Cheech and Chong would surely weep with delight from the potential of the hookah, a clarge colorful water pipe with ancient roots. However, the bowls of these beauties are meant for smoking only tobacco.

In the eclectic style of Pacific Beach, locals were able to join the party recently with the opening of Sinbad Café Hookah Bar, 1050 Garnet Ave.

"We wanted to create a fun hang out and an alternative to smoke," said Firas Haddad, who owns the business with his brother Rafid. "This is someplace where you can relax and have fun. While cigarettes provide you with a nicotine fix, the hookah is more of a social fix."

Filled with a blend of colors and textures, Sinbad Café creates a dizzying effect that is altogether inviting. The atmosphere belies a Middle Eastern feel with hookahs dotting the landscape, snakes and lizards greeting customers through a glass case at the bar and oversized fish tanks holding some unusual specimens. Everybody smokes here, according to the caricatures painted on the wall, including one of the master and namesake Sinbad.

Behind a closed door lies The Hookah Lounge, which leads to a large outdoor patio and wafting through the air a light, sweet smell.

"With a hookah, the tobacco itself only has half a percent of nicotine and some only have two tenths - with zero tar," Haddad said. "That nicotine gets filtered in this jug of water, so you are getting not much nicotine at all. Molasses, honey or fruit are what else is in the tobacco, so what you're really smoking is the sugar."

After selecting standard or premium tobacco, patrons are tempted with 30 flavors or they can blend together different tastes. Sinbad Apple remains the favorite. The large-sized portions may be enjoyed alone or with friends.

The hookah, also known as narghile, traces its roots back 500 years to Turkey. It became a social pursuit with the rise of public coffee houses and widespread acceptance of tobacco. Today, hookah smokers can be found in Europe, Africa, Asia and ever increasingly in the United States.

"Hookah bars are starting to crop up here and there - nothing with our concept though. We are a little different. We have our own line of cigars," Haddad said. "We have our own line of coffee, where we import our own beans and roast them here locally."

The café offers a dozen beers on tap, including their own Sinbad Red Ale, several wines, espresso, cappuccino, latte and mocha drinks. Try the Sinbad Citrus, a blend of chocolate, milk, orange juice, ice, topped with whipped cream and chocolate. They serve salads, sandwiches and desserts.

...There's also [the] Sinbad Club, a multi-level marketing opportunity for members to earn money and points through their purchases as well as the purchases of a few friends.

Growth remains the word for Sinbad Café.

"We are franchising, so our intended plan right now is to open five more in San Diego," Haddad said. "We've got several coming up in different areas and we've been looking at Los Angeles and Las Vegas."

Hookah tobacco costs from $8.99 to $14.99 with discounts for refills. The café is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and until 4 a.m. on Firdays and Saturdays.

For more information, call (858) 866-6606 or see www.sinbadcafe.com.