Years ago, I moved to California with a 1975 Chevy Nova, about $3,000 in my bank account, a hefty student loan, and no job or place to stay. (I was in love -- enough said.) After a few months of poking around, I landed a job at a new computer company, writing technical manuals. It was my introduction to Silicon Valley. Now, the company was average at best... but I made some great friends there. My friend Hugh was a native, and one Friday at lunchtime four of us piled into his car and we drove to San Jose (about 20 minutes away) to a place he called "Mecca" -- Falafel's Drive-In. 
At first glance, the place looks, well, cheesy -- like an old drive-in from the fifties. But after one meal I was hooked. WOW! Their falafel balls were incredible! Crispy on the outside, yet moist on the inside (so many falafels I've had have been so dry). And their hummus... heaven! It has an incredible texture and mix of flavors, from the pureed garbanzo beans to the tahini sauce to their spicy hot sauce.
My Mecca--a small falafel sandwich and an order of hummus
Anyway, on Saturday I found myself in San Jose, at a conference, and on th
e lunch break make a dash for Falafel's Drive-in. It has remained everything I thought it had been. I even introduced it to a woman I met there, T, who is both Iranian (from, as my half-Iranian friend Susan would say, "ee-ron", not "I-ran") and vegetarian, and she said that she loved her food too. (By the way, turns out T is an exceptional motivational speaker and author of the parenting book Raising a Superstar. Check it out.)
e lunch break make a dash for Falafel's Drive-in. It has remained everything I thought it had been. I even introduced it to a woman I met there, T, who is both Iranian (from, as my half-Iranian friend Susan would say, "ee-ron", not "I-ran") and vegetarian, and she said that she loved her food too. (By the way, turns out T is an exceptional motivational speaker and author of the parenting book Raising a Superstar. Check it out.)So the next time you're in/near San Jose, check out Falafel's Drive-in. Or better yet, make a road trip there. Even with the price of gas these days, it'll be worth the drive.
Falafel's Drive-in
2301 Stevens Creek Blvd.,
San Jose, CA 95128
408-294-7886
2 comments:
Great post Tim!
Easily one of the best reasons for a day trip south. When I was working in Sunnyvale, we went here very, very regularly.
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