This past weekend I made my second trip down to my brother's kibbutz, Nir Yitzhak. I suggested to him that we meet in Tel Aviv Thursday evening to enjoy a good meal at top notch restaurant. So we headed off to Jaffa which is united with Tel Aviv under the one municipality.
I had been reading about a place called the Yoezer Wine Bar and Rob was able to get us a reservation for Thursday evening for 8pm. It is just off the street facing the famous clock tower which was built in the center of Jaffa in Turkish times to commemorate the 50 year jubilee of Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1906. The restaurant is housed in a building which is an old structure with thick stone walls and many arches. Much of the stone is covered in a plaster. The inside of the restaurant is rustic looking with wooden tables and mismatched chairs most likely purchased in the surrounding flea market and antique or junk stalls.
Yoezer is called a wine bar because of its extensive wine list but unlike other wine bars they only have a limited number of wines by the glass to taste and no sampling of small amounts on the menu. However they have a fine French and Italian menu centering on meat. I would not recommend this place to Jan or other vegetarians. We shared a charcuterie dinner for two which featured a variety of smoked meats, sausages and pates (enough said). Of course we ordered an appropriate bottle of wine to accompany the food. Because of the enormous amount of food we were unable to finish the main course and uncharacteristically skipped dessert.
Surprisingly the restaurant was not crowded. We came early but we did not leave until almost 10 pm. That might still be too early for a Thursday night in the Tel Aviv area. Thursday has become the beginning of the weekend and has become a time for socializing and going out. We also surmised that economic issues may have come into play since this is not an inexpensive eatery. Yet, we do know that many other fine restaurants are often full and are difficult to get reservations. In any case, we were delighted to patronize this restaurant. From there we drove south to the kibbutz.
On Friday evening and Saturday the kibbutz planned to celebrate a belated Purim. First I learned was that in general, on this kibbutz and on many others Purim, and some holidays are often celebrated on the Shabbat after the holy day itself. I don't believe that is the case for the Pesach seder or Yom Kippur or Rosh HaShanah. I also think they celebrate Israeli Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron, and Yom HaAtzma'ut on the actual days. Since Purim this year was on a Saturday night -Sunday the party was planned for the following Friday and the children's activities for the next day. Sadly, there was a death on the kibbutz a couple of days before the celebrations so they postponed everything for another week. So, with Purim actually on February 27-28, the kibbutz's celebration was finally held on March 12-13. Again this was another example of Purim being a month long celebration (v. earlier blog) and not simply a single day.
Due to the Purim party for all adults 18 and older, the kibbutz did not serve its Friday night dinner. My brother and I ate “Shabbat” dinner at his place with my nephew and niece. Afterwards, we went over to the dining hall for the party after 11:00 pm (already past my bedtime). The room was elaborately decorated, including a stage for a performance, a large screen, a bar and soft drink area and strobe lights. Materials from the kibbutz's polymer netting company, Polysack, were used for much of the decorations. We entered to the sound of blaring music with a deeply resonating bass track and a crowded dance floor. Later we watched skits and a video. They were clearly silly. The audience laughed but I missed most of it because I couldn't understand it, hear clearly or know the inside aspects of the jokes. The music began again and we lasted a short while more before returning home.
The celebration for the children the next day in the afternoon: Huge blowup climbing contraptions on the soccer field and a tower with four bungy chord seats and trampolines on the ground for kids to be strapped into harnesses and bounce high into the air. These amusements were brought in through an entertainment company and varied by age groups. Off to the side the youth sold ice cream, cold drinks, cotton candy, etc. The prices seemed a bit high for the kibbutz but there was a sign which declared that the profits were going to fight diabetes.
That evening at 6:30there was a show for the children again in the dining hall. We did not go to see it but Rob said that the people on the kibbutz who prepare it are quite professional and it is always standing room only. At both of these children's activities outsiders are invited from the surrounding area. The one missing Purim custom due to the delay of the celebration were the costumes for the kids. There is usually a parade of all the children in their costumes. On the previous night some of the adults at their party did wear costumes.
On Saturday evening I returned to Modi'in. On the way my brother, his daughter and I drove the 45 minutes to Ashkelon to eat dinner at a restaurant called Meat Me. It was only a so-so place with Israeli grilled meats and salads. At one point during the meal we looked around at all four of the other occupied tables people were smoking. It is against the law to smoke in restaurants in Israel, but this is Israel, so not only did they smoke but the waiter brought over ashtrays. From there it was a trip of two bus rides, one to Tel Aviv and the second back to Modi'in. I think Purim has finally concluded.
No comments:
Post a Comment