Best Head Shop

Yes, there are the mandatory lavender incense, dancin' bears, black lights, and tie-dye. But there's also a humidifier housing Dominican and Honduran cigars and a mean music selection of bluegrass and jazz greats like Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday. Acoustic guitars, painted wooden flutes, ukuleles, and even a mountain dulcimer offer further testimony to owner Bob Kovner's love of melody. Kovner, who's been in the smoke-shop biz for 18 years, also role-plays as house artisan with an on-the-premises studio, where he crafts sculpture from Lucite, glass, and gemstones. He's so handy that, after leasing the space, he bought a full-size school bus and chopped the front end off by himself. Now its psychedelic façade (think smiling suns and mushrooms) sits center stage, an Uncle Sam-hatted skeleton grinning from a seat. Pipes behind the counter; munchies like sourballs and Skittles toward the back. Chimes, kites, sundresses, harmony candles. A strange trip, indeed.