! 20 for a small bowl, 23 med and 25 large??? 30 for a fruit bowl and 40 for the "special" mix in a pineapple bowl? It bewilders me.Anyways, maybe hookah bars suck around me... what about you guys?./endrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 well...the hookah bar i go to has been in business long enough for their "hookah person" to know how to pack the tobacco they normally serve (AF and SB)...however, when I brought them Nakhla and Tangiers Lucid so I could have some of my own shisha to smoke...they tried to pack it like they do with AF/SB. It didn't smoke as well, so I talked to TJ, "the hookah person" and showed her how I set up my bowl. After that, she packs my bowls the way I normally would.I guess it helps that everyone that works in that bar is a friend of mine. But, even if they weren't...I would tell whoever is packing the bowl, that it didn't turn out good. Then either have them re-do it or pack it how you would like. After all, it is YOUR money.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingsMaster Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 the hookah bar i used to go to before all the good servers left always packed me great bowls, gotta love real middle eastern run hookah bars lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcbayern Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 QUOTE (RingsMaster @ Jul 23 2009, 02:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>the hookah bar i used to go to before all the good servers left always packed me great bowls, gotta love real middle eastern run hookah bars lolWell I dont know about that.. there are two HB's around me and the one who's owner is from Lebanon has crappy smokin bowls. The other one (which where I go to smoke when I want the HB experience) is owned and run by a cuban guy..Hey Jay,, TJ has packed your bowl thats cool if your into it.. Have you ever packed hers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhineholt Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 QUOTE (Hooka_bears @ Jul 23 2009, 01:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Maybe it is just me, and the hookah lounges sense I'm coming in and purposely give me bad hookahs, but every hookah bar I go to really have no idea what they are doing. I don't know how some of these places even get people to come smoke there hookah.I get the hookah, no name with a small ass egyptian bowl with 2 coals barely even staying on the bowl its so small. Take the first pull, almost die choking, so I wait for like 10 minutes hoping the server comes by (might i add theres 2 ppl in the hookah bar, and the server is nowhere to be found. When he comes i ask him to take one off (tongs arent given to us) and he says if only 1 is on it won't smoke well. I tell him its harsh and he says to wait and it will eventually get better. I threw my money on the table and left...This was the worse I've had, but how do these places stay in business. And the prices, WTF! 20 for a small bowl, 23 med and 25 large??? 30 for a fruit bowl and 40 for the "special" mix in a pineapple bowl? It bewilders me.Anyways, maybe hookah bars suck around me... what about you guys?./endrantI had the same problem. Except it was 10 per person and we had about 5 people. It was ridiculous. The only good thing about it was that it had unlimited refills so i could just ask for another flavor when it got harsh, which was around every 5 min. They didn't give us tongs either and had three, THREE quick lights shoved on there. I was just tempted to knock it off with my hand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcalsmoker Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 All the hookah bars I have been to burn the shit out of the bowls. I have to bring my own tongs if I actually want to have an enjoyable session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoapplesplease Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 only been to one but they had no clue to what the hell they were doing.First the hookah water levels were way to low just barley under the water witch made it almost impossible to draw from.then they packed a combo bowl way to loose and threw on one 40mm quiklite closed and latched the lid and gave you no tongs.And told you not to tuch it so as to not drop coals on the carpet.Worst thin harsh smoke with no draw ever.No onder there out of bussiness now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
combs08 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Geez, and I thought mine was kinda bad. Mine at least give you tongs but there is this one guy there who acts like he knows it all yet puts a quicklite in the CENTER of the bowl. So, I move it with the tongs that they give us (thank goodness) and then he comes around and MOVES IT BACK! And then I asked him if he knew what kind of brand this is and he gave me a weird look and said "I don't know". He acted as if the brand didn't matter......yeaaaaaa... