Saturday (I mean Friday) night out in Tel Aviv

Friday afternoon (after a painful trip to Ikea) we took a little nap (ok, not so little, I layed down around 6pm, Dan crashed at 7:30pm, and we didn't get up until 10:30pm!)  We showered, and went out around 11pm.  Went to the first restaurant/bar that was supposed to be known for it's carpaccio, among other things.  There was a line outside, and when Dan asked the girl at the door (surrounded by Russian meat-head bouncers) what the story was, she said it was "young night."  Ok, ouch.  I mean, I know there's no drinking age, and the others in line looked about 10 years younger than us, and there is a language barrier, but come on!

So we walked down King George Street to a place called King George, where they keep a lemonade dispenser outside for free for those in line.  No line when we walked in around 11pm.  Got seats at the bar, and ordered a salad, empanadas, and lamb kebobs - a real international bar menu.  Dan ordered a mojito, and I a glass of Gewurz.  The bartender was quite friendly, and the Arab American 20-something girls down the bar from us were quite entertaining.  A second mojito arrived compliments of the bartender, so I ordered a second glass as well.  When we decided to head out and the check came, neither of our second drinks were on it, so we tipped him so well, he thought we were asking for change, and then was so gracious, we decided to put this place on our short list for re-visits. 

We walked further down the road, then started to loop back, stopping in several bars along the way to see what they were like for future visits.  One was cheezy, complete with a bartender on the bar stopping those who entered to enforce purchase of a drink (in lieu of a cover charge, we guessed).  Another was a pool hall / bar which we mainly used as a pit stop.  On the way home, up a tiny side street, cops were sitting pulling over anyone with a motor vehicle (including a guy and girl on a scooter) doing breathalizers.  Sure glad we live in the city and can walk!  I have learned here that police do not need probable cause to stop you.  They can stop anyone, anytime, for any reason. 

We popped into one last wine bar back on Bograshov near our place, before calling it a night at about 3am.  We weren't the last ones to go to bed around here, by any means.  Instead of having a standard closing time like in the States, they all post their hours as "until last customer."  Well, we weren't going to be the last customer anywhere.  That will be a hard one to pull off I think.