"Hot as hookah at a home party's Friday night rave."

Well, we weren't at home this time, but we did do hookah last night (although it wasn't much like a rave..)




If you've never tried hookah or if you think you know what it's all about, I encourage you to give it a second or third or even fourth thought. It's this amazing thing that not a lot of people don't prefer (I've de-hookah-virginized many a compadre and not one has disliked it yet; even my stubborn husband has converted).


One of my favorite places to go on the weekend is The Egyptian Cafe & Hooka Bar on Carrollton in Broadripple. It's a great place to go with a big group when you'd like to just chill and chat and chew the fat (I only said that cuz it rhymes).

The Egyptian is legit, my friends. It's one of the only hooka bars/providers in the area (Indianapolis) and from what I've seen of others, it's one of the best.

Imagine a smokey cave where your eyes don't burn and your lungs don't hate you. The "smoke" is basically fruity, misty air and it smells amazing and exotic.

99% of the people that work there are legitimately of the origin of hooka (I don't know where they're actually from and won't pretend to, and no, the answer is not necessarily Egypt, but thanks). Oh, except for the bouncer, this grinning black guy named Jared or Jason or something (he got Cat's number once), and he thinks he a b.a. but we all know the truth, J.

I would tell you who the best waiter is but I've never been told his name and they all look the same, so it wouldn't help any, but he's awesome.









The FOOD is OUTRAGEOUS. My faves = the homemade baklava, and our group always gets a couple things of the homemade pita and hummus (best you've ever had) and the Egyptian fries..holy shmoly so good. They also have Turkish coffee, which they serve on a tray with your own little individual tea set. Beware though, because it's tar, let's be real. Delicious, hot, steamy tar.















Oh, yeah, and of course the hooka is bomb. We usually order 3 bowls for a group of 8 or so and it's enough for 2-3 hours. Last night we ordered the Egyptian Blend (get it. it's a given. a bit more expensive cuz it's a special blend, but worth it.) Apple (tastes like black licorice & no one ever likes it so I'm not sure why we got it actually..) and Strawberry Mint, a mix of 2 basic blends that tastes like candy. The strawberry gives you the fruity delicious flavor and the mint gives a cool, smooth sensation.













My friend Jen took a ton of pics (the ones on here are from the website), so when I get those from her, I'll put them up.




Conclusion: "You can't hate it if you've never tried it." and also, I always "hate" things all the time but who are we to completely give up on anything? Even if you've had a bad experience, try again. I've done that with many things and I'm so glad I did, because I've changed my mind on several occasions and in the end gained something more to be thankful for.




And as for your lungs, etc, it's not like cigarettes, it's more like a pipe, only even better because the power behind hookah is the water in the bowl, making it more of a steam than a smoke, and yes, most have an element of tobacco, but it is minimal. So get over it, already, and experience "all that is good" because I'm telling you, hookah is goooood!! :-) The only thing to prepare for is that you might be a little overwhelmed the first time (I thought I might or might not have been dying that first night) because it is pretty smoky, but a quick step outside takes care of that!





So check it out, see what you think. You never know when you might discover something beautiful.