John-Michael Del Valle’s Blog

Last night we decided to take a small trip out to a hookah bar. When I say small trip I mean an hour drive out to Boca Raton. Derek has a friend who works their and invite us out to go check it out.

Nikki, Derek, Mike, and I decided that we’d all go together in one car. Unfortunately I-95 N was congested and took a little over an hour to get there. I will say that too get there is really easy once your on 95. Nikki had put together a playlist for the car ride and made the time go by much faster even though she ended up playing individual tracks towards the end.

Alright so we didn’t have much of an idea of what this place was going to be like except that it had hookahs. I didn’t find out till I was looking for directions that the place served beer. We walked in and was totally surprised that the place was completely packed and was located in small strip mall. The decor expressed a very relaxed tone with tons of art work on the wall, the traditional buddha statues around but not over done, couches with pillows, tall tables with stools, hookahs at the center of most tables, stage at front entrance, and even a small LCD with the recognizable  iTunes Visualizer.  I will say when we first walked in Mike and I had that sort of awkward moment inside realizing not really a location for a group of four around. We walked towards the back of the place where the bar was located. Derek introduced us to his friend who was working and she ended up making room for us at the bar.

I will admit that most of the day I wasn’t in the best of moods considering I hadn’t slept well at all and stayed up late finishing up the last part of MGS4 and ended up beating the game. My first opinion was that this was a pretty groovy place but really desired a table of some sort and not be uncomfortably placed at the bar. My suggestion is that if you plan to visit plan ahead and expect to wait for a table.

Once I sat down I got a hold of the menu. I had not planned to drink but if I was going to continue sitting on one of the most uncomfortable bar stools for awhile I definitely needed one. This is what surprised me most about the place, the wide selection of beers. I will say that theirs not much on tap maybe 10 or so beers on tap. They do have a large selection of micro brews in bottles, around 50 or so. Being in the state I was in I really wanted to play it safe and go ahead with my favorite beer, Schneider’s Wiesen Edel-Weisse. Mike started off with a Dragon Stout, Nikki with her favorite as well Rogue Hazel Nut, & Derek with a raspberry wheat beer. One thing I did notice about being behind the bar was that some of their beer selections were out.

One drink that stood out throughout the whole night was the idea of a beer float. The idea was so basic but never had thought of it. We saw one being made and wow did it look good. I considered the thought of ordering it but would have to prepare myself for something like that and it just wasn’t the right night. With the large amount of beer available the Tea & Coffee selection was double that. This would explain the sign at the door exclaiming now open at 11 am & Free Wireless. This could definitely be a great spot to hang out with some friends to get some coffee or tea during the middle of the day.

The last major highlight of the night was the hookah. With Mike and I owning multiple hookahs we came to agree that going to a hookah lounge means trying new things or flavors we’d probably not traditionally try or mix. The first mix was orange mint. being a rather simple mixture I was up for it since I never had owned orange to mix with mint. It was a great start and extremely refreshing and smooth. Luckily 5min into getting the hookah we found an open table. After being on a frustrating bar stool for around an hour it was paradise being able to lean back and sit with the hookah. The light buzz of the hookah really transformed the night for me.

At around 12:30 we decided to finish off the night with a dessert hookah as I called it. Too be honest she had recommended something earlier and we agreed it’d be a good mix for the end of the night. I want to say it was Seven Spice, Chocolate, & Coconut or Irish Cream, Chocolate, & Coconut. The mix was a perfect blend which had a great after taste of coconut and taste as if you were smoking a dessert.

Overall the atmosphere was great. The service was exceptional but could say we had a bias view since we had a friend taking care of us. The music was a the perfect level where you could still hear the person sitting in front of you perfectly yet still understand the words too the song (extremely rare anywhere we go it seems). The people who were around us were extremely respectful but also turned out that one of the guys who ended up next to us was in the same frat Mike was in UCF. Yet even with all the groups of people around drinking no group was disturbingly loud or laughing outrageously. I don’t know if that had to do with the type of people in Boca or the actual chill atmosphere the place presents.

At the end of the night it was sad too leave because such a great location is so far away. Mike and I were discussing how a place like that would do fantastic in Miami if locate properly. The hookah bars in Miami aren’t the best places but have become extremely trendy with the best one located on Lincoln Road now. If I ever had extra money in life to start something new just for fun I’d totally create something like The Funky Buddha. The place where I’d place something like that would be in Kendall region and something a little out of the way where it would keep out of the mainstream eye. In other words I wouldn’t place in a high traffic mall or beach location. Somewhere parking would not be an issue and not clock watch the whole night worried about parking bill.

This will be a place we plan on visiting again. Not something we’d visit frequently for obvious reasons (gas & distance). Yet hey a large beer selection, hookah, chill atmosphere, & tons of tea and coffee. Not to mention open till 2 am everyday.

Technorati Tags: Hookah, Hookah Bar, Hookah Lounge, The Funky Buddha

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