Nana in Ranana!

Dinner was unforgettable! A group of co-workers and I went to "Makom b'Lev" (a place in the heart) in the town Ra'anana north of Tel Aviv. the place is gorgeous, set beside a kibbutz and decorated like a garden with beautiful fountains and lights and music. the food was definitely unique -- we ate some kind of grilled pita with minced meat, a phallic-looking eggplant dish with pine nuts and something smoky tasting, and "limonana" (mint lemonade). when the food arrived it turned out they forgot my main course, so instead of offering to compensate the mistake by putting my dish on the house, they instead brought me a complimentary bowl of tomato soup with a risotto ball. it was the most random thing ever. who was the waitress to say i even liked tomato soup?! and why was there only one ball?! a friend nicknamed it "risoball" and cracked inappropriate jokes about it all evening. we were all silly and had a glorious time.
after dinner Jen and I hit up our first random Tel Aviv bar with some Israelis we had met at the street party earlier. (potentially a mistake) the bar seemed normal for the first hour or so, with typical music and drinks and dancing. that was until the music suddenly stopped and everyone gathered at the front where a stage was set up. the curtain parted and before us was the freakiest thing ive ever seen - i didnt even know what it was. it looked like a mime and a midget and a nightmare all combined. i asked the israeli what was going on and his casual response was, "oh, its a freakshow." i look at jen and we're both terrified and laughing at the same time. it literally was a freakshow i cant even describe it. im going to try to forget i ever saw it so i dont have nightmares.