drawn in foreign dignitaries, rock stars, aristocrats and artists since it opened its doors in 1943. cafe baba. sweet mint tea in a thick slow-moving haze of smoke. it smells like my dorm room 1972. good evening, hello. this is george bajalia and zeneb, and i should say right now that i have no direct knowledge of either george or zaneb smoking anything illegal substances or do i have any recollection of me doing anything untoward in their presence. because that would be, like, wrong, dude. george is here on a fulbright scholar and zaneb is an artist. others in the room, however, well, don't give me that innocent look, you young punks. i know somebody in here is smoking reefer. how stoned are people here?