Smoking hookah/shisha has become the new trend in New York City. Almost everywhere now has pipes, whether you are a lounge, club etc. Being an avid smoker for 10+ years, I try to check out the "hot" spots in New York as often as I can, which in my case tends to be more then likely daily.
If you are from New York, or even if you are not, everyone knows the place to smoke is in Astoria - Steinway Street. I try to stay as loyal as I can to certain places, but I also enjoy venturing out to new place and experience new flavors, ambiances, environments.
I might be biased but there are my top five places in NYC that I would recommend smoking any day of the week:
1. Firdos Cafe & Grill - Astoria, NY
2. Horus - Avenue B, New York
3. Layali Dubai - Astoria, NY
4. Layali Beirut - Astoria, NY
5. Dandana - Astoria, NY
1 . Firdos - If you are a paan masala smoker like me, hand down in my opinion the BEST paan masala in NYC. Also, Persian Sands, Lemon Bomb flavors are a MUST try. I recommend getting food while you are there, try their joojeh kebab with rice, chicken makhni, and chicken pakoras - Good stuff. The staff is friendly and being at Firdos is like being at home. Average hookah cost $10-25 dollar. There is no alcohol served her and food is 100% halal.
2. Ahhh Horus - If you want to be in a more club/loungy scene, Horus on Avenue B and 6th Street is the place to go. I love Alphabet City and Horus, this place never fails. A bit pricey, but then again you are in New York City after all. During the week, average hookah is between $18-25 dollars, also their food is very good for a city lounge. They do serve alcohol here and on Friday and Saturday the minimum charge per person is $30, which can be used towards your food, drinks, or hookah/shisha. Not a bad deal. I like this place because their music is very good, they have belly dancers and a saxophone player on the weekends. The staff are very accommodating and very nice. I recommend grape with mint shisha, watermelon with mint, double apple with mint.
3. Back in Astoria - Yes 4 out of my top five picks are in Astoria. If you loveeee Arabic music as I do
