Habibi Cafe and Gypsy Cafe suppliers

[ashakouri1]

Just wondering if anyone knew who the suppliers of Gypsy Cafe, Habibi Cafe or The Spot was in Los angeles?

Also if someone wants to open up a hookah cafe, where would he be able
to get other supplies to make the food like shwarma, kabob, hummus,
etc. Is a chef necessary or is there pre-packaged material for this?

[wyteboy]

Habibi ma'assel sucks man, it's horrible,  It tastes semi-good for like 10 minutes and then gets horrible harsh.  that's cause they put the coal directly in the center, put a windscreen on top so they never have to come back to your table. their service is awful, that plais is terrible.
Gypsy is diff, their ma'assel will hit solid for around 25-30 mins...never been to the Spot, don't even know where it is.
If you want the best hookah smoke from a restaurant, go to the Rama Geni cafe on Melrose just west of La Cienega.  It is expensive but worth it, their hookah is incredible and so is their chicken sandwich.  Last time I was there I smoke a pineapple/raspeberry/watermelon mix that was a symphony of flavor!

[afrdzak]

Gypsy and Habibi Cafes are right across from each other.  I don't remember which one I went to, but I didn't like it at all.
I'll have to try Rama Geni Cafe.  I just moved up to West LA recently so I'm trying to find some good spots.

[ashakouri1]

The Spot, is located on Ventura Blvd in Encino. The hookah is somewhat
better than Gypsy and Habibi, also the price is a lot less. No $15
minimum per person, or 1 hour limit in seating. Bigger, free parking,
and also a lot of fine armenian girls. Recommend over Habibi, because
at UCLA it is so hard to find parking and at the end of the night the
bill is like $30 for something that costs maybe 0.50 for them. 

[ashakouri1]

I was also thinking about opening one up and wanted to know how
difficult the permits are in getting a hookah shop, and the hassle from
cities since this is 18 and over only. And how I would be able to setup
the food, cause I don't know if a cook is needed or pre packaged
material is just opened and cooked. 

[ashakouri1]

[quote name='wyteboy']Habibi ma'assel sucks man, it's horrible,  It
tastes semi-good for like 10 minutes and then gets horrible
harsh.  that's cause they put the coal directly in the center, put
a windscreen on top so they never have to come back to your table.
their service is awful, that plais is terrible.[/quote]
Is the coal not suppose to be at the center? ALso is is better to have
those metal creens that you put the coal on or have aluminimum foil and
have a lot of small holes in it? ALso is bigger holes better than
smaller holes or vice versa?

[wyteboy]

you are better off "hanging " coal of the sides and moving around the bowl before you place the coal directly in the center

[SMOKE~N~BUBBLZ]

Are those the places in California....i think i went there when i was in teh states....from what i remember they were very average....to comercial.

[afrdzak]

Heh, I haven't even been to one in the middle east yet and I agree with
you, although they have to appeal to the market here.  That's the
way it works.  Can't blame them.  There's actually one in San
Diego that's not so "commercial," Meditteranean Cafe, (Med Cafe for
short).  Although I still don't like the place.

What places are you comparing to btw?

My favorite place in San Diego would be Zodiak.  The owners are
nice, the hookah is good, tea and food is good, belly dancers on the
weekends and the customer base is extremely diverse.

[zdavoz]

I know a place in the ghetto neighborhood of Hollywood. It is not
commercial at all... It's all like old arabic people on sofas and
chairs playing cards and smoking hookah. It's not commercial AT ALL!

If anyone lives in the Los Angeles area and wants the address just ask me and I'll get it for you.

[SMOKE~N~BUBBLZ]

i think they were near the UCLA campus......I thought the hookahs were average and they also put the coals in teh center, i asked for tongs about 6 times to move the coal, i never got them. I used a fork instead. i think they were just trying to get us in and out as soon as possible because it was packed.
The better experience i have had was when i was in egypt, god i smoked my lungs out, i went with a friend for a week. It costs about 25 cents for a hookah at a cafe, so we were getting the tobaccoo changed every half an hour, hell its that cheap just wanted to be smoking fresh stuff.
I also bought back a sh*t load of tobacco and some wierd ass flavours.

[afrdzak]

[quote name='zdavoz']I know a place in the ghetto neighborhood of Hollywood. It is not
commercial at all... It's all like old arabic people on sofas and
chairs playing cards and smoking hookah. It's not commercial AT ALL!

If anyone lives in the Los Angeles area and wants the address just ask me and I'll get it for you.[/quote]

I want the address

[zdavoz]

[quote name='afrdzak']I want the address[/quote]

Here you go.
1707 N Kenmore Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027

And by ghetto, I mean it is really ghetto. They basically give you a
coal holder thing and you put the coals from it onto the hookah
yourself.

[SMOKE~N~BUBBLZ]

 
If you think tahts ghetto....
 
when i was in egypt with a friend we went to a cafe and teh guy was puting teh coals on with his fingers......i asked him to show me his hands and he did....some how he developed thick skin over teh years...it put my friend off of smoking that day....it didnt bother me, hell a blaze is a blaze.

[afrdzak]

good stuff