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinamon Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 QUOTE (RingsMaster @ Jul 23 2009, 07:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>the hookah bar i used to go to before all the good servers left always packed me great bowls, gotta love real middle eastern run hookah bars loli dont think the person's culture really matters. it all comes down to if the person is willing to learn or if they care at all.i find that i know more about hookahs than most middle eastern people ive met around here so i know that the person's culture does not matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codename067 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I stopped going to hookah bars a very long time ago.Half of those people that pack don't know shit, and 90% of the customers are blown away by how "nice" their hookah is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobiasKM Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) Well, there's one where i live, which is rubbish.. They definitely have no clue.But I went to one when i was in Hamburg, Germany recently, and that was brilliant, at least to me. Compared to what I've been doing myself, it was a lot better.. When I all of a sudden know how it is supposed to taste, I realise what shit I've been putting together forever now.. It's actually the reason i ended up on his forum, because i wanted to know how to do it properly.. The lounge in Hamburg was called.. Kara Tren or something to that effect. Supposedly it means "Dark Train" in Turkish I believe. I don't know what they used, but we got grape and melon shisha and it tasted great. The grape tasted somewhat of "Skittles" which is by no means a criticism coming from me They claimed the shisha was something they made themselves, but I don't know about that? :b Might've just been to brag. Edited July 23, 2009 by TobiasKM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vpnikolov Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) Damn,hookah lounges are expensive in the US.In my country 1 hookah costs like 6-7 dollars or so,no mather how many people there are.And they manage the packing quite well.One bowl lasts around 40 minutes to an hour.And a refill costs the same as ordering a hookah. Edited July 23, 2009 by vpnikolov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joytron Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 yeah there is a hookah bar in long beach and they can pack a pretty good bowl. The guy who runs it apparently isn't liked all that much by his coal people so there is always a new one, which kinda hit and miss. I just always make sure to ask for a pair of tongs which eliminates that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NarghileNights Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 damn.. you guys need to come to Cololorado.We have Hookah House in boulder and of course Narghile Nights in fort collins. Out of all of the lounges I have been to, Hookah House is the only lounge I'm okay with smoking at other than the Narg.I'm sorry you have shitty owners.. tell them about HF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svaals Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Our hookah bar is pretty nice. A Lebanese guy runs it, and he charges 10 dollars for an egyptian, 12 for mixed flavors. They smoke pretty well, he just uses nasty QLs. The atmosphere is cool, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srawas89 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 The one I go it is really nice. They use KM pears and egyptian heads. THey serve AF for 8.99 and SB for 10.99. I know the owner personally and he and his staff know how to pack bowls. When I dont feel like preparing my own hookah or I dont have a place to chill with friends we go down there and have a good time. They dont mess around they know their shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingsMaster Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 QUOTE (srawas89 @ Jul 23 2009, 06:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>The one I go it is really nice. They use KM pears and egyptian heads. THey serve AF for 8.99 and SB for 10.99. I know the owner personally and he and his staff know how to pack bowls. When I dont feel like preparing my own hookah or I dont have a place to chill with friends we go down there and have a good time. They dont mess around they know their shit.thats always good to hear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuie Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 90% of the places I have been haven't been worth the trouble. Few exceptions new what they were doing. But close ones are 2 hours away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ih303 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 QUOTE (Codename067 @ Jul 23 2009, 01:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Half of those people that pack don't know shit, and 90% of the customers are blown away by how "nice" their hookah is.I hear that. At the lounge I used to work at, we used to get people asking what happened to our "big" hookahs (which were cheap and crappy social smoke specials). I had replaced them all with QT's which IMO are way better than the chinese knockoffs in every regard. It's amazing how so many people only care about image. We had a similar response when we swapped out some non-washable, leopard print hoses with the AF healthy hoses.The lounge I worked at was good when my GF and I were running it. People used to come in from all around to talk "shop" with us because we actually had taken the time to learn about our products, and spent a good deal of time on the forums. After we got let go because the owners didn't want to have to pay us, it went back into the hands of the owner who knows next to nothing about hookah/shisha and only cares about her social life. A lot of our regulars called us after they found out what had happened and told us they would not be going back. So it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_rabbit Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 (edited) In my area there are 4 lounges and only one of them being awesome. I am a reg at the only good one. The other places have shit tobacco (imo) burn everything, and it tastes like bar nuts and lysol. The good place... well damn its good. wide variety of tobacco...nakhla, af, sb, tang, al amir, layalina, romman, fusion, hydro, and saalaam.... and i am trying to smoke all of it... i think it has 100 flavs on the menu...the only one to use natural charcoal...they use exoticas...the hookahs are all Mya..no shitty chinese knockoffs...and the owner is awesome... he is actually just some young college kid but he knows his shit. lol i guess to answer the question - this hookah lounge know exactly what they are doing...hands down best bar ive been to...prices are good too...10 for standard flavs and 12 for exotic flavs...some might go oh thats expensive... not if the bowl lasts 2 hours lol... and its a nice lounge...pool table, juke box, game machines...just a nice environment. 