Shisha | CigarCraig's Blog

On Sunday my wife and I decided to visit the Cozy Hookah and Cigar Lounge in nearby West Chester, PA. We had only recently heard about this place, through Dealyo, one of the social shopping sites that are gaining popularity (Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.). Jenn had purchased a $30 coupon for $15 and we decided to check it out for lunch. The lounge is along one of the main, historic streets of West Chester, where a lot of the bars and restaurants are located, and they are open every day from 10 am to 4 am, so they get really busy after the bars close. There are couches with pillows, a VIP room in the back, and they have theme nights. A very comfortable place.

When we walked into the empty lounge we were greeted by Alex, who gave us a tour of the place, and set us up with a hookah and a plate of hummus and pita, which was delicious. We also had some Moroccan tea and a plate of Buffalo wings. As I had said in my last post, we were considering going on Saturday night, when they have a belly dancer and DJ, but I’m glad we went when it was quiet and we had room to relax and stretch out a little. As far as the smoking experience goes, smoking a hookah is not very different from smoking a cigar. Both are fairly social activities, and are about the flavor of the smoke. It was quite enjoyable and I was pleased to find that my wife thought it was as well.

The owner, Mahrous, joined us for a while and told us how he got started with a restaurant in Greenwich Village with his brother, and how a friend asked if he could smoke his hookah in the back yard (I’m envisioning a garden or terrace with seating) since he couldn’t smoke it at home. Patrons of the restaurant asked to try it after while and it caught on there, and the hookah lounge was born. Fast forward twenty five years and he opened the lounge in West Chester.

My wife and I spent about 3 hours, a couple hookahs of (don’t laugh) Cherry Coke flavored shisha, another pot of Egyptian green tea (delicious, by the way) and a La Gloria Cubana Serie N in the lounge and a few people came and went, but it was a Sunday afternoon and the local college isn’t in session. Certainly the name “Cozy” is appropriate, and it’s nice to have a place that you can take your wife and enjoy a cigar and everyone’s happy. I can see meeting friends here for a smoke (cigar or hookah), and a quiet evening of conversation, at least during the quieter times, and I probably will organize something in the not too distant future. Kudos to Mahrous for opening a “smoking” establishment in this day and age, and having the community’s support in doing so.