Over the weekend, I had the chance to go to a local hookah bar in Encino called The Spot. The purpose of this blog is to get a sense of the different Persian cultural aspects of music, dance, food, and of course hookah. On the side note, I am analyzing Persian Americans within their environment that occasionally go to The Spot as a social pastime. The reason I am doing this is for my paper # 2 topic that will discuss the relevance of Iranian immigration/acculturation with traditional/Americanized hookah bars that influence Iranian American’s perception of hookah. My assumption before going to this place was that there would be a Middle Eastern crowd predominantly Persian because the location is in Encino. The lounge itself is located within a shopping center that is both indoor and outdoor. It has a unique ambiance and decorative style with Persian rugs laid out for those who want to get cozy. Couple of my friends requested to be seated on these comfortable rugs with pillows that looked like they were from the Middle East. Glancing over the dinner menu, we were glad we came with empty stomachs because the food at this hookah lounge looked fantastic. I ordered the beef kebab plate that came with rice and grilled tomatoes and green peppers. The food and service was excellent. After we were all done eating, the waiter brought the hookah menu and started speaking Farsi with us because we looked Persian. With his Persian American accent, he asked what flavor we would like and gave a few recommendations as well as the house special. We ordered Starbuzz Pirate’s Cave and Code-69 with mint. The waiter asked us if we would like a flip head for our hookah that was an additional 10 dollars. Basically, a flip-head doesn’t have charcoals touching the foil but in close proximity. The packed shisha head is in a upside down head that is adjusted by a knob that increases or decreases the height from the charcoals. Although we didn’t get this option on our hookah, we had an amazing hookah that neither burned nor died out quickly. The combination of these three flavors felt like I was smoking green skittles with a hint of mint. The best part of our night at The Spot had to be the Persian Mint tea. I am a big fan of tea and I have to admit the tea was excellent due to the Nane (Mint) that was added to the tea. The music was a mixture of Persian to Arabic songs that the crowd was familiar with. However, they did play hip-hop music from time to time. If I were to rate this hookah lounge out of a 10 I would give it a score of 7.5. One aspect of the lounge that I did not like was the seating. I felt to close to other people. Other than that I would recommend this place to anyone who wants to drive down to Encino for some hookah.
Monday, March 3, 2014
My Journey to the Hookah Bar
Over the weekend, I had the chance to go to a local hookah bar in Encino called The Spot. The purpose of this blog is to get a sense of the different Persian cultural aspects of music, dance, food, and of course hookah. On the side note, I am analyzing Persian Americans within their environment that occasionally go to The Spot as a social pastime. The reason I am doing this is for my paper # 2 topic that will discuss the relevance of Iranian immigration/acculturation with traditional/Americanized hookah bars that influence Iranian American’s perception of hookah. My assumption before going to this place was that there would be a Middle Eastern crowd predominantly Persian because the location is in Encino. The lounge itself is located within a shopping center that is both indoor and outdoor. It has a unique ambiance and decorative style with Persian rugs laid out for those who want to get cozy. Couple of my friends requested to be seated on these comfortable rugs with pillows that looked like they were from the Middle East. Glancing over the dinner menu, we were glad we came with empty stomachs because the food at this hookah lounge looked fantastic. I ordered the beef kebab plate that came with rice and grilled tomatoes and green peppers. The food and service was excellent. After we were all done eating, the waiter brought the hookah menu and started speaking Farsi with us because we looked Persian. With his Persian American accent, he asked what flavor we would like and gave a few recommendations as well as the house special. We ordered Starbuzz Pirate’s Cave and Code-69 with mint. The waiter asked us if we would like a flip head for our hookah that was an additional 10 dollars. Basically, a flip-head doesn’t have charcoals touching the foil but in close proximity. The packed shisha head is in a upside down head that is adjusted by a knob that increases or decreases the height from the charcoals. Although we didn’t get this option on our hookah, we had an amazing hookah that neither burned nor died out quickly. The combination of these three flavors felt like I was smoking green skittles with a hint of mint. The best part of our night at The Spot had to be the Persian Mint tea. I am a big fan of tea and I have to admit the tea was excellent due to the Nane (Mint) that was added to the tea. The music was a mixture of Persian to Arabic songs that the crowd was familiar with. However, they did play hip-hop music from time to time. If I were to rate this hookah lounge out of a 10 I would give it a score of 7.5. One aspect of the lounge that I did not like was the seating. I felt to close to other people. Other than that I would recommend this place to anyone who wants to drive down to Encino for some hookah.
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