Cigarette and Tobacco News:

Living and breathing the hookah culture

Read Complete Article: Los Angeles Times, 2009-06-01
Author: Raja Abdulrahim

Summary:

Having perfected his skills for making tobacco bowls out of fruit, Ramirez, 43, has made a name for himself as the go-to hookah guy in Los Angeles' Middle Eastern community. . . .

He came into the U.S. from Mexico in 1999. But he eventually obtained a work permit with the help of his employer, Phoenicia restaurant owner Ara Kalfayan. Now Ramirez is applying for an EB-3 visa reserved for "skilled workers."

On his application, under job description, Ramirez wrote: nargileh specialist. As his sponsor, Kalfayan wrote in the petition letter that Ramirez's "services are eminent for the success of our restaurant and the service provided to our patrons."

Immigration officials had never heard of such a job description, Ramirez said.

Soon after arriving in California, the former carpenter and factory worker found a job as a busboy at Alcazar, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Encino. . . .

Using fruit to make hookahs is common in parts of the Middle East but relatively rare in the United States, said George Egho, owner of Glendale-based www.thehookah.com, which sells pipe supplies.

"They do it in the Middle East all the time," Egho said. "It's pretty trendy."

One day Ramirez walked into the restaurant's kitchen and grabbed an apple. That's when he began experimenting

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