How did a non-beer drinker wind up in a micro-brewery this past Saturday night? That’s a question I was asking myself as my wife and I joined our friends Debbie and Eliot at Jem’s, a hot new gourmet beer factory in Petach Tikva.
Jem’s was established by two immigrants from the U.S. – Daniel Alon, a former Wall Street lawyer, and Jeremy Welfeld who worked as an events manager in the White House during Bill Clinton’s tenure.
Their new Israeli endeavor sports a large open space with wooden tables for drinking and dining; a chill out zone with low couches for kicking back; great music (we heard everything from Prince to Ehud Banai); and a set of oversized steel vats where the beer is brewed in house.
About the beers: there are six on the menu: Stout, Amber Ale, Pils, Dark Lager, “Special†(not sure what that was) and Lochness. Our waiter brought us shot glasses with a taste of each; I insisted on the Lochness, which had a light fruity taste, and actually enjoyed it enough to down a whole glass.
Truthfully, I’m more of a food guy and was delighted to find a whole section on the menu with just hot dogs. But these were no ordinary franks. They had playful names like Diablo (spicy enough to erupt like the volcano it’s named after) and the Bombay, made with spring chicken and Indian spices. We ordered the Jem’s house dog which had a combination of lamb, entrecote, over and fried onions. I guess Bill C. liked the gourmet version of down home Southern picnic fare.
If you get too heavy from all the meat and suds, there’s a basketball court outside to work out between courses.
Jem’s has lines out the door on Saturday nights; reservations are highly recommended. A pitcher of Lochness cost us NIS 66; the hot dogs were NIS 54 for each plate. There are great beer batter fried onion rings too.
Check out the Israeli TV interview with the Jem’s founders on their YouTube channel above.
There’s a map to Jem’s and hours of operation on their website. And oh yes, it’s kosher.
This article originally appeared on the Israelity blog.
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