Personally I would recommend yeshivat netiv aryeh first… it has the largest selection of shiurim and many many rabbeim of all walks of life who would love to shmooze with you too.
falafel? the cheaper it is, the less strict the hashgacha is usually… I wasn’t a huge fan of any of them in the old city. BBQ Bar maybe? if you live in the rova don’t forget to tell them “rova discount” for your discount…