Commentary on hookahs, smoke rings, and The Dream

This weekend we decided to share the love in a bit smaller town: Ithaca, NY. Home to two reputable centers of higher education – Cornell University and Ithaca College – as well as, fun fact for the day, the first major movie studios on the East Coast.

Ithaca is really split in two as far as the scene is concerned. There is downtown Ithaca, which includes the “Commons” and then there is College Town, which is about a mile away, up a hill surrounding the Cornell Campus. Both have their hot spots and low spots. Bars close at 1AM, which really threw me off. Definitely the earliest bar time Ive yet to experience. Read our College Town Bagels review, for an idea of what to do, when bar time hits in Ithaca and you need some a respite before the after party.  Alternatively, the liquor stores are open until 11pm on the weekends, which is nice.

Also, given that Ithaca is a college town, the scene much of the time takes place off the bar strip and in residential buildings around each campus. Lots of house parties, lots of beer pong and the tapped porch kegs that comes with all that.

One of the biggest events in Ithaca every year is Cornell’s Slope Day. Back in the day, 1970′s or so, Slope Day was a simple, unbrideled event: Co-Eds kicked it on couches con kegs and cacophony. Slowly its been regulated, turning it into a “safer” more boring event, yet with the same number of really drunk people having a great time. Ive made it to the last couple of Slope Days, with musical guests Ben Folds and TI, and they were awesome, regardless of the constraining black tape around the event. You got to have a Cornell University hook up to get on the Slope, though, as they now check ID’s. Sorry Ithaca College.

As for hookah, this is a hippie town and there are plenty of shops to pick up tobacco or coals at (most are closed Sunday, FYI), but sadly there is not a single hookah bar in city limits. In passing a friend of mine said that every year, one of the MBA’s at Cornell’s Johnson School of Business submits a business plan to establish a hookah bar in Ithaca. But so far, for reasons no doubt tied to NY State anti-smoking laws, and Ithaca City Council’s tug of war between the ‘healthy’ and ‘Boho’ sides of hippiedom, an Ithaca hookah bar is still just a stack of business plans.

Ithaca isn’t a big city, and when you are looking for a good time, you shouldn’t restrict yourself to Big City Style fun. There are a lot of wineries near the Finger Lakes, and also lots of outdoors activities on the water, while the weather is still cooperating.

And thats Ithaca.  We’ll be throwing up a couple reviews in the next few days, check back and book your bus ticket to the beauty on the Cayuga, before the snow comes and kills this place.