Went out for a meal recently - not something us fuddy-duddies do very much, but it does happen - and I found that after all these years, I still haven't got used to the way things are done here. My Israeli mind is again and again stunned by that phrase that I heard in the pub at 10.15 when we wondered about ordering dessert: the kitchen is closed.
In Tel Aviv things would just be waking up, and here they're getting ready to fold up the pavements and go to bed. I was stunned when I arrived in London (nearly 20 years ago now) and discovered that the pubs close at 11. But what is probably more shocking to me (being Jewish does mean you tend to regard food as very nearly the most important thing in life) is the idea that a place that serves food can be open but not serving food right now because the kitchen is closed. I still remember the shock of going into a London pub at around 3pm in search of lunch, to be told: the kitchen closes at two. And saying that, they look at you as though you've just landed from Mars or something, or you're a complete imbecile who doesn't know the most basic things about life. Out on the pavement, your tummy rumbling, you wonder about this strange place where people only eat at set times, and then you gratefully discover a pizza place where they don't stick to these weird customs.
But really - in Israel there is no way that this sort of thing would happen. Israelis are used to walking into restaurants at any time of day or evening and ordering food. I keep hearing from my niece about being out with friends and having something to eat at around midnight. And then the other day we were talking in the evening and she mentioned that she was going out to a café with some friends, and I found myself longing for that relaxed Israeli café existence, as opposed to where I live now where they all seem to shut by 5 at the latest, not to mention some places that close at 3 or 4! (Yes, I mean in the afternoon, not the early hours of the morning, when some Tel Aviv cafés do start thinking of closing...)
But the thing is that to the Brits, going out just for drinks seems perfectly reasonable, whereas we would be saying: that's all very well but where's the food?
I remember in my university days in London, looking at the noticeboard where all sorts of meetings were advertised - the photography club, the birdwatching club, that sort of thing. The Jewish Society was the only one where it said loud and clear: tea and cake will be served. Because, let's face it, we just wouldn't bother turning up otherwise, would we? Look at our forefathers all those centuries ago, being rescued from slavery in Egypt, and what were we moaning about? Food. We were missing the food in Egypt. And how does God lure us towards the promised land? He tells us about a land flowing with milk and honey. He knows what we're like.
It's only through living in England that I've discovered that this is a peculiarly Jewish thing. You can live in Israel for years just assuming everyone's like that. Because, well, why not? What's not to like about food?
In Tel Aviv things would just be waking up, and here they're getting ready to fold up the pavements and go to bed. I was stunned when I arrived in London (nearly 20 years ago now) and discovered that the pubs close at 11. But what is probably more shocking to me (being Jewish does mean you tend to regard food as very nearly the most important thing in life) is the idea that a place that serves food can be open but not serving food right now because the kitchen is closed. I still remember the shock of going into a London pub at around 3pm in search of lunch, to be told: the kitchen closes at two. And saying that, they look at you as though you've just landed from Mars or something, or you're a complete imbecile who doesn't know the most basic things about life. Out on the pavement, your tummy rumbling, you wonder about this strange place where people only eat at set times, and then you gratefully discover a pizza place where they don't stick to these weird customs.
But really - in Israel there is no way that this sort of thing would happen. Israelis are used to walking into restaurants at any time of day or evening and ordering food. I keep hearing from my niece about being out with friends and having something to eat at around midnight. And then the other day we were talking in the evening and she mentioned that she was going out to a café with some friends, and I found myself longing for that relaxed Israeli café existence, as opposed to where I live now where they all seem to shut by 5 at the latest, not to mention some places that close at 3 or 4! (Yes, I mean in the afternoon, not the early hours of the morning, when some Tel Aviv cafés do start thinking of closing...)
But the thing is that to the Brits, going out just for drinks seems perfectly reasonable, whereas we would be saying: that's all very well but where's the food?
I remember in my university days in London, looking at the noticeboard where all sorts of meetings were advertised - the photography club, the birdwatching club, that sort of thing. The Jewish Society was the only one where it said loud and clear: tea and cake will be served. Because, let's face it, we just wouldn't bother turning up otherwise, would we? Look at our forefathers all those centuries ago, being rescued from slavery in Egypt, and what were we moaning about? Food. We were missing the food in Egypt. And how does God lure us towards the promised land? He tells us about a land flowing with milk and honey. He knows what we're like.
It's only through living in England that I've discovered that this is a peculiarly Jewish thing. You can live in Israel for years just assuming everyone's like that. Because, well, why not? What's not to like about food?
No comments:
Post a Comment