Jacksonville: Hookah Capital of Florida

[David]

I've always taken the various hookah lounges that dot our city for granted, so when i'm traveling i'm often surprised there's not always a hookah bar within a short drive.

I believe Casbah was the original hookah lounge in town, but since then it seems they keep popping up in all corners of the city.

You have Casbah, Laylas, Sahara Cafe, Ali Baba & the 40 hookahs, Amsterdamn Hookah Lounge, the cockroach infested/former waffle house Istanbul Grille and now some new one off Bowden Rd named Desert Island which apparently boast a "Jersey Shore" vibe

(check out their facebook, I kid you not: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Desert-Island-Hookah-Bar-Grill/176781172383827)

I know i'm probably forgetting a few but I just wanted to say, this is one amenity our city has that I use quite often. It's a more laid back atmosphere than a bar or club, you can have some good food, or just sip on some tea or turkish coffee and have a casual conversation with your friends while passing around some delicious flavored tobacco.

So sit back, take a puff and relax and enjoy the slow to medium pace that Jacksonville offers. Just make sure you're not flooding your lungs with those wonderful aromas too often, or you'll feel it after awhile

[Tacachale]

Right on. This is one of the best and most distinctive things about Jacksonville nightlife. Hookahs and excellent Mediterranean food are two things you can thank our large and well integrated Arab American population for.

[CG7]

I was at the Casbah last friday, it was really good food, and the hookah's were awesome.

[BridgeTroll]

Luv me some hookah happy hour at Casbah...

[urbanlibertarian]

This may help explain why Jax is the hookah capitol.

From viCARIous: Delis of Riverside Avondale:

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2010-oct-vicarious-delis-of-riverside-avondale

I also learned that, surprisingly, Jacksonville has among the largest Arab Middle Eastern communities on the East Coast.  Many of our neighbors are immigrants and descendents of immigrants who began settling here at the end of the nineteenth century.  Some of the newcomers opened grocery stores, which turned into sandwich shops that sold pita sandwiches, which grew in popularity among the wider Jacksonville population.  As is the case with every American city, immigrants to Jacksonville played a visible role in shaping our food and our culture.  One of the easiest and best ways to witness their cultural influence, enduring ethnic identity, and level of assimilation is still in delis all over town.  Riders, stuff-in-a-sack, and tabbouleh are now markers of identity not just for the Arab community but also for Jacksonville as a whole.  Whatever our background, we all love these now-common locally-offered deli items.

[Lucasjj]

...Desert Island which apparently boast a "Jersey Shore" vibe

(check out the facebook I kid you not: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Desert-Island-Hookah-Bar-Grill/176781172383827)

That is a fairly accurate characterization based off of that Facebook page.

[stephElf]

Pretty cool tidbit on the history of Arab-American influence here in Jax. I always wondered the story behind "The Sheik" and pita-pocket breakfast sammies.

There is also a hookah place at the town center which I find to be hilarious for some reason... it's by West Elm and Louis Vuitton. I haven't actually been to that one.

Layla's - Most relaxed environment, great mediterrean pizzas, well-made hookahs and great service (but I am a regular, so that's easy for me to say)
Casbah - great Happy Hour, best outdoor environment ... sometimes their hookahs taste a bit ashy to me and the coals run out fast, but for the $7 happy hour price and the other favorable qualities it is ok
Istanbul - can be gritty and hot... and if outside, definitely buggy... I actually really really like their hookahs though, wonder what brand tabacco they use and generally, the wait staff is quick and friendly ... they have a 2nd location somewhere off Hecksher I believe
Sahara's - college crowd, great food and hookahs but sometimes I feel a bit too old there and I am not sure what they put in their hookahs, but they can knock you on your ass

STEPH SAYSSSSSS.

[Captain Zissou]

Sahara's - college crowd, great food and hookahs but sometimes I feel a bit too old there and I am not sure what they put in their hookahs, but they can knock you on your ass

Yes.  After a brief stint with a Sahara hookah I felt like I had just been drugged.  That's all I'll say.

[Tacachale]

Sahara's - college crowd, great food and hookahs but sometimes I feel a bit too old there and I am not sure what they put in their hookahs, but they can knock you on your ass

Yes.  After a brief stint with a Sahara hookah I felt like I had just been drugged.  That's all I'll say.

And if you get caught up in the dabkeh line after a few puffs, forget about going to work in the morning.

[Tacachale]

Jacksonville has the tenth largest Arab community in the country (sixth by percentage), and one of the two or three largest communities of Christian Arabs. The first immigration wave came in in the earlier 20th century, and immigration continues today. And the community is very well integrated, producing many notable citizens the likes of Tommy Hazouri, Sam Mousa, Tony Sleiman, the Batehs, the Rukabs, even Rick Mullaney.

I remember when our hookah joints started popping up and thinking it must be some national trend. Then I visited Tampa only to find there were none there. They're still considered fairly "exotic" in other places, but here they're an intrinsic part of our scene. Mediterranean joints are truly one of the gems of Jacksonville.

[simms3]

I do miss the Hookah lounges and Arab food.  I can't even find good pita in my local grocery stores and the only 2 Middle Eastern restaurants near me are the same food you'd get in Jacksonville minus the hookahs and about 5 times as expensive with valet parking and all. 

Brought a hookah home with me when I was 16 and over the course of the next 2 years probably had over 150 get togethers at my house to smoke (we ended up with 3 different hookahs at my house between my sister and I).  It got old real fast after the first half of senior year, but what sounds like harmful fun for teenagers was actually a way to keep us all out of trouble because while we smoked (and maybe snuck some alcohol here and there ) we were actually just playing cards, eating, and talking.  It was either that or go off and do something actually bad.  Hookahs kept us all in a supervised, docile environment and out of trouble, hehe.

[Coolyfett]

Many good times in Five Points/Riverside with the Hookah. I am curious about the smoke and the proper ways of actually smoking. I own two hookahs, but I never use coal on mine and was told it was bad to use flame over coal. Is that smoke shop still in 5 Points??

[thelakelander]

Cool part of Jacksonville's culture.  Sounds like another unique feature of this region that we don't promote.

[thekillingwax]

...Desert Island which apparently boast a "Jersey Shore" vibe

(check out the facebook I kid you not: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Desert-Island-Hookah-Bar-Grill/176781172383827)

That is a fairly accurate characterization based off of that Facebook page.

Hahaha, it's like pure concentrated mook in there. Good lord, that looks horrible.

As far as the shisha making you feel dopey,  I think it's the brands some places use, I kinda doubt they're really adding anything- not very cost effective. We do hookah at home a fair bit, way cheaper than going out to do it and there are a couple of brands that make me feel completely messed up. I'll admit that I've never been high or even drunk before but some flavors of starbuzz seriously make the room spin, especially if the windows aren't open, I honestly don't know what drug/effect you could compare it to but it's not a very pleasant sensation to me. It doesn't effect my wife as much though but sometimes all I can do after a bowl is just lay down and sleep it off. I usually smoke Romman, Nakhla or Al Fakher because I like a stronger tobacco taste, some of these others just taste like smoking pure sugar.

I'm fairly sure Istanbul Grille uses Nakhla tobacco, or at least that's what they had on display when I went, but that's been a while back.

[simms3]

Wow, I just realized that I bought coals and shisha straight from the Casbah and only bought coals from a store once.  They came in plastic containers like Tupperware, so aside from the coals I could not tell what brand I used to smoke.