10/10 best. Edited July 24, 2009 by white_rabbit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delSol_si Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I have never been to a hookah lounge/bar. I go to college in southeast missouri and they only have ONE hookah bar near by and I have heard you have to eat their in order to smoke hookah and that the food is good, but quite expensive. I will definitely be checking it out once I go back in August. Depending on how cool the guy is and how good or bad his hookahs and baccy is, I am thinking about taking my hookah, shisha, and coals in, asking if I can just smoke my own stuff but pay his fee. If the hookah side of his restaurant is big enough maybe if he sees that I somewhat know hookah, maybe I could get a job there. I doubt it, but it is always nice to hope and dream . I think working at a hookah lounge would be one of the coolest things ever. The only problem is that I am constantly managing my heat, ashing the coals, moving them around and such, so it would be hard for me to just set someone up with a hookah without keeping a constant eye on it. I am just now getting to the point where I am able to leave the coals alone for a bit and still keep the bowl going good. I have noticed using a foil windcover works really well.I live in Springfield, IL during the summer and I have found that the closest hookah bar is in Peoria which is a good hour and a half or so away and I don't even know if it is any good.Regarding them not giving you tongs...just use your keys. Almost everyone these days carries keys on them. hell, you have to if you are driving. Sometimes during school I would forget to bring my tongs with me. I just take two keys and use them as tongs. It is kinda hard at first, but you get used to it. Of course it is not as easy, but it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RingsMaster Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 QUOTE (ih303 @ Jul 24 2009, 09:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>QUOTE (Codename067 @ Jul 23 2009, 01:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Half of those people that pack don't know shit, and 90% of the customers are blown away by how "nice" their hookah is.I hear that. At the lounge I used to work at, we used to get people asking what happened to our "big" hookahs (which were cheap and crappy social smoke specials). I had replaced them all with QT's which IMO are way better than the chinese knockoffs in every regard. It's amazing how so many people only care about image. We had a similar response when we swapped out some non-washable, leopard print hoses with the AF healthy hoses.The lounge I worked at was good when my GF and I were running it. People used to come in from all around to talk "shop" with us because we actually had taken the time to learn about our products, and spent a good deal of time on the forums. After we got let go because the owners didn't want to have to pay us, it went back into the hands of the owner who knows next to nothing about hookah/shisha and only cares about her social life. A lot of our regulars called us after they found out what had happened and told us they would not be going back. So it goes.yeah i know how your regulars felt lol i used to go to a great bar before all the people who knew what they were doing left due to managers and owners being selfish, i want to open a bar so bad and do it up right. of money where art thou lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
combs08 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 QUOTE (delSol_si @ Jul 24 2009, 03:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Regarding them not giving you tongs...just use your keys. Almost everyone these days carries keys on them. hell, you have to if you are driving. Sometimes during school I would forget to bring my tongs with me. I just take two keys and use them as tongs. It is kinda hard at first, but you get used to it. Of course it is not as easy, but it works.That's what I did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpimpitox Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 hahaha the old key technique i used to use at Kan Zaman in SF. They would give us our own tongs (we were really tight with the employee's owners) but at times we would forget. I remember accidently droppin a coal on some hot chick...def not the ice breaker i was lookin for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
combs08 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 QUOTE (xpimpitox @ Jul 24 2009, 09:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>hahaha the old key technique i used to use at Kan Zaman in SF. They would give us our own tongs (we were really tight with the employee's owners) but at times we would forget. I remember accidently droppin a coal on some hot chick...def not the ice breaker i was lookin for!At least you got her all hot! ........FAIL............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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