A good hookah lounge is like a good science experiment—full of flavorful smoke and best enjoyed with a hummus appetizer and a dreamy partner. Treat your senses to savory gases, liquids, and solids with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of hookahs, drinks, and Mediterranean fare at Le Caire Lounge on East Third Street.
Le Caire evokes an international adventure with an opulent display of hookah blends, Mediterranean appetizers and entrees, and drinks. Practice smoky figure eights infused with flavors such as cherry, melon, apricot, and mint ($20/hookah; $25 on Fridays, Saturdays, special events, and holiday eves). As the mellowing vibes of the communal hookah simmer, snack lightly on seasoned hummus and pita bread ($5.95) or settle into a feast of falafel with veggies and tahini dip ($7.95). Vegetarians can munch on grape leaves stuffed with rice and served with yogurt salad ($7.95), and those with skewered proclivities can turn to the kofte kebab of char-grilled beef and lamb spiced with onions and parsley ($15.95).
Le Caire's interior features luscious wine-colored curtains and translucent drapes that send the imagination to distant lands. The two-floored establishment broadcasts theme-appropriate music above the ornate hookahs, which rise from intimate candlelit tables. After 10 p.m. on some Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the ambiance at Le Caire transforms into a nightclub scene, housing dancing fueled by flavorful smoke as well as occasional belly-dancing performances.
Le Caire Lounge
Le Caire Lounge cultivates a chic atmosphere with stylish décor, a menu of Mediterranean dishes, and a full bar dispensing flavorful cocktails and hookahs. Wisps of dancing smoke dissipate into the air, glowing red from the crimson lights of the ceiling and bar, where aircraft beacons take a load off after a hard day's blink. Delicate curtains and palm-tree fronds shiver in the wake of servers ferrying plates of hummus and glasses of wines and cocktails. On weekends, belly dancers gyrate to music from live DJs as visitors lounge on the couch seating or join the shimmying on the dance floor.