Walking with the King – Israeli style

November 1, 2009 - 8:37 AM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Food, General, Israeliness, Music, Pop Culture, design 

Even my wife can't resist the magnetism of the King.

Even my wife can't resist the magnetism of the King.

I know that Israelity has written about it in the past, but after a visit to the Elvis Inn for a friend’s 60th birthday party, it’s impossible to resist commenting about it.

An oasis of kitsch from the King right off the Neve Ilan turnoff on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, the Elvis Inn is now an Israeli landmark that should not be missed – especially if you want to go home with an Elvis portable alarm clock or a postcard of Elvis as the baby Jesus, or a Bedouin nomad. It’s the kind of place that John Waters or David Lynch would have thought up for a scene for one of their movies.

The Elvis Inn is actually a restaurant – a garish, American-deco diner at that. You can’t miss the place, with the huge Jurassic Park-like statue of Elvis outside. But rather than serving the traditional cheeseburger and fries – after all, this is Israel – you can get your fries with pargiyot, kebab and any number of grilled Middle Eastern delicacies.

elvis pinch[The music is a taped loop of greatest hits by the King, which I'm sure the staff must be sick of hearing by now. The gift shop is chock full of the Elvis memerobilia described earlier, and the wall and ceilings are jam-filled with photos of 50s Elvis, pre-army Elvis, movie-star Elvis, Las Vegas Elvis, and wall murals of the King's numerous movie rolls. Then there are the statues and figurines throughout the restaurant - magnets for photographs. We went home with an Elvis Inn mug, and a few pilfered Elvis sugar packets.

A visit to the Elvis Inn shouldn't be missed - for a combination of Israeli and American pop culture excess at its most peculiar. Even better if you can make it on the annual commemoration of Elvis's death, when the cadre of Israeli Elvis impersonators converge for an evening of sneering and attempts at Israeli accented "Jailhouse Rocks."

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Remembering Elvis in Israel

August 17, 2009 - 12:25 AM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, Food, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Pop Culture 

Elvis Presley impersonators (from L to R) Herzl Shimoni, Eran Levron and Dvir Viedenbaum at the Elvis Inn (Reuters)

Elvis Presley impersonators (from L to R) Herzl Shimoni, Eran Levron and Dvir Viedenbaum at the Elvis Inn (Reuters)

The Elvis Inn, off the highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv at the Neve Ilan exit, has been around for a couple decades. And it remains one of the quirky landmarks on the Israeli landscape.

The 50s-style diner boasts Middle Eastern cuisine and tons of Elvis memorabilia, including a garish statue outside, and dozens of framed posters, pens, and postcards inside.

And on the anniversary of Elvis’s death, the Israel Elvis impersonators come out in full force. August 16th marked the 32nd anniversary of the King’s passing, and the usual suspects gathered at the Elvis Inn to mark the event with good cheer and bad impersonations.

‘I (have been) imitating Elvis Presley (for) about 29 years and I love him. Today we’re singing for Elvis, for his memory. We’re going to celebrate his death, his life, his legacy,’ Eran Lev-Ron, an Israeli Elvis impersonator told Sky News.

American Jewish Life magazine had the following description that sums up the weirdness of visiting the Elvis Inn.

Set a bit off the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, near the Kibbutz Neveh Ilan Guest House, is the shrine of shlock, the ultra in kitsch: the Elvis Inn gas station, restaurant, bar and grill and tourist trap, run by owners and brothers Amnon and Uri, along with Uri’s son, Amir, and several staffers.

While it’s certainly not Graceland, the neo-50s and 60s décor does get you in the mood, with a 16-foot-high golden statue of Elvis in the parking lot alongside the entrance, and a second even larger one nearby, with one arm raised, seemingly waving towards Jerusalem.

There are more than 1,000 pictures, posters, and postcards covering nearly every flat surface, sent by fans and like-minded Elvis lovers worldwide. There are also four life-sized Elvis statues scattered around the premises in various poses, sitting at a table, strumming a guitar, and, in general watching over the place.

Inside, artist Uri Ard painted and constructed the show stopping Sistine Chapel-esque ceiling a decade ago, featuring illustrated highlights of Elvis’ life and times dramatically outlined in glowing orange neon.

If you have a chance, even if it’s not on the anniversary of Elvis’s death, don’t miss a visit to the Elvis Inn.

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Day tripping

September 15, 2008 - 2:03 PM by Jessica · 2 Comments
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Travel 

Judean Hills-1.jpgI had to head out to the Maale Hahamisha hotel yesterday for a meeting, and was reminded as I drove through Abu Gosh, passing Yad HaShmona and Neve Ilan along the way, what a great little tour this area makes for a day tripper.

Abu Gosh is an Arab village that is named for the Abu Gosh family and which has remained friendly to Israel throughout 60 years of statehood. Known for its annual music festival and Christmas Eve services, Abu Gosh also has a slew of Middle Eastern style restaurants and hummousiya stops, serving grilled meats, salads and hummous. Two of the most famous are the Lebanese Restaurant, built around a mulberry tree and known for its popularity among Israeli politicians and the Abu Gosh Restaurant, which is owned by Ibrahim Jawdat, an Abu Gosh native who won $17 million in a Chicago, IL state lottery while working as a mechanic. Legend has it that Jawdat used his last $50 to buy a bunch of lottery tickets at a 7-11, and, well, got lucky.

If you keep on driving through Abu Gosh, you’ll see a signpost pointing up toward Maale Hahamisha, a kibbutz that has its own hotel — with a great indoor pool — and the orchid hospice, part of the kibbutz orchid greenhouse, for those possessing an orchid obsession. For another alternative cooperative community, stop at Yad Hashmona on the way out of the area, a moshav of Finnish Christians who offer lodging, food and a biblical village in the Judean Hills.

Finally, before heading home, stop at the Elvis Inn for a necessary viewing of the incredible collection of Elvis memorabilia…It’s one thing to see this kind of adulation in Graceland, but it’s fantastically out of place for the Judean Hills.

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