My favourite place in Town! “gabe’s”
Well, first of all, I guess I should point out that the actual name of “Gabe’s”
is in fact, “Taverna shel Gavriel”
Not that this has stopped me from calling both the place, and Gabi, “Gabe” for many years now.
Gabe with his signature drink- an “arctic” in a glass of arak!!!
In any case, what ever you may call it, in my opinion, it is one of the few remaining things here in TLV that keep me, for lack of a better word, SANE.
Gabe’s is in the middle of the Flea Market in Old Jaffa, which used to be my favourite place in Tel-Aviv/Jaffa.
the old Jaffa flea market
Sadly it has recently become plagued with yuppie clothes designers, posh “retro” furniture shops (read: the same junk I used to buy from guys selling stuff from the side of the street for a few shekels but now put in a fancy looking shop and slapped with prices high enough to make Phillip Starck’s blood run cold) and swanky little bars and cafes infested with the very same breed of TLV Poseurs I used to come here to escape from.
None of this, however, has changed Gabe’s.
A tiny kitchen a few steps below floor level,
Johnnie is seriously one of the coolest guys in town!
a small bar with a rare and ancient contraption designed to chill draft beer to an almost freezing temperature,
Nathan behind the bar!
tons of rickety tables outside with broken plastic chairs, Greek music blasting at full-volume from an old boom-box, Gabe and his beautiful twin sisters running around delivering food, beer, huge glasses of arak, and witty commentary- all with a backdrop of characters straight out of an Emir Kusturica film.. In short- a piece of heaven on earth!!
Now, let me tell you a few things about Gabe’s:
For one, Gabe, his dad Eli, his mom, his two beautiful sisters,Kinneret and Mayan,
and from time to time his kid brother, all work there.
Which to me is a miracle in itself.
I mean, can you imagine working with your entire family and not being arrested for murder, or at the very least thrown into the funny-farm? Well, not me!
Second of all, Gabe’s is The Great Equalizer.
Every conceivable type of person imaginable, from every possible socio-economic background, comes here-
one of my best pals- after a couple of those damn “arctic-n-arak’s” of Gabe’s!!!
From old sabras who probably remember Jaffa when it was still under Ottoman rule, to chain-smoking young hipsters covered in tattoos and piercings, to retired IDF elite pilots and generals, complete with their bodyguards, to famous writers, journalists, bums, crazies, “arsim”, cooks after work, artists, firemen, Jaffa black-market bosses, and poets!!
All sitting side by side, shouting over the music, arguing, singing, debating everything from politics to sexual proclivities!
Shovelling up plates of shakshuka, hummus, and ikra! and of course DRINKING!
Now I’ll be honest: This place isn’t for everyone.
Not everyone has the “cajones”” to sit in the hot sun, drinking endless glasses of arak and beer, listening to increasingly booze-addled rants for hours on end- and usually at some point ending up on your butt as the chair you are sitting in finally breaks and throws you to the ground, amidst howls of laughter from all sides.
Not everyone finds it hilarious when the resident alley-cat, “Nokia”, who lives on the awning above Gabe’s and never touches his paws to the ground- instead preferring to live on the numerous scraps tossed up to him by the patrons below- suddenly decides to assert his territorial rights, and push another cat off his domain, onto the back of an unsuspecting drinker below, resulting in ear-piercing shrieks of shock, table being overturned, and beer splashing everyone within a 5-meter radius!
“Nokia”- the King of the flea market!
And I know a few people who I have brought to Gabe’s who object to getting their drink in a dirty glass, or the garbage-truck stopping in the middle of the street right in front and the driver coming in and ordering a beer- “To go”!!
And to all of these people, I say: Good Riddance!!
I find Gabe’s to be one of the most relaxing, unpretentious, and genuinely MAGICAL places I have ever been to- and honestly- for the last 3 years, unless I am out of the country, Alon and I sit at Gabe’s EVERY FRIDAY! (and I like to come in the middle of the week when it is quiet- either by myself or with a pal- just to chill with Gabe, talk S***, and knock back a few araks!)
Rain or shine! In times of peace or war! We won’t miss it!
Gabe, Rima, Alon
And I’m not going to lie, there has been many a drunken bike-ride home in the late afternoon!!
Some of the characters there, like the walking encyclopedia Oded- who brings me 10 books a week to read, and can spout poetry, history, philosophy, and dumb jokes in several languages including Latin,
Texas-style sabra- Oded!
Eli (Gabe’s Dad) at our wedding!
and of course Gabe and his dad Eli have become great friends.
The cast of characters here have seen me in times of plenty, and tough times, when they have offered me sympathy and advice, and times of success, when they have congratulated me with truly sincere happiness-
And I have been there to do the same for them!
I hope you will forgive this post having very little to do with food this time-
But remember, everyone also needs Food for the Soul, and this is exactly what “Gabe’s” is for me..So I hope to see you there on Friday afternoon!!!
Facebook comments:
so this is the place – articarac sounds great, but for me maybe articvodka