Hookah cafe and flavor for every taste

By Michael Villasenor
Published: Wednesday, August 18, 2004

It's about midnight. Outside of Leavey Library sits a group of five students around what appears to be a tall, large bong-shaped item with several long tubes coming out of it. Some students passing by might wonder and inquire about what it is they're doing, only to receive a one-word reply: hookah.

The origins of hookah can be traced back to India and Iran, but it was ultimately perfected in the mid-17th century in Turkey, when it was a large part of the coffee shop culture. Today, this age-old pastime has proliferated beyond college campuses to cafes and restaurants. While there are no places around campus, the nearest hookah cafes can be found in Westwood near the University of California, Los Angeles.

Habibi Hookah Lounge on Broxton Avenue in downtown Westwood, is a place to enjoy both food and hookah. When it opened in 2001, the cafe didn't have many patrons. But word soon spread, and Habibi eventually became one of Westwood's more popular attractions for both students and adults.

Habibi mainly caters to a student crowd by offering discounts for hookah and food, and occasionally bringing in belly dancers and DJs to pump up the volume. With their own disco ball and strobe lights, Habibi doubles as a small night club on the weekends.

The café gets busy during the school year, when USC and UCLA students pack the tables, and from the outside it has a very upscale appearance, partly from its black, sophisticated awnings. Once inside though, it's clear that Habibi is not a snobby, upscale restaurant but rather a place for everyone. It has both indoor and outdoor seating and offers outdoor heat lamps for colder weather as well as indoor fans for the warmer days. Each table features a small, yet elegant single candle centerpiece, making it a great place for an intimate dinner date.

The café has just three walls, giving it an open-air feeling. Inside, patrons can find plush, comfortable couches garnished with leopard-print pillows.

The north wall is painted a light pink and is ornately decorated with personalized graffiti: Habibi Hookah Bar is printed in the center, with "my love" translated in different languages painted around it. This love mural was inspired by the word "habibi," which in Arabic means "my love."

The café has a wide variety of hookah tobaccos, including margarita and piña colada, priced at $7.

"It's nice to smoke after a long day's work. It really relaxes me after studying," said Robin Milosevic, a sophomore at UCLA.

By the end of August, the café will also have a bar and a VIP section.

Across the street from the Habibi Café is another hookah bar: the Gypsy Café.

The dark, wooden exterior at the Gypsy Café gives it a classy look and feel, matching perfectly with its mellow gold interior.

The windows feature dark, ruby-red drapes, letting in just enough light to give the interior a nice glow.

The café offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and caters to private parties.

The Gypsy Café mainly serves Mediterranean food, but also offers pizzas, soups and sandwiches. They have more than 21 different kinds of flavored hookah tobacco, including strawberry and cherry, starting at $12. Like Habibi, the Gypsy Café also offers sidewalk seating.

Aside from the good food and friendly service, perhaps the most memorable thing about the Gypsy Café is its beautiful stained glass light fixtures.

Before heading out to Westwood for a first hookah experience, there is a set of unspoken rules of "hookah etiquette," that patrons should be aware of.

Never pass the pipe to somebody; instead, lay it down on the table and let the other person pick it up.

When packing the bowl, sprinkle the tobacco rather than stamping it in. If the tobacco is packed too tight, the hookah will not smoke well.

For the adventurous hookah smokers, mixing tobacco flavors can make for new and tasteful combinations, like apple-mint or strawberry-grape.

If storing hookah at home, keep the tobacco in airtight containers to keep it from drying up. Another key: the more charcoal, the thicker the smoke but the faster the tobacco will burn.

Less charcoal means lighter smoke and longer-lasting tobacco. As a general rule, always make sure that the end of the pipe is submerged about an inch in the liquid.

Habibi Café and Gypsy Café are both great places to enjoy hookah. While Westwood might seem far to some, these two places are well worth the drive. Following the hookah rules will ensure a foolproof and fun hookah experience.

The Habibi Café is located at 923 Broxton Ave. Call (310) 824-2277 for more information.
The Gypsy Café is located at 940 Broxton Ave. Call (310) 824-2119 for more information.