This month’s tobacco fusion comes from the Cous Cous Morrocan Restaurant in New Jersey, located at¹:

130 Barclay Shopping Center
Rt. 70 East
Cherry Hill, NJ

Elias Bitar opened Cous Cous in 2000, next to his family’s restaurant (Norma’s). Cous Cous offers a unique and genuine experience of Moroccan culture and cuisine in an intimate setting. While Elias may be young, the Bitar family has been in the restaurant business since the early 70’s. Their well-rooted history in service is evident in the customer experience at Cous Cous.

Bitar is a bohemian kind of a guy by nature: His college background is in philosophy and comparative literature, which means he feels right at home in a café environment. In addition, his family is originally from Lebanon - where N’argillah (hookahs) are a major component of culture. As a result, a hookah lounge and café seemed to be a natural fit for Bitar. When asked about his future plans for opening additional restaurants, the zealous owner responded:

“The type of personalized/intimate customer service I insist on having cannot be mass produced. In short, I can't open another place until science perfects the art of cloning.”

Bitar came up with the recipe for “Mouth Full of Skittles,” about a year ago after getting bored with the milder flavors of Nakhla. He started mixing flavors together to add some zing to his smoking experience and decided to try putting together all the flavors that come in a bag of skittles. Thus “Mouth full of Skittles,” was born. Now he enjoys the more savory, premium brand Starbuzz. After experimenting with and perfecting the best proportions for each flavor, Mouth Full of Skittles is a top seller at his lounge C2 (a sub-lounge of the restaurant).

Mouth Full of Skittles Ingredients²:
Cherry Tobacco
Grape Tobacco
Lemon Tobacco
Mint Tobacco
Orange Tobacco
Strawberry Tobacco
Ice
Lemon Wedges
Water

How to make it:

1. Clean your hookah and hose meticulously (really well). A dirty hookah can distort the flavor of the current tobacco and lessen your smoking experience.

2. Next, add equal part of Cherry, Grape, Orange and Strawberry Tobacco (about 15% each), and a little extra Lemon tobacco (about 25%).
3. Add just a hint of mint (about 10%).

4. Add ice and a slice or two of lemon wedges to your water, and Serve.

“If the math doesn’t quite add up, it’s the Hookah talking…” (Elias Bitar)

The fruit flavors are specifically those found in a package of skittles. The mint and the lemon then combine to provide the same crispness that the skittles shell provides (which makes this mix more comparable to skittles rather than starburst or something else fruity). While this mix can be created with tobaccos other than Starbuzz, be cautioned that the proportions may vary outside of those brands. In addition, other tobaccos may not be as true to their flavor as Starbuzz, so experimenting with different tobaccos may lead to different results.

1 For reservations, please call 856 - 427- 9994
2 Elias prefers Starbuzz, but also recommends Havanna.