Falafel's Drive-In is a tiny family-run takeaway on Stevens Creek Boulevard that has been serving falafel and banana milkshakes since 1966. The Nijmeh family, originally from Lebanon, built the business on a single recipe: fresh-fried falafel balls stuffed into pita with tomato, lettuce, pickled turnip, and tahini. The line at lunchtime is reliable.
The order to make is the falafel sandwich and a banana milkshake — an unlikely combination that has somehow become a San Jose tradition. The drive-in is cash-friendly, dirt cheap, and rarely lets anyone down. It is the kind of unfussy local institution that gives a city its character.