Well… Interesting night last night. Thanks to a Northern friend of mine, I was introduced to the Hookah. So last night a friend and I headed out to Hookah Joes located in Asheville. We decided to hit the happy hour with half priced hookahs, and a very nice selection of beer. It was quiet when we walked in into this sub basement establishment. Matter of fact there was only two other people there other than the bartender. This gave us plenty of time to talk about the Hookah Bar a little, and it’s club prices. This seemed odd at first, but NC has a law that says that if a bar does not serve food or makes more money on liquor than food it must be considered a club, or face heavy fees. So Joe’s charges a simple $3 to become a member for the year, this keeps you from having to pay the $1 entry fee for non club members have to pay each time they visit. so for $3 bucks we scooped up a membership figuring I would probably use it at least to more times this year, and wouldn’t have to worry about finding a member to sign me in as a guest.
So once we went through the details it was time to get the hookah ready. Joes has a huge selection of flavors of some really nice tobacco. It was pretty difficult to choose, but we finally agreed on a mixture of Arabian Coffee and Butterscotch. The butterscotch was a real nice compliment to the coffee as it smoothed it out, and the coffee kept the butterscotch from being overly sweet.
By the time we finished our first hookah, the place was buzzing. I would say at least 30 of the patrons were first time smokers. So the hookah tender (whatever they are called), assisted each group with getting theirs started with a brief education. He seemed pretty knowledgeable, and knew his tobaccos, wines and beers well. About 50% of the smokers were what I call retro-cyber-beatnicks, while the remainder was a mix of your typical Ashevillians.
So it was time for our second hookah, this time we tried something much smoother, and I would have to say very relaxing. Hazelnut and Pistachio. This was clearly our favorite, so we settled into our low cushioned sofas, and enjoyed the nutty flavors of this awesome blend.
Hookah Joes is a great place to just come in and relax. There is no smoking, well except the hookahs, which is a very clean smoke, and disipates quickly. The crowd is friendly, and the place just has a great feel to it. So if your ever in Asheville, make sure you stop in for some after dinner cocktails, and a Hookah.
Be sure to check out the live webcam on Fri and Sat nights after 8, for an inside look into the establishment
Related posts:
Recent Comments