Living and breathing the hookah culture
Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times
Alfonso “Abou Salim” Ramirez prepares a hookah for customers at Phoenicia restaurant in Glendale. His fiercely loyal clients say he’s “the best” at preparing the traditional Middle Eastern pipe filled with fruit-flavored tobacco.
Alfonso ‘Abou Salim’ Ramirez has mastered the art of preparing Middle Eastern tobacco pipes, even carving trendy bowls out of fruit. The Mexican immigrant dreams of visiting Lebanon someday.
Standing outside his hookah station at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Glendale, Alfonso “Abou Salim” Ramirez grabbed a red apple and, using a sharp knife, sliced off the top. He flipped the apple over and made four quick incisions, creating a small square.
“This is my secret,” Ramirez said, jabbing a finger into the square to pop out the core. He then stuffed red, apple-flavored tobacco into the hole and covered it with a piece of tin foil.
“I love when I’m doing this,” he said as he carefully poked holes in the foil with a toothpick. “I forget my problems. I forget everything.”